After the President of Israel personally asked them to reconsider, the Council of Europe agreed yesterday not to outlaw male circumcision in their continent! Phew! Hard to believe that such a debate could go on in this day and age? Yes, it's true, America is still eons ahead of the rest of the world in terms of religious freedoms, thank G-d for this great land!
But seriously, why do we perform a Bris on tiny baby? Wouldn't it be more meaningful to allow our kids to choose to connect to G-d when they're a little older instead of forcing it upon them at such an age?!
Ishmael,son of Abraham had his bris at 13 years old while Isaac at eight days. Ishmael emphatically declared his faith superior precisely for this reason! He argued that he chose G-d, while Isaac mearly went along with something done unto him.
Yet, G-d chose Isaac to be the father of his chosen people. It was because of his Bris- his G-dly covenant, made way before he could understand what's flying.
You see, once Ishmael chose to have a relationship with G-d, his commitment to G-d was restricted to that precedent- to when things make sense, it's when he's a mature,thinking adult and can comprehend it fully.
But to be a Jew is to be committed to Hashem even when things dont make sense at all, when it is completely obscure and unclear to us. Like Isaac's bris defied logic and choice, our connection to G-d prevails even when things make no sense at all!
When the Federal Budget numbers simply don't add up, the United States of America shut down. But, we have a Bris at 8 days old, remain devoted to G-d even when things don't add up at all.
I have yet to find a Holocaust survivor who is apathetic to G-d. They either embrace G-d or arevery angry with Him, But I have never found a Survivor who is indifferent to G-d.
Though the Holocaust makes no sense and defies logic, a Jew remains a Jew always. And this is the first message we teach our children as they enter the world. By giving them a bris at 8 days old, before they can logically understand G-d, we tell them that a Jew is always a Jew, no matter what!