HEBRAIC CIRCUMCISION.
The first mention that we meet concerning circumcision is in Genesis. It
is the command of God to Abraham; in establishing the covenant with him,
He said to him: "This is my covenant, which ye shall keep between me and
you, and thy seed after thee: every man-child among you shall be
circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it
shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you" (Gen. xvii, 10,
11). It was also ordained that this should be extended to servants
belonging to Abraham and his seed, as well as to their own children; and
that in case of children it should be done on the eighth day after
birth.[54] This was appointed as an ordinance of perpetual obligation on
the Hebraic family, and its neglect or omission entailed being cut off
from the people (12, 14). In compliance with this ordinance, Abraham,
although in his ninety-ninth year, circumcised himself and all his
slaves, as well as his son Ishmael. Slaves by purchase were
circumcised,[55] as were any strangers, who were also circumcised before
being allowed to partake of the passover or to become Jewish citizens.
It was to be observed by all heathens who became converted to the Jewish
faith. During the wanderings in the wilderness circumcision was not
practiced, but Joshua caused all to be circumcised before they entered
the promised land.[56]
The old Hebrews strictly followed the injunction to circumcise on the
eighth day, and of such importance in a religious sense was this rite
in their estimation that even when the eighth day fell on the Sabbath
the eighth day ordinance was observed. The ordinance, however, was not
blindly arbitrary, as rules were laid down for exception. For instance,
whenever a family had lost two children through circumcision it did not
become obligatory on that family to circumcise the third child, who was
however considered as entitled to all the benefits of the congregation
or of the Hebraic religion, just the same as if he had been circumcised.
Again, Maimonides, or Moussa Ben Maimon, a celebrated physician and
rabbi, born in Cordova in the year 1135 A.D., among his works on
medicine, has left directions in regard to circumcision which have been
the guides of the _mohels_. Among the Hebraic physicians it was
considered that the child partook of the constitutional strength or
feebleness of the mother; hence the rule above mentioned, in regard to
exemption to circumcision, only was in operation when the two who had
formerly died belonged to the same mother as the third one, who would
thereby be exempt; but if the two children had belonged to another
woman, and this third child of the father was not from the same mother,
the rule did not exempt. The third child of the mother who had
previously lost two infants at the rite was, however, to be circumcised
when arrived at adult age, provided no further counter-indication
occurred. The opinion that the mother gave the constitution to the child
was promulgated by Maimonides and became general.
The eighth day is believed to refer to the eighth day after full term;
thus, a child born prematurely is not supposed to be circumcised until
eight days after it would have reached its full term, and only then if
its general good condition is settled. Maimonides looked upon infantile
jaundice, general debility, and marasmus as contra-indications to the
performance of the rite; any erysipelatous inflammation, ophthalmia,
anaemia, eruption of any kind, fever, tendency to convulsive
movements--in fact, any observable departure from normal health should
be allowed to pass before performing the rite. Aside from these general
conditions that denoted that the operation was contra-indicated, the
local condition of the organ itself also was to be examined, and if
certain conditions existed the operation was to be put off. These
conditions consisted in any irritation or red appearance of the prepuce,
due to either inflammation or to the irritative action of the sebaceous
matter underneath the prepuce, the acrid nature of these secretions
being at times sufficiently virulent to produce an ulceration, even in
the newborn.[57]
Among the Hebrews themselves there are those who do not look upon
circumcision in a favorable light, but on something that has served its
time in its own day, and within the past year a proselyte has been
accepted into one of the New York synagogues without previous or
subsequent circumcision, these reformed Jews looking upon adult
circumcision as too painful an operation to be gone through, as they
claim, unnecessarily. It must be said, however, that these persons look
upon circumcision purely in a sacramental light, and simply as an
arbitrary ordinance of God in the remote ages of antiquity, but which in
the present century has not enough practical significance to warrant its
performance on the occasion of an adult joining the congregation. These
persons look upon it, as has been said, in a purely theological light,
and ignore any and all considerations of hygiene in connection with it,
claiming that if it is a simple matter of hygiene, then it is not a
sacrament, and that, if it is sacramental, then the subject of hygiene
has nothing whatever to do with it. The force of their reasoning and
logic is very obscure and clouded, to say the least. The covenant either
exists or it does not; to do away with one ordinance in any arbitrary
manner is to gradually begin to crumble down the whole fabric of
Judaism; for when exceptions are begun, one tenet as well as another is
liable to topple over. If the rite is a sacrament, then it should be
performed on all, and a proselyte should not be admitted without being
circumcised, and, if a hygienic measure only, the same rule holds. These
Jews evidently ignore the rationalism that governed the promulgation of
the Mosaic law, and its recognition of the inseparability of the moral
from the physical nature of man.
