[LETTERS TO THE EDITOR]More on circumcision

We would like to furnish you with some information about the Judaic attitude toward circumcision, in reference to your article “Circumcision critics go against tide,” dated Jan. 9, 2004.
The duty to initiate a boy into the Covenant of Abraham through circumcision is based upon the Biblical injunction, “And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token of covenant between Me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations.” (Gen.17, 10-11).
The circumcision may only be postponed for medical reasons after medical advice.
The religious sources give the father the primary obligation to arrange for the circumcision. Although in ancient times mothers circumcised their sons, the practice has developed to entrust this operation to a person who has been trained and certified by Jewish authorities. Such a person must be a pious Jew who regards the practice of circumcision as a religious rite and not just a surgical procedure.
- From “The Cycle of Jewish Life” by Rabbi Yaacov Vainstein.

by Sohn Sue-hang