When Rituals Become Dangerous<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yesterday\u2019s revelation that hundreds of people were exposed to Hepatitis A after taking communion at a Long Island Catholic church brings to mind another\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/when-rituals-become-dangerous.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When Rituals Become Dangerous\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yesterday\u2019s revelation that hundreds of people were exposed to Hepatitis A after taking communion at a Long Island Catholic church brings to mind another\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/when-rituals-become-dangerous.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Atheist Rabbi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-01-04T19:19:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeffrey L. 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{"id":581,"date":"2011-01-04T19:19:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-04T19:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/when-rituals-become-dangerous.html"},"modified":"2011-01-04T19:19:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-04T19:19:00","slug":"when-rituals-become-dangerous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2011\/01\/when-rituals-become-dangerous.html","title":{"rendered":"When Rituals Become Dangerous"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Yesterday\u2019s revelation that hundreds of people were exposed to Hepatitis A after taking communion at a Long Island Catholic church<\/a> brings to mind another more serious health risk caused by an ancient superstitious ritual.<\/p>\n

If you think sharing an infected communion cup is dangerous, what would you think about a mohel (ritual circumciser) sucking blood directly from a baby\u2019s penis?\u00a0 Sound disgusting and dangerous?\u00a0 Well I\u2019m not making it up.<\/p>\n

Metzitza b\u2019peh<\/i>, or literally, sucking with the mouth, is a time-honored tradition among Haredi Jews.\u00a0 Many of them refuse to give it up despite the fact that children and mohels have become infected with herpes and other viruses as a result of this barbarous practice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The sad thing is that it\u2019s not even really required by Jewish law and that it was apparently instituted for health reasons.\u00a0 Many modern Orthodox rabbis have by and large abandoned it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The issue goes well beyond this one repellent element and extends to ritual circumcision in general. \u00a0I have stated before that I oppose circumcision and will have nothing to do with any ceremony in which it is included.\u00a0 In keeping with my belief that human culture, which is to say ALL culture, must serve human needs, I would love to see this ritual go the way of animal sacrifices.<\/p>\n

Leaving aside the religious justifications dating back to Abraham\u2019s covenant with God, I have been presented with two basically secular arguments justifying the continuation of this primitive practice.\u00a0\u00a0The first is that there may be medical benefits. \u00a0The jury is out on this. \u00a0Medical \u201cjustifications\u201d for circumcision are always changing.\u00a0\u00a0Certainly all agree that practicing good hygiene eliminates any health advantages that circumcision might otherwise confer.<\/p>\n

The other non-religious claim (although clearly based on religious tradition) is that even basically secular Jews don\u2019t want their kids to look or feel different from other Jews.\u00a0 I fail to see how this has any relevance whatsoever.\u00a0 Most men will attest that when they\u2019re dealing with anything requiring their penises, Jewish identity is the last thing on their minds.<\/p>\n

Besides, most young non-religious Jews don\u2019t think twice about eating shrimp, getting tattoos or having sex without mikvah.\u00a0 Why then must the penis carry the burden of standard bearer of secular Jewish identity\u00a0(pardon the imagery)? \u00a0As with all of these other traditions, maybe we should allow them to decide when they grow up. \u00a0I think I know what they\u2019ll choose.<\/p>\n

The widespread, reason-defying Jewish practice of ritual genital mutilation should come to an end. \u00a0It is unbecoming for otherwise enlightened and modern people.\u00a0 It serves no human need and, as unnecessary surgery, it carries unwarrantable risks.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure glad that I only have daughters.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"