Yo, Yenta!
I am in love with a Jewish girl and Im planning to ask her to marry me. Im willing to convert and raise our kids Jewish. My problem is that I was raised by pagan hippies on a commune and Im not circumcised. Im 28 years old and I really dont want anyone near my weiner with a knife. Should I suck it up and plan to lose the tip? What is the Jewish law concerning adult circumcision?
– Unclipped Convert, San Francisco, CA
Yo, Unclipped!: Any man willing to draw blood for his lady is quite a mensch, indeed. The ritual of male circumcision, brit milah, is commanded in the Book of Genesis by G-d as a covenant with the Jewish people. Its usually perfomed by a professional penis-snipper called a mohel when a baby boy is eight days old. All the relatives get together and shtup the baby with a little wine to make him dozy, the mohel does the deed in about three seconds and then everyone eats. While this practice has come under fire by anti-circumcision groups in recent times, in all my experience as a yenta I havent felt that the baby suffers and its always been a joyous occasion. However, the image of a grown man getting schnockered and then taking off his pants in front of his in-laws doesnt have quite the same cachet.
Before you take this lop of faith, so to speak, you need to talk to a rabbi. While Orthodox and Conservative movements consider the brit milah a necessary part of your conversion, Reform Judaism hasnt required adult men to shear the weenis since 1892. According to MyJewishLearning.com, its still the norm for Jewish men to be circumcised, but a Reform rabbi might counsel you to make your own choice.
Its your penis, so this one is between you and G-d. On one hand, even though your lady may embrace you as a Jew, but shes probably pretty happy with your equipment the way it is. On the other hand, G-d says to Abraham right there in the Torah that “this is My covenant which you shall observe, between Me and you and your future offspring: Circumcise every male … An uncircumcised male who (purposely) does not circumcise himself, that soul will be cut off from its people – he has violated My covenant.” Abraham sucked it up, to use your words, even though he was 99 years old when he offered up his tip to the Lord. My advice is to make this decision with your head and heart and let your shmo follow, not the other way around.