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[[File:Star of David.svg|thumb|200px|The Star of David (Hebrew ''magen david'') is one of the symbols of Judaism.]]'''Judaism''' is the religion and culture of the Jews.<ref name="kohler1906">{{REFjournal |last=Kehler |init=K |author-link= |last2= |init2= |author2-link= |url=https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9028-judaism#sts=JUDAISMIt%20is%20natural%20that%20divergent%20views%20upon%20so%20complex%20a%20subject%20should%20exist.%20The%20following%20article%20is%20frankly%20written%20from%20the%20standpoint%20of%20Reform%20Judaism.%20For%20a%20presentation%20of%20the%20more%20conservative%20aspect%20of%20the%20subject%20see%20Religion;%20Theology.%20(%E1%BC%B8%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%B4%CE%B1%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%BC%E1%BD%B8%CF%82): |title=Judaism |journal=Jewish Encyclopedia |date=1906 |volume= |issue= |pages= |accessdate=2022-05-04}}</ref><ref>{{REFweb |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Judaism |archived= |title=Judaism |trans-title= |language= |last= |first= |author-link= |publisher=Merriam-Webster |website= |date= |accessdate=2022-05-02 |format= |quote=}}</ref> Please note that not all Jews are religious but live the Jewish culture.
==History==
Judaism was developed in the middle east Middle East by the ancient Hebrews.<ref name="gaster">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Judaism
|archived=
|language=
|last=Gaster
|first=Theodore H. |init=TH
|author-link=
|publisher=BrittanicaBritannica
|website=
|date=
|quote=
}}</ref>
==Beliefs==
Judaism is characterized by belief in one transcendent God who has revealed himself to Abraham, Moses, and the Hebrew prophets and by a religious life in accordance with Scriptures and rabbinic traditions.<ref name="gaster" />==Controversial practice==Rabbi Emeritus Kaughmann Kohler described Judaism has historically held a belief in as "the so-called [[Abrahamic covenant]] which purports to require that every newborn boy be circumcised on the eighth day of life. This has now become controversial because religion of the certain intense [[pain]] suffered by the boyjoy, because of the certain lifetime loss of [[foreskin#Physiological_functions| foreskin function]]hope, and because of the violation of the child's [[human rights]]love."<ref name==Religious officials==Rabbis carry out teaching and educational functions while [[Mohel| mohels]] carry out the ritual circumcision called [[Brit Milah]] in accordance with the Abrahamic covenant."kohler1906" />
==Symbol==
The symbol of Judaism is the Star of AbrahamDavid, which is a six-pointed star design.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://symbolsarchive.com/star-of-david-symbol-history-meaning/
|archived=
|quote=
}}</ref>
==Religious officials==
[[:Category:Rabbi|Rabbis (teachers, masters)]] carry out teaching and educational functions<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/rabbi
|archived=
|title=rabbi
|trans-title=
|language=
|last=
|first=
|author-link=
|publisher=Britannica
|website=
|date=2020-05-15
|accessdate=2022-05-01
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> while [[Mohel| mohels]] carry out the ritual circumcision called [[Brit Milah]] in accordance with the Abrahamic covenant.
==Controversial practice==
Judaism has historically held a belief in the so-called [[Abrahamic covenant]] which purports to require that every newborn boy be [[Jewish circumcision|circumcised on the eighth day of life]].<ref name="hirsch1906">{{REFjournal
|last=Hirsch
|first=Emil G.
|init=EG
|author-link=
|last2=Kohler
|first2=Kaufmann
|init2=
|author2-link=
|last3=Jacobs
|first3=Joseph
|init3=
|author3-link=
|last4=Friedenwald
|first4=Aaron
|init4=
|author4-link=
|last5=Broydé
|first5=Isaac
|init5=
|author5-link=
|etal=no
|title=Circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Jewish Encyclopedia
|location=
|date=1906
|season=
|volume=
|issue=
|article=
|page=
|pages=
|url=https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3074-berit-milah
|archived=
|quote=
|accessdate=2022-05-04
}}</ref> This has now become controversial, because of [[Circumcision risks| surgical risks]], because of the certain intense [[pain]] and [[trauma]] suffered by the boy, because of the certain lifetime loss of [[foreskin#Physiological_functions| foreskin function]], and because of the violation of the child's [[human rights]].
