More conservative orthodox jews follow the stricter rules of this custom. The m'tsitsah is ironically used to help the healing process of the wound, not give the baby herpes. Obviously when you're exposed to so many pathogens doing such a job, eventually you contract the disease.
I agree, it sounds disgusting and down right criminal to some people. A bris is a gruesome ritual anyway, but there are some more disgusting things out there.
Quote:
From an article on the web
"mezizah -- Hebrew term for the third step in the Jewish circumcision ritual, in which the mohel applies his mouth to the freshly circumcised infant's penis and sucks up the first drops of blood. In more recent times this procedure has been carried out via a tube, as infections, venereal disease, and tuberculosis, sometimes resulting in the death of the infant, have occurred due to contamination of the wound. Most Jewish circumcisors today have eliminated this step from the circumcision ritual. Critics have attributed sadistic and homosexual implications to this practice, while defenders claim that this was simply all that was known during ancient times to stop the bleeding." Rosemary Romberg. Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma. South Hadley, Massachusetts: Bergin & Garvey, Publishers, Inc. 1985. p. 395.
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The article and pictures are disturbing, so I won't post the link unless someone really wants to see it.
RUgreek
Babies contract herpes through circumcisions
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