Why do Jews cut off their prepuces?

Answer 1

Circumcision is a sign of the covenant between God and man. Circumcision is prescribed by the Mosaic Law in the book of Exodus. It is traditionally performed on Jewish male infants on the eighth day after birth. While the vast majority of Jewish men are circumcised, Reform Judaism does not always require circumcision for adult converts or for infants whose parents oppose circumcision for moral reasons.

Also if two of the infant`s brothers have died because of circumcision then it is acceptable for the third son not to becircumcised.

A much bigger question arises when you ask why this particular part of the human body should be excised in the name of God. Most scholars nowadays believe that circumcision originated in Africa. Hence the account in Exodus chapter 4 places the origin of the rite in the time of Moses, and being carried out be Moses` wife, Zipporah. Because Moses was very ill Zipporah thought this was God`s punishment for his not being circumcised. So she did the circumcision on her newly-born son.

Perhaps it is useful to add that Muslims also practise circumcision, because they too are decendants of the Abrahamic faith. They usually do the procedure about the age of 6 or 7 years, or even later.

Christianity had to deal with the question of the necessity for converts to be circumcised. A decision of the first Christian Council in Jerusalem was that it was not necessary.

Answer 2

It is a Biblical command from God (Genesis ch.17). They are told by their religion that they must. The Bible is full of a lot of instructions to the Jewish people that make good sense. They also find it very important to separate themselves from other people and that is most likely the reasoning behind circumcision. Before them it was done by the upper castes of the Egyptians to separate themselves from the everyday plebes and there is very little doubt that this was also the actual reasoning behind Jewish circumcision.

Answer 3

To enter into the covenant of Abraham, as commanded by the Torah (Genesis ch.17).

A deeper answer could be that in limiting the generally corrupting influence of lascivious pleasure, the Jewish people are brought closer to the kind of irreproachable behavior that should smooth their path in Life

Answer 4

The origin of Jewish circumcision is in the Torah, which is the foundation of Judaism. God told Abraham "every male among you shall be circumcised" as part of the covenant between God and the Jewish people (Genesis ch.17).

Since that time, virtually all Jews have observed the command of circumcision for close to four millennia, even in times of religious persecution under the Greeks, Romans, Spaniards, and Soviets. Circumcision is the indelible sign of God's covenant and is just as important as Yom Kippur in terms of the stringency which the Torah places upon it. And similar to Yom Kippur, it is one of the observances which are common to Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews alike.
It may be noted that while we do not keep God's commands because of physical benefits, it is still interesting that circumcision has been known to offer virtually complete protection from penile cancer. According to a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine, none of the more than 1,600 persons studied with this cancer had been circumcised in infancy. In the words of researchers Cochen and McCurdy, the incidence of penile cancer in the U.S. is "essentially zero" among circumcised men.

Also, research at Johns Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore have shown that circumcised men are six to eight times less likely to become infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Researchers believe that protection is due to the removal of the foreskin, which contains cells that have HIV receptors which scientists suspect are the primary entry point for the HIV virus (Reuters, March 25, 2004).

Several studies reported that circumcised boys were between 10 to 39 times less likely to develop urinary tract infections during infancy than uncircumcised boys. In addition, circumcision protects against bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections and a variety of other conditions related to hygiene.

The extremely low rate of Cervical cancer in Jewish women (9 to 22 times less than among non-Jewish women) is thought to be related to the practice of circumcision. As a result of studies like these, a number of prestigious medical organizations such as the California Medical Association have recognized the benefits of circumcision.

As an operation, circumcision has an extremely small complication rate. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine (1990) reported a complication rate of 0.19 percent when circumcision is performed by a physician. When performed by a trained mohel, the rate falls to 0.13 percent or about 1 in 800. When a complication occurs, it is usually due to the bleeding, which is easily correctable. No other surgical procedure can boast such figures for complication-free operations.
One reason why there are so few complications involving bleeding may be that the major clotting agents, prothrombin and vitamin K, do not reach peak levels in the blood until the eighth day of life. Prothrombin levels are normal at birth, drop to a lower level in the next few days, and return to normal at the end of the first week. One study showed that by the eighth day, prothrombin levels reach 110 percent of normal. In the words of Dr. Armand J. Quick, author of several works on the control of bleeding, "It hardly seems accidental that the rite of circumcision was postponed until the eighth day by the Mosaic law."See also:

About Jewish circumcision

Jewish circumcision: a guide

What is Jewish circumcision?

Answer 5

IVE DONE IT TO MYSELF IT IS very REFRESHING I LOVED IT ! I SHOWED PEOPEL AND THEY WERRE AMAZE BALLS AT MY RESULTS THEY LVE D TO LOOK AND SIT ON IT ITS SOOOOOO LOVELY

Answer 6

cuz theyre stupid