Montaigne has left us a description of the performance of the rite, as
witnessed by him in the city of Rome in the sixteenth century. He
relates it as follows: "On the thirtieth of January was witnessed one of
the most ancient ceremonies of religion practiced by mankind, this being
the circumcision of the Jews. This is performed at the dwelling, the
most commodious chamber being chosen for the occasion. At this
particular time, by reason of the incommodity of the house, the rite was
performed at the door of the domicile. The godfather sat himself on a
table, with a pillow on his lap. The godmother then brought the child,
after which she retired. The godfather then undressed the child's lower
part so as to expose his person, while the operator and his assistant
began to chant hymns. This operation lasts at least a quarter of an
hour. The operator may or may not be a rabbi, as it is considered a
great blessing to perform this operation; so that it follows that many
are found who are anxious to exercise their faculty in this regard,
there being a tradition that those who have circumcised a certain number
do not suffer putrefaction in their mouth, nor does their mouth become
food for worms after death; so that it often happens that they make
presents of value to the child for the privilege of operating upon it.
On the same table on which the godfather is seated all the required
instruments and apparatus are placed, while an assistant stands by with
a flask of wine and a glass. A warming-pan full of coals is on the
floor, at which the operator warms his hands. The child being now ready,
with its head toward the godfather, the operator, seizing the member,
draws the foreskin toward him with one hand, while with the fingers of
the other he pushes back the glans; he then places a silver instrument,
which fixes the skin, and which at the same time holds back the glans so
that the knife may not cut it. The foreskin is then cut off and buried
in the little basin of soil that forms one of the appurtenances to the
operation. The operator then tears with his nails the skin which lies on
the glans, which he turns back over the body of the member. This seems
the hardest and most painful part of the operation, which, however, does
not seem dangerous, as in four or five days the wound has healed. The
crying of the child resembles that of an infant undergoing baptism. No
sooner is the glans uncovered than the operator takes a mouthful of
wine; he then places the glans in his mouth and sucks the blood out of
it; this he repeats three times. This done, he applies a powder of
dragons' blood, with which he covers up all the wound, the parts being
then done up in expressly-cut bandages. He is then given a glass of
wine, over which he says some prayers; of this he takes a mouthful, and,
after moistening his fingers in the same, he applies the wine three
times to the child's mouth. The wine is then sent to the mother and the
women, who are in some other apartment, who all take a sip. An assistant
then takes a silver instrument, pierced with little holes like a small
strainer, which he first applies to the nose of the officiating
minister, then to that of the child, and afterward to the nose of the
godfather."[58] The above description of the performance of the rite in
the sixteenth century answers to the method of its performance as was
witnessed some years ago in France.
In the "Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Cyclopaedia" of Drs.
McClintock and Strong the following description of the rite, as taking
place in our modern synagogues, is given:--
"The ceremony of circumcision, as practiced by the Jews in our own
times, is thus: If the eighth day happens to be on the Sabbath, the
ceremony must be performed on that day, notwithstanding its sanctity.
When a male child is born the godfather is chosen from amongst his
relatives or near friends; and if the party is not in circumstances to
bear the expenses, which are considerable (for after the ceremony is
performed a breakfast is provided, even amongst the poor, in a luxurious
manner), it is usual for the poor to get one amongst the richer, who
accepts the office, and becomes a godfather. There are also societies
formed amongst them for the purpose of defraying the expenses, and every
Jew receives the benefit if his child is born in wedlock.
"The ceremony is performed in the following manner, in general: The
circumciser being provided with a very sharp instrument called the
circumcising-knife, plasters, cummin-seeds to dress the wound, proper
bandages, etc., the child is brought to the door of the synagogue by the
godmother, when the godfather receives it from her and carries it into
the synagogue, where a large chair with two seats is placed; the one is
for the godfather to sit upon, the other is called the seat of Elijah
the Prophet, who is called the angel or messenger of the covenant. As
soon as the godfather enters with the child, the congregation say,
'Blessed is he that cometh to be circumcised, and enter into the
covenant on the eighth day.' The godfather being seated, and the child
placed on a cushion in his lap, the circumciser performs the operation,
and, holding the child in his arms, takes a glass of wine into his right
hand, and says as follows: 'Blessed be Thou, O Lord our God, King of the
Universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine! Blessed art Thou, O Lord our
God! who hath sanctified His beloved from the womb, and ordained an
ordinance for His kindred, and sealed His descendants with the mark of
His holy covenant; therefore, for the merits of this, O living God! our
rock and inheritance, command the deliverance of the beloved of our
kindred from the pit, for the sake of the covenant which He hath put in
our flesh. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the Maker of the Covenant! our God,
and the God of our fathers! Preserve this child to his father and
mother, and his name shall be called in Israel, A, the son of B. Let the
father rejoice in those that go forth from his loins, and let his mother
be glad in the fruit of her womb, as it is written: "Thy father and
mother shall rejoice, and they that begat thee shall be glad."' The
father of the child then says the following grace: 'Blessed art Thou, O
Lord our God, King of the Universe! who hath sanctified us with His
commandments, and commanded us to enter into the covenant of our holy
father, Abraham.' The congregation answer: 'As he hath entered into the
law, the canopy, and the good and virtuous deeds.'"[59]