• Acknowledgements xi

Reading the Texts 1

Crossing the Gender Divide: Public Ceremonies, Private Parts, Mixed Feelings xiii
Wounds, Vows, Emanations: A Phallic Trope in the Patriarchal Narrative 3
Foreskin Sacrifice: Zipporah's Ritual and the Bloody Bridegroom 18
A Brief History of Jewish Circumcision Blood 30
The Cut of Wholeness: Psychoanalytic Interpretations of Biblical Circumcision 443
Circumcision, Secrecy, and the Veiling of the Veil: Phallomorphic Exporsure and Kabbalistic Esotericism 58

Cultural Markings 71

Circumcision and Castration under Roman Law in the Early Empire 75
Brit Milah: A Study of Change in Custom 87
Depicting the Ambiguous Wound: Circumcision in Medieval Art 98
Circumcision and Baptism: The Development of a Jewish Ritual in Christian Europe 114
Christian Travelers to the Circumcision: Early Modern Representations 128
Circumcision and Modern Jewish Life: A German Case Study, 1843-1914 142

Contemporary Voices

Circumscribed Circumcision: The Motivations and Identities of Israeli Parents Who Choose Not to Circumcize Their Sons 161
Circumcision in Hungary after the Shoah 177
Three Rabbinic Perspectives
A Plea for Inclusion 188
A Covenant Above Reason 194
Noam's Bris 197

Epilogue: A Medley of Women's Voices 201

Notes 205

Contributors 245

Index 247