What is the Jewish name for the term circumcision?

Answer 1

Jewish tradition is that male children are circumcised at 8 days old unless health reasons require a delay. This is a basic mitzvah of Judaism and is a recognition of the Jewish covenant with HaShem. Although circumcision does not make a male Jewish, Jewish males who are not circumcised are seen as not being fully a part of the Jewish Nation and are prohibited from participating in certain mitzvot.

Answer 2

The origin of Jewish circumcision is in the Torah, which is the foundation of Judaism. God told Abraham "every male among you shall be circumcised" as part of the covenant between God and the Jewish people (Genesis ch.17). Since that time, virtually all Jews have observed the command of circumcision for close to four millennia, even in times of religious persecution under the Greeks, Romans, Spaniards, and Soviets. Circumcision is the indelible sign of God's covenant and is just as important as Yom Kippur in terms of the stringency which the Torah places upon it. And similar to Yom Kippur, it is one of the observances which are common to Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews alike.

It may be noted that while we do not keep God's commands because of physical benefits, it is still interesting that circumcision has been known to offer virtually complete protection from penile cancer. According to a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine, none of the more than 1,600 persons studied with this cancer had been circumcised in infancy. In the words of researchers Cochen and McCurdy, the incidence of penile cancer in the U.S. is "essentially zero" among circumcised men. Also, research at Johns Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore have shown that circumcised men are six to eight times less likely to become infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Researchers believe that protection is due to the removal of the foreskin, which contains cells that have HIV receptors which scientists suspect are the primary entry point for the HIV virus (Reuters, March 25, 2004).

Several studies reported that circumcised boys were between 10 to 39 times less likely to develop urinary tract infections during infancy than uncircumcised boys. In addition, circumcision protects against bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections and a variety of other conditions related to hygiene.

The extremely low rate of Cervical cancer in Jewish women (9 to 22 times less than among non-Jewish women) is thought to be related to their husbands' being circumcised. As a result of studies like these, a number of prestigious medical organizations such as the California Medical Association have recognized the benefits of circumcision.

As an operation, circumcision has an extremely small complication rate. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine (1990) reported a complication rate of 0.19 percent when circumcision is performed by a physician. When performed by a trained mohel, the rate falls to 0.13 percent or about 1 in 800. When a complication occurs, it is usually due to the bleeding, which is easily correctable. No other surgical procedure can boast such figures for complication-free operations.

One reason why there are so few complications involving bleeding may be that the major clotting agents, prothrombin and vitamin K, do not reach peak levels in the blood until the eighth day after a baby is born. Prothrombin levels are normal at birth, drop to a lower level in the next few days, and return to normal at the end of the first week. One study showed that by the eighth day, prothrombin levels reach 110 percent of normal. In the words of Dr. Armand J. Quick, author of several works on the control of bleeding, "It hardly seems accidental that the rite of circumcision was postponed until the eighth day by the Mosaic law."

Answer 3

The origin of Jewish circumcision is in the Torah. God commanded "every male among you shall be circumcised" as part of the covenant (Genesis ch.17).

• Link: About Abraham
  

Since that time, virtually all Jews have observed the command of circumcision for close to four millennia, even in times of religious persecution under the Greeks, Romans, Spaniards, and Soviets. Circumcision is the indelible sign of God's covenant and is just as important as Yom Kippur.
It may be noted that circumcision has been known to offer virtually complete protection from penile cancer. A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine states that none of the more than 1,600 persons studied with this cancer had been circumcised in infancy. In the words of researchers Cochen and McCurdy, the incidence of penile cancer in the U.S. is "essentially zero" among circumcised men.

Also, research at Johns Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore have shown that circumcised men are six to eight times less likely to become infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS (Reuters, March 25, 2004).

Several studies reported that circumcised boys were many times less likely to develop urinary tract infections during infancy than uncircumcised boys. In addition, circumcision protects against bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections and a variety of other conditions related to hygiene.

The very low rate of cervical cancer in Jewish women is thought to be related to their husbands' being circumcised. As a result of studies like these, a number of prestigious medical organizations such as the California Medical Association have recognized the benefits of circumcision.

As an operation, circumcision has an extremely small complication rate. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine (1990) reported a complication rate of 0.19 percent when circumcision is done by a doctor. When done by a mohel, the rate falls to 0.13 percent (1 in 800). Even when a complication does occur, it is usually due to the bleeding, which is easily correctable. No other surgical procedure can boast such figures for complication-free operations.
See also the other Related Links.

Link: About Jewish circumcision

Link: Jewish circumcision: a guide

Link: What is Jewish circumcision?

Answer 4

Brit milah (the Covenant of Circumcision).