The Medical Case for Circumcision: Science Again Confirms The Torah

Science has often given credence to the laws in The Torah. If you eat shellfish, there is a high risk of allergic reactions and food poisoning. You get a heat rash if you wear mixed fiber clothing in a warm environment. If you eat pork, you have a higher chance of contracting parasites. Circumcision is no different. There is indeed a medical case for circumcision. Science again confirms The Torah.

The Medical Case for Circumcision

It is popular today to say circumcision is unnecessary and even violent. There is a charity called Bloodstained Men & Their Friends and a group called Doctors Opposing Circumcision. Both groups are dedicated to ending circumcision by promoting the idea that circumcision is not a medical necessity. However, medical science disagrees. While some doctors may disapprove, Medical Science has proven that circumcision brings many benefits and is medically necessary. The CDC and WHO  both explain the medical necessity of circumcision.

The CDC said that circumcision reduces the rate of HIV by 50-60%. Furthermore, circumcision reduces the risk of getting herpes simplex virus-2 and HPV by 30%. Pubmed Central published these findings by the CDC and WHO in a paper that also states the thinness of the foreskin makes it vulnerable to trauma and abrasions. This allows for infections. Those infections can often mean a man needs to undergo circumcision at an older age when the pain will be remembered.  Given this information, not circumcising one’s son at birth is setting them up for failure. Failure to circumcise a male child should be considered medical neglect.

G-d’s Protection in The Torah

When G-d commanded Abraham that all his male descendants should be circumcised the world had never known HIV or HPV. However, G-d knew. G-d, the creator of the world knew what was to come, and they warned their children. This is why we should always obey the laws of G-d. There are things about this reality we do not yet understand, but G-d knows it all, and luckily for us, they provided instructions. G-d said to Abraham, “¹⁰ This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.” Genesis 17:10

Does that mean that Jews or circumcised men never get HIV? No, but it means less of them do. The amount of this deadly incurable disease is reduced by half in our communities when we obey The Law and circumcise our sons. We protect them, but also we protect the community as a whole. This is the magic of The Torah, the heart of The Law, and the logical scientific reason for obeying.

The Love of a Parent

G-d loved us so much that he took the time to warn Israel against problems that the rest of the world wouldn’t even learn of for thousands of years. When we read The Law, we are not reading just G-d’s demands. Rather we are reading the warnings of a loving caring parent.

“Wear a coat. It is going to get cold.” Of course, we can always choose to disobey our mother and run into the snow in our t-shirts, but then we will get sick. Does our mother give us a cold as punishment? No. The cold comes because we did not prepare for it. Had we listened to our mother, we would have prepared against the cold. The same is true here. G-d doesn’t give us HIV as a punishment, rather HIV is a threat and they warn us to prepare against that threat. That is what a parent does.

Obey

So, the next time you are tempted to think “That law makes no sense.” or “That law no longer applies,” consider that perhaps there is a reason we just haven’t discovered yet. Perhaps, just maybe, G-d who created the world,  knows more about how it works than you do. Stop being a rebellious child. Then obey! This is how we keep our community safe.

For more information about how Science gives credence to The Torah please click here. Please also be sure to read my book.