1824 illustration from Lipník nad Bečvou

The brit milah (Hebrew: בְּרִית מִילָה, Modern Israeli: [bʁit miˈla], Ashkenazi: [bris ˈmilə]; "covenant of circumcision"), or bris (Yiddish: ברית, romanized: bris), is the ceremony of circumcision in Judaism and Samaritanism during which a newborn male's foreskin is surgically removed.[1] According to the Book of Genesis, God commanded the biblical patriarch Abraham to be circumcised: an act to be followed by his descendants on the eighth day of life symbolizing the covenant between God and the Jewish people.[1] Today, it is generally performed by a mohel on the eighth day after the infant's birth and is followed by a celebratory meal known as a seudat mitzvah.[2]

Brit milah is considered among the most important and central commandments in Judaism, and the rite has played a central role in Jewish history and Jewish culture. The Talmud, when discussing the importance of brit milah, considers it equal to all other mitzvot (commandments).[3] Barring extraordinary circumstances, Abraham's descendants who voluntarily fail to undergo brit milah are believed to suffer Kareth,[4] which is, in Jewish theology, the extinction of the soul and denial of a share in the World to Come.[5][6][7][8] The brit is understood by Jews to signify acceptance into the ongoing covenant between God and the Jewish people,[9] which is why most gerim (converts to Judaism) undergo a form of brit to finalize conversion.[10][11]

Historical conflicts between Jews and European civilizations have occurred several times over brit milah, including multiple campaigns of Jewish ethnic, cultural, and religious persecution, with subsequent bans and restrictions on the practice as an attempted means of forceful assimilation, most famously in the Maccabean Revolt by the Seleucid Empire.[8][12][13] "In Jewish history, the banning of circumcision (brit milah) has historically been a first step toward more extreme and violent forms of persecution".[13] These periods have generally been linked to suppression of Jewish religious, ethnic, and cultural identity and subsequent "punishment at the hands of government authorities for engaging in circumcision".[12] The Maccabee victory in the Maccabean Revolt—ending the prohibition against circumcision—is celebrated in Hanukkah.[8][14] Circumcision rates are near-universal among Jews,[15] except for some heavily assimilated groups such as the Kaifeng Jews in China.[16]

Brit milah also has immense importance in other religions. The Gospel of Luke records that Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus (who was Jewish), had him undergo circumcision, though the vast majority of Christians do not practice religious circumcision.

Origins (unknown to 515 BCE)

"Isaac's Circumcision", Regensburg Pentateuch, c. 1300

The origin of circumcision is not known with certainty; however, artistic and literary evidence from ancient Egypt suggests it was practiced in the ancient Near East from at least the Sixth Dynasty (c. 2345–2181 BCE).[17] In the New Kingdom of Egypt (1550-1069 BCE), circumcision was "performed as a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood on boys who were going to become priests".[18] The Bible extended the practice to the entire male population, in accord with the description of Israel as a "kingdom of priests" (Exodus 19:6).[19] Thus, Biblical circumcision served to "detach circumcision from its age-old connection with puberty and transform it into a sign of the divine covenant and ethnic belonging".[20]

According to some scholars, it appears that it only appeared as a sign of the covenant during the Babylonian Exile.[21][22][23] Scholars who posit the existence of a hypothetical J source (likely composed during the seventh century BCE) of the Pentateuch in Genesis 15 hold that it would not have mentioned a covenant that involves the practice of circumcision. Only in the P source (likely composed during the sixth century BCE) of Genesis 17 does the notion of circumcision become linked to a covenant.[21][22][23][24]

Some scholars have argued that it originated as a replacement for child sacrifice.[22][24][25][26][27]

Biblical references

According to the Hebrew Bible, Adonai commanded the biblical patriarch Abraham to be circumcised, an act to be followed by his descendants:

Leviticus 12:3 says: "And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised."[29]

According to the Hebrew Bible, it was "a reproach" for an Israelite to be uncircumcised.[30] The plural term arelim ("uncircumcised") is used opprobriously, denoting the Philistines and other non-Israelites[31] and used in conjunction with tameh (unpure) for heathen.[32] The word arel ("uncircumcised" [singular]) is also employed for "impermeable";[33] it is also applied to the first three years' fruit of a tree, which is forbidden.[34]

However, the Israelites born in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt were not circumcised. Joshua 5:2–9, explains, "all the people that came out" of Egypt were circumcised, but those "born in the wilderness" were not. Therefore, Joshua, before the celebration of the Passover, had them circumcised at Gilgal specifically before they entered Canaan. Abraham, too, was circumcised when he moved into Canaan.[citation needed]

The prophetic tradition emphasizes that God expects people to be good as well as pious, and that non-Jews will be judged based on their ethical behavior, see Noahide Law. Thus, Jeremiah 9:25–26 says that circumcised and uncircumcised will be punished alike by the Lord; for "all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart".[citation needed]

The penalty of willful non-observance is kareth (making oneself liable to extirpation or excommunication), as noted in Genesis 17:1-14.[35][36][37] Conversion to Judaism for non-Israelites in Biblical times necessitated circumcision, otherwise one could not partake in the Passover offering.[38] Today, as in the time of Abraham, it is required of converts in Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Judaism.[39]

As found in Genesis 17:1–14, brit milah is considered to be so important that should the eighth day fall on the Sabbath, actions that would normally be forbidden because of the sanctity of the day are permitted in order to fulfill the requirement to circumcise.[40] The Talmud, when discussing the importance of Milah, compares it to being equal to all other mitzvot (commandments) based on the gematria for brit of 612.[3]

Covenants in biblical times were often sealed by severing an animal,[41] with the implication that the party who breaks the covenant will suffer a similar fate. In Hebrew, the verb meaning "to seal a covenant" translates literally as "to cut".[42] It is presumed by Jewish scholars that the removal of the foreskin symbolically represents such a sealing of the covenant.[9]

Speculated reasons for biblical circumcision include to show off "patrilineal descent, sexual fertility, male initiation, cleansing of birth impurity, and dedication to God".[43]