Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern AmericaThe book of Genesis tells us that God made a covenant with Abraham, promising him a glorious posterity on the condition that he and all his male descendents must be circumcised. For thousands of years thereafter, the distinctive practice of circumcision served to set the Jews apart from their neighbors. The apostle Paul rejected it as a worthless practice, emblematic of Judaism's fixation on physical matters. Christian theologians followed his lead, arguing that whereas Christians sought spiritual fulfillment, Jews remained mired in such pointless concerns as diet and circumcision. As time went on, Europeans developed folklore about malicious Jews who performed sacrificial murders of Christian children and delighted in genital mutilation. But Jews held unwaveringly to the belief that being a Jewish male meant being physically circumcised and to this day even most non-observant Jews continue to follow this practice. In this book, Leonard B. Glick offers a history of Jewish and Christian beliefs about circumcision from its ancient origins to the current controversy. By the turn of the century, more and more physicians in America and England--but not, interestingly, in continental Europe--were performing the procedure routinely. Glick shows that Jewish American physicians were and continue to be especially vocal and influential champions of the practice which, he notes, serves to erase the visible difference between Jewish and gentile males. Informed medical opinion is now unanimous that circumcision confers no benefit and the practice has declined. In Jewish circles it is virtually taboo to question circumcision, but Glick does not flinch from asking whether this procedure should continue to be the defining feature of modern Jewish identity. |
What people are saying - Write a review
First, please do not harm your son, diminishing his penis by letting a doctor commit an atrocity - a cruel and senseless act - on your lovely son.
Second, if you have already let this happen, and have suffered the consequences, and he hates you, your can read this excellent book to find out more about why this tragedy happened.
Third, if you are Jewish, you have a tradition of seeking the truth, and acting on it. Now here is an opportunity to change the course of history without hurting anyone. There are growing numbers of Jewish men who are intact. They are very happy to be intact, and they are very proud to be Jewish with all the privileges that accords them. You have an opportunity and a responsibility to act. Read this book, and the effort will be easier.
Contents
3 | |
13 | |
Christian Condemnation Jewish Veneration | 35 |
Jewish Circumcision in Medieval and Early Modern Europe | 55 |
Circumcision in European Religious and Popular Culture | 85 |
Radical Challenges in a Pivotal Century | 115 |
Circumcision Medicalized | 149 |
Jewish American Physicians and TwentiethCentury Circumcision Advocacy | 179 |
Justifying Ritual Circumcision | 215 |
Circumnavigating the Taboo Topic | 241 |
Epilogue | 273 |
Notes | 283 |
335 | |
361 | |
Other editions - View all
Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America Leonard B. Glick Limited preview - 2005 |
Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America Leonard B. Glick No preview available - 2005 |