Comment on [deleted by author] by thoughtcriminal_1984

thoughtcriminal_1984 · 2/24/2025, 7:10:36 PM · permalink

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carp30mnia · 2/25/2025, 12:16:56 AM · permalink

Ok, I can see how stubbornly adhering to religious practices that have the risk of harming a child... could come across as religiously-indoctrinated sociopathy. But how would you make a distinction between 'sociopaths' without morals to begin with... versus 'believers' succumbing to the social pressure of 'tradition' who have been told it is 'morally good'? Religion is never fully rationale to begin with.  
  
That said, any permanent bodily modification (minor male genital mutilation in this case) practiced on infants should be judged simply for the fact that a child cannot consent and it is often NOT medically necessary (mostly cosmetically/religiously motivated here). But there are nuances amongst the Jewish community regarding both this (A) and even circumcision as a whole (B).

**A)** Mentioned in the article, **Metzitzah b'peh** is the Jewish practice of the mohel (ritual circumciser) sucking blood after circumcision from the wound. It's controversial due to health concerns, like transmission of harmful viruses like herpes (HSV-1), which can cause serious illness, brain damage, or even death in infants. There is no proven way to eliminate this risk (not even mouthwash).   
%%Thankfully it has low prevalence%%:  The practice of metzitzah b'peh is actually relatively rare and is primarily confined to certain Ultra-Ultra Orthodox sects and communities. In mainstream Orthodox Judaism, as well as in Conservative and Reform Judaism, this practice is not commonly performed.  
  
**B) Circumcision** itself, while still largely common, has started to be questioned even by members of Jewish communities, and there is a new, kinder alternative: Brit Shalom.

%%A growing number of contemporary Jews / Intactivist Jewish groups in the US and Israel that question overall long-term effects, psychological and psychophysical consequences of trauma caused by circumcision on children, and choose not to circumcise their sons.%%  "...A few Reform, Liberal, and Reconstructionist rabbis... have developed a welcoming ceremony that they call the Brit shalom ("Covenant \[of\] Peace") for such children, also accepted by Humanistic Judaism."  
  
**My opinion?**  The more that the outdated practice of circumcision (and related rituals like Metzitzah b'peh) are abandoned, the better the quality of life and safety for male infants. So it has less to do with sociopathy and more to do with outdated religious customs conflicting with health practices and boy's bodily autonomy... which thankfully more Jews/non-Jews are beginning to acknowledge and reconsider.

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thoughtcriminal_1984 · 2/25/2025, 12:21:55 AM · permalink

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nataliegotchu · 12/8/2025, 2:31:26 AM · permalink

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natehughes · 4/3/2025, 11:40:13 AM · permalink

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nataliegotchu · 12/8/2025, 2:30:58 AM · permalink

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natehughes · 4/3/2025, 11:35:08 AM · permalink

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natehughes · 4/3/2025, 11:33:13 AM · permalink

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nataliegotchu · 12/8/2025, 2:28:13 AM · permalink

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natehughes · 4/2/2025, 5:37:59 PM · permalink

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thoughtcriminal_1984 · 2/24/2025, 7:12:21 PM · permalink

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carp30mnia · 2/26/2025, 1:36:06 AM · permalink

Finished watching. Interview responses were mixed, and yeah there were some supremacist views. But the 2 supposed 'Talmud' verses about cheating or killing 'goyim' were rejected across the board and labeled untrue.  
  
**Biggest wtf:** (by Hassidic anti-Zionist group) "Non-jews are made by god so they will serve the Jews. All non-Jews you see around the world exist for the Jews' benefit. Jews are currently in Exile, so non-Jews don't serve them completely, only partly now. When the Messiah comes, they'll have thousands \[2800 non-Jew\] slaves." Then someone said they'd actually be 'willing' servants? *Uhhh, yeah if they develop Stockholm syndrome.*

**Faith-in-humanity pills:**  
\- A few interviewed with little to say (likely less studied in the Talmud) didn't know what the interviewer was talking about and were bothered by the extreme verses.

\-Even the (Hassidic anti-Zionist group who'd talked about non-Jew 'servants') said killing or cheating non-Jews was forbidden and seemed genuinely appalled by the very idea (which the last rabbi also confirms). *Small silver lining.* Also:  
![image](https://us-lax-1.linodeobjects.com/sojooo/comments/2410/1740533766437-684cc9774735715a.png)
*Apology accepted, but concerning that he had to remain anonymous to say it.*

\- And Last interviewee (Rabbi Yitzhak Brietowitz Hassidic non-Zionist) was the most interesting by far. He seemed the most level-headed and well-studied. He also confirmed that killing/cheating non-Jews was forbidden. I liked most of his answers, and his response when asked about the group from earlier got me thinking:

*"Although I sharply dissociate myself with that philosophy, historically it has been understood that we are a group of people that have been persecuted/ tortured/ \[etc.\] in the holocaust just less than a hundred years ago... To this very day, there are people who want to wipe off the face of the earth --- so if the Jew has a certain chip on his shoulder, and a certain resentment to the non-Jewish world... although I disagree with that philosophically, I can understand it emotionally. You know when you've beaten down, and people are murdering your children, raping your wives, and this has taken place over thousands of years... There's gonna be a certain natural antipathy towards those other groups. Therefore I don't want to cast blame on people that sometimes may have a certain amount of a prejudice. I don't think that is the ultimate idea that the Torah, Judaism, and the Talmud wants us to have, but it is understandable."*  
  
If Jewish persecution has radicalized some Jews (as would believably happen to any other group), what's the solution? And btw I don't believe that reactionary self-defense is evil; depends on the execution.

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natehughes · 4/2/2025, 5:39:07 PM · permalink

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thoughtcriminal_1984 · 2/26/2025, 1:52:18 AM · permalink

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natehughes · 4/2/2025, 5:40:57 PM · permalink

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israel · 3/24/2025, 8:04:29 AM · permalink

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