The Evolution of Halakhic Consciousness
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When medical doctors become ritual circumcisers, how do they navigate the complex boundary between clinical practice and religious duty? The Conservative Movement's Brit Kodesh program tackles this challenge through intensive halakhic training for physician-mohalim, revealing a remarkable transformation in religious consciousness among medical professionals. Through ethnographic observation and halakhic analysis, the research tracks how participants develop deeper understanding of Jewish law's centrality to Conservative Judaism while learning to distinguish between medical and religious aspects of circumcision. The methodology centered on comprehensive instruction in Yoreh De'ah regulations concerning milah and gerut, supplemented by commentaries and responsa literature. Two critical halakhic dilemmas emerged: reconciling timely circumcision (brit milah bi-zemanah) with Sabbath observance (shemirat Shabbat), and determining when physician-mohalim may perform non-religious circumcisions. Participants demonstrated significant evolution in their halakhic understanding, ultimately reaching near-unanimous agreement to avoid performing circumcisions she-lo le-shem mitzvah on Jewish children and broadly accepting restrictions on non-Jewish circumcisions. The success of this intensive halakhic education enables medical professionals to function primarily as religious functionaries who perform medical procedures, rather than medical practitioners serving in religious roles. These outcomes validate the Conservative Movement's approach to training physician-mohalim while upholding rigorous halakhic standards.

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Joel Roth