Brit shalom (naming ceremony)

Brit shalom (Hebrew: ברית שלום; "Covenant of Peace"), also called alternative brit, brit ben, brit chayim, brit tikkun, or bris in Yiddish and Ashkenazi Hebrew, refers to a range of newly created naming ceremonies for self-identified Jewish families that involve rejecting the traditional Jewish rite of circumcision.[1][2][3][4][5]

Brit shalom is recognized by secular Jewish organizations affiliated with Humanistic Judaism like the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations, and Society for Humanistic Judaism. Reform Judaism encourages all Jews (beyond extraordinary circumstances) to undergo circumcision,[6] although will allow those who are not to participate in Jewish life.[7][8]

  1. ^ Boorstein, Michelle (2013-12-28). "A small but growing number of Jews are questioning the ancient ritual of circumcision". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  2. ^ Ghert-Zand, Renee (2011-06-16). "The Jewish Opposition to Circumcision". The Forward. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  3. ^ Harris, Ben (2021-10-07). "These Jews want to normalize not circumcising — and they want synagogues to help". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2022-07-30. 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.
  4. ^ Victor, Jacob (2007-07-18). "Activists Up Efforts To Cut Circumcision Out of Bris Ritual". The Forward. Archived from the original on 2021-09-04. Retrieved 2022-07-30. 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.
  5. ^ May, Ali (2019-07-17). "Child Protection Laws Are Clear –Except When It Comes To Male Circumcision". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 2022-08-03. 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.
  6. ^ "Resolution on Anti-Circumcision Initiatives". Union for Reform Judaism. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  7. ^ Moss, Lisa Braver (2015-02-06). "For families choosing not to circumcise, a sea change". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. San Francisco Jewish Community Publications Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  8. ^ "Humanistic Judaism and anti-circumcision Intactivism". Jewish Business News. 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2022-08-02. 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.