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Brit shalom (Hebrew:ברית שלום; "Covenant of Peace"), also calledalternative brit,brit ben,brit chayim,brit tikkun, orbris inYiddish andAshkenazi Hebrew, refers to a range ofnaming ceremonies forJewish families thatinvolve rejecting thetraditional Jewish rite ofcircumcision.[1][2][3][4][5]
Brit shalom is recognized bysecular Jewish organizations affiliated withHumanistic Judaism like theInternational Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations,Reconstructionist Judaism, andSociety for Humanistic Judaism.[6] Liberal Judaism generally recommends circumcision but allows Rabbis that do not to teach.[7]Reform Judaism encourages all Jews (beyond extraordinary circumstances) to undergo circumcision,[8] although some reform congregations will allow those who are not to participate in Jewish life and have since 1892.[9][10][11]
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In 1892, some Reform Jewish rabbis stopped requiring circumcision for converts.[9] This was soon followed by the Jewish Religious Union in 1902.[citation needed] The first known Brit shalom ceremony was celebrated by RabbiSherwin Wine, the founder of theSociety for Humanistic Judaism, around 1970.[12]
In 2002, Dr Mark Reiss opened an online list of rabbis and others who would celebrate Brit Shalom[13].It was later moved to its own website[14].
In 2021, Bruchim, an organisation of Jews advocating for the acceptance of non-circumcision within Judaism, was founded by Lisa Braver Moss and Rebecca Wald.[15]. In 2022, Dr Reiss's list was incorporated into the Bruchim website.
There is no universally agreed upon form ofBrit Shalom. Some involve the washing of the baby's feet, calledBrit rechitzah. Some Brit shalom ceremonies are performed by arabbi, others by a lay person.
The actual number of brit shalom ceremonies performed per year is unknown. Filmmaker Eli Ungar-Sargon, who is opposed to circumcision, said in 2011, regarding its current popularity, that "calling it a marginal phenomenon would be generous."[16] A survey conducted by theJewish Journal among mohalim and brit shalom celebrants in the Los Angeles area investigated this claim and found that it is fairly rare. The survey also includes an outlier, Moshe Rothenberg who estimated he's performed 150-200 ceremonies for boys without circumcision.[16] Its popularity in the United States, where it has been promoted by groups such asBeyond the Bris andJews Against Circumcision,[17][18] is increasing, however.[19][20][21] Even in Israel, more and more parents choose not to circumcise their sons.[22] In 2018, Reform RabbiJonathan Romain said to Times of Israel that the concept was of increasing interest, especially for interfaith couples.[23]
Orthodox Jews consider an intended failure to follow this commandment as bringing forth the penalty ofkareth, or being "cut off" from the community and fromHashem, as well as being indicative of a conscious decision to cut oneself off from one's people. However, even in the most Orthodox groups, Jewish identity is defined bymatrilineal descent; a child born to a Jewish mother is recognized as Jewish, regardless of the status of the genitals.[24][25]
In Progressive Judaism, although refusing circumcision is frowned upon, uncircumcised boys are usually accepted for religious training andbar mitzvah if they are sons of a Jewish mother and have been raised with a Jewish identity. Movements that do not see Jewish law as binding, such as Reform Judaism and Humanistic Judaism, may permit it.[26]
A new organization launching this week aims to make that more likely. The group, called Bruchim (literally "blessed," but part of a Hebrew phrase that essentially means "welcome"), is seeking to normalize the decision not to circumcise Jewish boys [...] The group is an outgrowth of advocacy that Moss and Bruchim co-founder and executive director, Rebecca Wald, have been doing for decades. Moss first argued against Jewish circumcision in a 1990 essay, and together they outlined an alternative ceremony, brit shalom (literally "covenant of peace") in a 2015 book and distributed flyers at that year's Reform movement convention outlining ways for synagogues to be more welcoming for families that had opted out of circumcision.
After conducting his research, Wolfe decided to forgo circumcising his son. Instead, he arranged a so-called brit shalom ceremony, a newly created ritual that celebrates birth while omitting circumcision.
Some Jewish parents have opted for an alternative to Bris Milah, called Brit Shalom, in which the boy is welcomed into the community in a ceremony, but he is not circumcised.
We, the Leadership Conference of Secular and Humanistic Jews, mindful of both our commitments to Jewish identity and to gender equality, affirm that:
• We welcome into the Jewish community all who identify with the history, culture and fate of the Jewish people. Circumcision is not required for Jewish identity.
• We support parents making informed decisions whether or not to circumcise their sons.
• We affirm their right to choose, and we accept and respect their choice.
• Naming and welcoming ceremonies should be egalitarian. We recommend separating circumcision from welcoming ceremonies.
Approved April 2002
All Humanistic Jewish Rabbis officiate at peaceful welcoming and naming ceremonies such as Brit Shalom, Brit Chyam, and Brit B'lee Milah (covenant without cutting). Many Humanistic Rabbis are listed as celebrants of Brit Shalom and Brit B'lee Milah naming ceremonies that exclude circumcision.
According to Gottfried, the earliest known brit shalom ceremony was performed around 1970 by her mentor, Rabbi Sherwin Wine, the founder of the Society for Humanistic Judaism.
According to a 2017 New York Times article, while "the great majority of Jewish parents still circumcise, and opting out remains almost taboo in much of the mainstream," the practice is quietly coming under scrutiny from some Jews. The article noted that "a number of parents" who opted out of the circumcision "did not want to speak on the record about their decision, and some rabbis who had done alternative bris ceremonies asked not to be named publicly."
Unlike Christianbaptism, circumcision, however important it may be, is not a sacrament which gives the Jew his religious character as a Jew. An uncircumcised Jew is a full Jew by birth (Ḥul. 4b; 'Ab. Zarah 27a; Shulḥan 'Aruk, Yoreh De'ah, 264, 1). [...] In 1847Einhorn, as chief rabbi of Mecklenburg, became involved in a controversy with Franz Delitzsch of Rostock, who denounced him for acting contrary to Jewish law in naming and consecrating an uncircumcised child in the synagogue. Einhorn, in an "opinion" published a second time in his "Sinai", 1857, pp. 736 et seq., declared, with references toancient and modern rabbinical authorities, that a child of Jewish parents was a Jew even if uncircumcised, and retained all the privileges, as well as all the obligations, of a Jew. This view he also expressed in his catechism, his prayer-book, and his sermons, emphasizing the spiritual character of theAbrahamic covenant—"the seal of Abraham placed upon the spirit of Israel as God's covenant people."
