The suctioning of blood by mouth during ritual circumcisions

http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/020605/a0106circumcision.html

Hasidic circumcision rite debated


The bris
The Jewish circumcision ritual is the cutting of the male foreskin, symbolizing the covenant between God and the Jewish people.
It is usually done by a mohel, a rabbi trained in circumcision. Mohels who suction blood from the wound generally use a glass tube.


By GARY STERN
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: February 6, 2005)


The suctioning of blood by mouth during ritual circumcisions has long been dropped as a common practice by most of the Jewish world, but many Jews and non-Jews alike were shocked to learn in recent days that the practice remains standard in many Hasidic communities.

The largely unknown practice, which has been used during the Jewish circumcision ritual for thousands of years, came to public attention last week when New York City health officials said that a Hasidic rabbi and mohel from Monsey was suspected of transmitting the herpes virus to three New York City infants he had circumcised. One of the infants died in October.

Rabbi Yitzchok Fischer, a prominent Hasidic mohel, suctions blood orally during the circumcision ritual, known as a bris, in order to remove impurities. He is suspected of passing the oral herpes virus, which generally produces cold sores but can be passed to another person's genital area.

Rockland County health officials said they would do their own investigation.

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but am not militant against it - the guys I know are all done and it doesn't appear to have left any lasting trauma, although if part of my finger had been cut off when I was too young to remember I probably wouldn't suffer trauma either but it'd still be unneccesary surgery.

if someone puts their child at risk by insisting on the traditional oral removal of blood then child protection authorities should be called - if a tattooist gave his own baby a tattoo with a dirty needle the outrage would be deafening and child protection would definetly be notified, the child possibly taken into care.

what sort of freak parent in this day and age would let someone suck their child's penis to remove blood - it's macarbe and unhygenic.

I remember a LONG time ago when I was a kiddie, Australia had a referedum, one of the questions was about whether we should allow "religious freedom" I asked my mum how she'd vote (precocious child I was) she said NO on that one, I was surprised because she's VERY liberal and has no problem at all with religion. She explained that Australia already allowed freedom of religion - you could worship God, Allah, Buddha or your next door neighbours goat if that was your thing, the government didn't care - the problem with the referendum question was that it would open up a situation in which FGM could be considered legal, forced marriage and polygamy could be legal.

Basically the common morals of a nation go into law - do not kill, no forced marriage, no child brides and then if individual religions practices do not breach that - fine, if the religious laws clash with secular ones the secular ones NEED to win out.

Bush's skull-n-bones initiation ...

this isn't particularly "unknown". I heard it about many many years ago.

It's amazing what barbarity gets excused in the name of religion.

Under any circumstances, the consumption of any amount blood is forbidden to Jews (which is why, when my mom makes liver, she has to salt the shit out of it and broil it until it's a hockey puck). Given the high risk that a moyhel could accidentally swallow a bit of blood during such a procedure, you'd think they wouldn't even do it - especially the ultra-orthodox.

Weird. I guess it just goes to show how little I know about the more extreme Hasids.

:shrug: