Circumcision Circumscribed
This dastardly, narcissistic and self--serving attempt to rationalize the banning of circumcision by siting Mishnaic/Talmudic sources that the sages themselves weren't certain as to what truly constitutes circumcision, milah (circumcision) with or without periah (removing the prepuce) is disingenuous. It reminds me of the old Yiddish expression "chazir fissel kosher," the pig presents himself as kosher because he has split hoofs! The bottom line is, just as the pig doesn't chew its cud and therefore not kosher, milah without periah isn't milah. The interpretive guidelines of the sages are precisely what makes and defines normative Judaism. To negate that is to negate the basic, core fundamental structure of normative Judaism. It is those interpretive guidelines that have formed the Jewish laws and customs to which we subscribe to collectively, as a people, even though individuals may opt to not observe them. Thus, a kosher household isn't one that follows the dietary laws of the Pentateuch, for that kind of household would be deemed non kosher by normative Judaism. A household that follows the dietary laws as defined by the sages and rabbis over thousands of years has become the gold standard, with perhaps variation as a result of technology and cultural modifications.
