Why Arent Jewish Women Circumcised by Shayne J.D. Cohen

Shayne J. D. Cohen presents an extensive study of the question â€Å"why aren’t Jewish women circumcised?† Throughout the book he examines this question in a number of different and unique ways. He writes this book in hopes to inform and educate the curious mind such as scholars and lay people. Furthermore, he states that â€Å"In this book I am interested not only in the history of Jewish circumcision but also, and perhaps even more so, in the history of Jewishness.† (Cohen, pg.xii) In other words, Cohen not only presents the reader with the history of the question, but also the history of the Jews and Christians. Overall, Shayne J. D. Cohen brings up the issue of gender within Judaism when he asks the question, also known as the title of the book,†¦show more content†¦He also brings up the claim of women’s superiority as well as arguments within both of these topics. In chapter five, Cohen explains that circumcision indicates that the normative way of being Jewish rests with Jewish men, therefore downgrading the status of women. After closely looking at this chapter in particular, I noticed that one can easily compare to this to course material. There are number of ways in which the status of women is lowered because of Jewish men throughout the class. For example, the inability to study and touch the Torah can serve as a downgrade towards the status of Jewish women. (Course notes, September 23, 2013) Chapter six entails that circumcision signals a moral, as well as an ontological defect in men. For example, it can be an excess of lust, therefore, the cutting of the foreskin can be looked at as a cure. Furthermore, chapter 7 presents that it is faith, not circumcision, which is the determining sign for Judaism. In other words, both men and women, therefore, can be equally as Jewish. This stand was pushed forward by Maimonides. Maimonides