==Questioning circumcision==
The alleged Abrahamic covenant is found in the Pentateuch (Torah) book of Genesis, chapter 17. Reform Jews in Germany stated questioning circumcision in 1843.<ref name="hirsch1906" /> Circumcision today is being questioned for several reasons.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Goldman
|first=Ronald
|init=R
|author-link=Ronald Goldman
|year=2012
|title=[[Questioning Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective]]
|url=
|scope=144
|publisher=Vanguard Publications
|ISBN=978-0964489561
|accessdate=2022-05-01
}}</ref> The practice of circumcision conflicts with many other Jewish values. Moreover, [https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/stewart_don/faq/words-bible/question2-what-is-textual-criticism.cfm textual criticism] indicates that this chapter appears to be a later insertion into the text of this Hebrew book.<ref name="glick2005">{{REFbook
|last=Glick
|first=Leonard B.
|init=LB
|author-link=Leonard B. Glick
|year=2005
|title=Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America
|edition=1st
|chapter=Chapter One
|pages=15-18
|publisher={{UNI|Oxford University|Oxon}} Press
|isbn=9780195176742
|accessdate=2022-05-08
|note=
}}</ref>
A non-cutting alternative to [[Brit Milah]], usually called [[Brit Shalom]], is gaining in popularity.<ref name="ahituv2021">{{REFnews
|title=Even in Israel, More and More Parents Choose Not to Circumcise Their Sons
|url=https://www.haaretz.com/even-in-israel-more-and-more-parents-choose-not-to-circumcise-1.5178506
|last=Ahituv
|first=Netta
|coauthors=
|publisher=Haaretz
|website=
|date=2021-06-14
|accessdate=2022-05-02
|quote=The survey also found that nearly a third of the parents would prefer to forgo circumcision but nevertheless have it done for social reasons (16.6 percent), health reasons (10.4 percent) and because it is important for the grandparents (2.1 percent).
}}</ref> [[Mark D. Reiss]], {{MD}}, has sponsored the [https://www.bruchim.online/inclusion-directory/ Mark D. Reiss, M.D. Inclusion Directory], where more information on Brit Shalom may be found.
Hirsch et al. (1906) state, "An uncircumcised Jew is a full Jew by birth.<ref name="hirsch1906" />
Wine (1988) argued that the medical aspects (surgical excision of functional penile tissue) should be separated from the naming ceremony.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://sherwinwine.com/bibliography/
|title=Bibliography
|last=Wine
|first=
|init=ST
|author-link=Sherwin T. Wine
|publisher=Sherwin T. Wine
|date=2022
|accessdate=2024-02-11
}}</ref>
There appears to be increasing sentiment for reform of ritual circumcision practice with several organizations, such as [[Society for Humanistic Judaism]], [[Association of Humanistic Rabbis]], and [[Ritualwell]] proposing changes. [[Bruchim]] was founded in 2021 by [[Lisa Braver Moss]] and [[Rebecca Wald]] with a goal of making [[Foreskinned| non-circumcision]] acceptable in American synagogues.
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Beyond the Bris]]
* [[Circumcision and violence]]
* [[Jewish medical ethics]]
* [[Jews Against Circumcision (J.A.C.)]]
* [[Metzitzah b'peh]]
{{LINKS}}* [[Moshe Rothenberg]]. [https://pool.intactiwiki.org/images/Rothenberg.pdf Ending Circumcision In the Jewish Community?] Presented at The Second International Symposium on Circumcision, San Francisco, California, April 30-May 3, 1991.* {{REFjournal |last=Goodman |first=Jenny |init=J |author-link=Jenny Goodman |etal=no |title=Jewish circumcision: an alternative perspective |journal=BJU Int |location= |date=1999-01 |volume=83 |issue=1 |pages=22-7 |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/cultural/goodman1999/ |pubmedID=10349411 |pubmedCID= |DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1022.x |accessdate=2022-05-04}}* {{REFweb |url=https://www.jewishcircumcision.org/ |title=Jewish Circumcision Resource Center |last=Goldman |first=Ronald |author-link=Ronald Goldman |date= |accessdate=2022-05-04}}* {{REFweb |url=https://www.jewfaq.org/ |title=Judaism 101 |last=Rich |first=Tracy |init= |publisher=Tracy R. Rich |date=1995 |accessdate=2024-02-12}}{{ABBR}}
{{REF}}
[[Category:Circumcision term]]
[[Category:History]]
[[Category:Rabbi]]
[[Category:Antisemitism]]
[[de:Judentum]]