Lisa Braver Moss, Rebecca Wald, Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon: "Bris" Means "Covenant," not "Circumcision" - Judaism Unbound Episode 303
Lisa Braver Moss, Rebecca Wald, and Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon are the founding members of Bruchim's executive board. So what's Bruchim? It's a recently-launched organization that seeks to foster welcoming spaces for Jewish families who have opted out of the ritual of circumcision.
In this episode, the three co-founders join Dan and Lex for a conversation about why their organization exists, how opposition to circumcision can come from a deeply Jewish place, and what it might look like for Jewish communities to explicitly welcome people into their communities independent of their circumcision status.
[1] Learn more about Bruchim’s work by heading to www.Bruchim.online. Learn more about our Lisa Braver Moss, Rebecca Wald, and Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon by clicking here.
[2] Braver Moss wrote an article over 30 years advocating against circumcision that was one of the first to be featured in a Jewish publication. The piece, entitled “A Painful Case,” can be found here.
[3] Check out “Beyond the Bris,” Rebecca Wald’s website, via this link.
[4] You can purchase Celebrating B'rit Shalom, a book co-written by Braver Moss and Wald featuring a variety of potential covenant rituals for families opting out of circumcision, here.
[5] On this episode, Bruchim’s founders mention a “Concierge Service,” which — among other things — will ask organizations questions about their policies, with respect to circumcision, on your behalf, while allowing you to remain anonymous. Check out Bruchim’s Concierge Service here.
[6] Dan references a recent article by Gary Shteyngart, featured in the New Yorker and entitled “A Botched Circumcision and Its Aftermath.” You can read the article by clicking here.
[7] Ungar-Sargon directed a 2006 entitled Cut: Slicing through the Myths of Circumcision. You can learn more about it, and view it, at CutTheFilm.com.