There is a hygeine issue here, and like many Hebrew customs, they sort of fix the problem, even when they don't know why or how it works, scientifically. [For a bunch of stuff I don't understand about Judaism: http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/bar-mitzvah/02.htm (titled:Yalkut Bar Mitzvah: An Anthology of Laws and Customs of a Bar Mitzvah in the Chabad Tradition)] The foreskin of the penis guards the glans, a sensitive portion of the corpus spongiosum, the middle erectile body of the penis. The others are the corpus cavernosa, left and right, and slightly above the spongiosum. Hence the triangular cross section (ouch!) of the penis. The foreskin tends to keep things out, and things in. It keeps in smegma, a oderous sebaceous secretion. If not cleaned often, there can be some nastiness there. Cutting the foreskin away sort of heads that off (pun?). No where for smegma to accrue, no need to wash. Also, the foreskin has many nerve endings, presumably (since I don't have one) they add to sexual sensation and enjoyment... The surgery apparently also makes sex less pleasureable, and, it follows, less likely to tempt as a sin. Traditionally, the foreskin was cut during the religious ceremony of transition to manhood, the Bar Mitzpha, at 13 years of age (OUCH!). This would certainly slow down an adolescent in their sexual experimentation, at least for a few weeks :). Interestingly, there is evidence that HIV has an easy way in through the skin of the foreskin. It seems that HIV is more readily contracted in those with foreskins, compared to those without, all other factors being equal.

Circumcision, according to the Bible, was mandated by God. He told Abraham that starting with him and his offspring, the Jews would mark themselves separate from other peoples by circumcising themselves. As the Bible tells it, Jews come from Abraham and his wife, Sarah. Arabs (who through Islam and perhaps even before that also adopted ritual circumcision at puberty), come from Abraham and Sarah's maid, Hagar. To understand why Muslims also circumcise themselves, you have to realize the close bond between the Jewish faith, Christianity and Islam. As you know, Jesus was a Jew who claimed to be the son of God and promised to deliver Hebrews into the kingdom of God. After his death, Christianity sprang up but it was a religion embraced by gentiles (ie, non-Jews), as Jews rejected Christ, since their interpretation was of a physical kingdom of God or at least salvation from the Romans. Jewish faith persisted for thousands of years, growing along the way with stories of salvation from Egyptians and Babylonians. Christianity is a very young religion in comparison. Islam sprang up in the early 7th century with the prophet Mohammed. To Muslims, Jesus Christ is simply another prophet, though he's often called "the most blameless of the Prophets". Mohammed proclaimed himself as being the last of the prophets and delivering the final word of God, or "Allah". Christians, naturally, dispute the Muslim interpretation of Christ and God, just as Jews dispute the Christian interpretations. It's interesting to note that circumcision did not pass onto Christianity as a tradition, indeed, it was shunned for centuries. However, Muslims, with their close Biblical blood ties to Hebrews (and the fact that they're both of the semitic race), have kept circumcision as part of their ethos.

There are two types of circumcision mentioned in the Bible. The first, as described in detail above is the physical. The second kind is spiritual. A person who is spiritually circumsized is one who knows God, and has separated himself for God. He lives in the world but is not of it. Collosians 2:11 In whom ye are circumsized with the circumsision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumsision of Christ. 2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them(sinful world) and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will recieve you. I realize this is a forum on Judiaism, so here's a response to bellami's review of above post: Jews don't believe the New Testament, so here's an Old Testament verse that says the same thing. Jerimiah 4:4 Circumsize yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart,ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem:lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it,because of the evil of your doings.

Basically, it's a covenant between man and G-d. That man is forever reminded of the bond between him and his creator. Hope that helped!

My guess was always cleanliness in the same way that Jews are forbidden to eat the meat of cloven hooved animals. Said animals are much more likely to have diseases and this is the reason us non Jews cook those animals really well before eating them.

In Genesis/Bereshith 16 9 Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." Circumcision is the visible sign of a human's acceptance of the covenant between God and the Jewish people.

While the first record of circumcision goes back to Abraham, the Jewish religion believes that its adherents were commanded at Sinai (when the rest of Jewish Law was presented) to circumcise their sons. Circumcision is designed to be an indelible mark of the relationship between a Jew and G-d. Even when he does not have any Jewish clothing on or is not performing a Jewish ritual, this is the irrevocable sign of that special relationship. Women are not circumcised, as Judaism believes they have an inherent bond with G-d and do not require a special action to create that bond. BTW, this has been discussed here before: http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1999

I see the point being made about HIV and other STDs being more easily transmitted with a foreskin but men who are circumcised are less likely to use condoms due to reduced sensation and therefore engage in more risky sexual behaviour effectively cancelling out the preceived health benefits. Circumcision arose in Northern Africa because the Nomads would go several weeks/months without being able to wash and would get bad infections under the foreskin and thus began cutting them off to prevent this. Then the practice was effectively hijacked and became a religious practice in Judism.

Jewish circumcision started out only removing a very small piece of foreskin, this didn’t require ripping the foreskin from the glans where it is fused until the age of 5 for most children. This made more sense and wasn’t as damaging as the later version. When Jewish culture came in contact with the Vibrant Greek Culture and Jewish males were able to enter Greek athletics (nude) and disguise the fact that they had been circumcised (the covenant w/G_d left most of the foreskin in place). Jewish Religious leaders altered the practice of circumcision so that a Jewish Male would never be able to disguise the fact that he had been circumcised. It would appear that nobody in Modern times practices the “Biblical Circumcision” started by Abraham. http://www.cirp.org/library/history/peron2/ It has been argued that Michelangelo's David should show David as Circumcised. Interestingly, Michelangelo presented David precisely as he should have appeared following an infant "Milah" circumcision. His glans is essentially covered with only the tip of the glans showing. Nothing unique about circumcision (genital cutting) , it’s much older than the Jewish religion . The oldest cultures that practiced religious/ritual circumcision come from North Africa…

In my view circumcision is a form of mutilation and unnecessary in most cases. Obviously, some males have problems with a tight foreskin and circumcision is necessary for medical reasons. Circumcision started in the hot, sandycountries and was a method of ensuring a clean, infection-free and comfortable penis.

Soup. Back in the day, they ran out of food during the famine so somebody had a great idea: do home circumcisions and make soup out of the foreskins