Brit milah

The brit milah (Hebrew: בְּרִית מִילָה‎, Modern Israeli: [bʁit miˈla], Ashkenazi: [bʁis ˈmilə]; "covenant of circumcision") or bris (Yiddish: ברית‎, Yiddish: [bʁɪs]) is the ceremony of circumcision in Judaism and Samaritanism. According to the Book of Genesis, God commanded the biblical patriarch Abraham to be circumcised, an act to be followed by his male descendants on the eighth day of life, symbolizing the covenant between God and the Jewish people. Today, it is generally performed by a mohel on the eighth day after the infant's birth and is followed by a celebratory meal known as seudat mitzvah.

Brit Milah is considered among the most important and central commandments in Judaism, and the rite has played a central role in the formation and history of Jewish civilization. The Talmud, when discussing the importance of Brit Milah, compares it to being equal to all other mitzvot (commandments) based on the gematria for brit of 612. Jews who voluntarily fail to undergo Brit Milah, barring extraordinary circumstances, are believed to suffer Kareth in Jewish theology: the extinction of the soul and denial of a share in the world to come. Judaism does not see circumcision as a universal moral law. Rather, the commandment is exclusive to followers of Judaism and the Jewish people; Gentiles who follow the Noahide Laws are believed to have a portion in the World to Come.

Historical conflicts between Jews and European civilizations have occurred several times over Brit Milah, which saw multiple campaigns of Jewish ethnic, cultural, and religious persecution over the subject, with subsequent bans and restrictions on the practice as an attempted means of forceful assimilation, conversion, and ethnocide, most famously in the Maccabean Revolt by the Seleucid Empire. According to historian Michael Livingston, "In Jewish history, the banning of circumcision (brit mila) has historically been a first step toward more extreme and violent forms of persecution". These periods have generally been linked to suppression of Jewish religious, ethnic, and cultural identity and subsequent "punishment at the hands of government authorities for engaging in circumcision". The Maccabee victory in the Maccabean Revolt — ending the prohibition against circumcision — is celebrated in Hanukkah. Circumcision rates are near-universal among Jews.

Brit Milah also has immense importance in other religions. The Gospel of Luke records that Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus, had him undergo Brit Milah.