this woman’s work

My rabbi said that he was willing to convert me despite my (deep) reservations about circumcising future sons. He said that a colleague of his said, “You’re talking about not converting a person because of potential people.” Still, Rabbi Huber wants to introduce me to a mohel for discussion. I said that I welcomed the dialogue. As I said before, even among Reform rabbis, he’s a pretty liberal rabbi.

Well it’s extremely possible that I will not be able to convert due to my feelings about circumcision. If you’re Jewish, you won’t be surprised upon hearing that. I have a wonderful rabbi and he’s very sympathetic but halacha is halacha (Jewish law). Interestingly, there’s room for a grown man who is converting to *not* take on circumcision upon converting if he is afraid of the procedure. However, there may not be a loophole for a mother who is afraid of the procedure being done to her child. In any case, I have great appreciation for Rabbi Huber talking about this with me although it must have been very difficult. I know it was for me.

So I’ve been reading the book by Dr. Ron Goldman about questioning circumcision from a (reform) Judaism perspective. I’m working on converting (my dad is Jewish) but my son isn’t circ’d and it’s unlikely that any future kids will be either. I have a soft spot for Dr. Goldman anyway because he’s agreed to allow me to interview him for my book. (The proposal goes out tomorrow. Knock wood and so forth.) Back to circumcision, unlike many no circ advocates, I don’t think that bris milah is wrong. I mean, jeez, you can’t argue with faith. However, I would be a hypocrite to say that I believe that a bris is right for my family.