Shaye Cohen: Judaism Unbound Episode 305 - The History of Jewish Circumcision
Shaye Cohen, the Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy at Harvard University, joins Dan and Lex for the 3rd conversation in a unit of episodes exploring Jewish circumcision. This discussion, on the history of Jewish circumcision, from the Hebrew Bible till today, builds on "A Canonical History of Jewish Circumcision," a chapter in Cohen's 2005 book Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumcised: Gender and Covenant in Judaism.
[1] Learn more about Shaye Cohen by clicking here. Purchase his book, Why Aren’t Jewish Women Circumcised: Gender and Covenant in Judaism, via this link.
[2] You can learn about other books written by Shaye Cohen, and purchase them if you’d like, via this link.
[3] Check out the two previous episodes in this series via these links: Episode 303: “Bris” means “Covenant,” not “Circumcision” - Lisa Braver Moss, Rebecca Wald, Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon and Episode 304: Circumcision and its Jewish Alternatives - Max Buckler, Charlene Thrope.
[4] For a page that includes many of the references to Jewish circumcision discussed by Cohen in this episode, and a variety of others, click here.
[5] Cohen references the 1990 film Europa Europa, as its plot revolves around the topic of Jewish circumcision. Read more about the plot of Europa Europa here.
[6] In discussing the evolution of circumcision over time, Cohen mentions that the Zohar — a Medieval Jewish text — plays a particularly important role. Learn more about the Zohar by listening to Episode 161: The Zohar - Daniel Matt.