From: ehrlich@bimacs.BITNET (Gideon Ehrlich)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Re: A few questions
Date: 31 Aug 92 10:44:28 GMT
Organization: Math department, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, ISRAEL

In article <1992Aug30.173845.12017@cbnews.cb.att.com>
ask@cbnews.cb.att.com (Arthur S. Kamlet) writes:

And he is correct , but I like to add some comments.

>In article <1992Aug28.075126.18663@watson.ibm.com> jec@zurich.ibm.com
>  writes:

>> As a non-jewish person, I would like to ask the few following (naive
>> ?) questions :

>>1) What does mean the circumcision ? Is it required to be considered
>>   as jewish ?

>A circumcision is part of the covenant between G-d and Abraham,  and
>his descendants Isaac, Jacob and their decendants,
>
>G-d has chosen us to fullfil his commandments and we have agreed and
>have agreed to circumcise our sons.
>A boy whose mother is Jewish is Jewish, but his parents have an
>obligation to make sure he is circumcised as part of this ancient
>ritual.  If the boy is not circumcised he is still Jewish but the
>obligation remains.  (There is an exception where medical problems
>prevent the circumcision, but if it is simply not done, the
>obligation remains.)
More exactly , the obligation always remain, till the boy is adult
when he becomes responsible for that, If the boy is an orphant then
the obligation become the community ( Beit Din) obligation. Medical
problems prevents the ability to fullfill the obligation that still
exists.
>
>>What about a non-circumcised boy from jewish parents ? Is there an
>> equivalent ceremony for girls ? Why don't christian circumcise
>> their boys, since Christus  was circumcised and that even muslims
>> do ?
An uncircumcised person is considered a Jew. ( otherwise male-babies
should be considered gentiles , and there will be no need to
circumcise male-babies  :-) ).
A circumcision is a circumcision even if no "ceremony" is done.
The "ceremony" is not a celebrating of the birth giving But of
doing a MITZVA ( a Jewish law).  Hence

>There is not a similar circumcision ceremony for girls.
All those operations done to baby girls are forbidden.
( The Falasha - now known as "Ethiopian Jews" - did it up to ~100
years ago, Africans do a very cruel version of that , If you don't
know what they actually do than you should know it is much cruel then
the most you may imagine, Moslims in Israel do a very mild version of
that, Beduins do some more , but not very, drastic version of that).

As to jesus, Some christians believed he has no sexual organs at all,
since they were useless for him. There was even a long bloody war
about this theological question. So I don't think all christians agree
that jesus was circumcised.
Anyhow the big  jesus-idol in the entrance to the new barcelona
cathedral ( the Gaudi cathedral) is deffenitely  a NON-CIRCUMCISED-IDOL.
It seemed to me as a matter of course that that idol was approved by
the bishop or some councill, so they either ignore or oppose the
possibility that jesus was circumcised.
But you should generalized your question. There are a lot of very
clear laws in the Tora that christians do not observes them :
 Do not eating a pork, putting a mezuza and so on.

Shalom     Gideon Ehrlich

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Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish