Q&A: Disagreement Between Spouses Regarding Circumcision
Disagreement Between Spouses Regarding Circumcision
Question
Hello Rabbi, and happy holidays,
Suppose there is a disagreement between two parents regarding circumcision for a baby. From a legal and/or moral standpoint, should the side that wants the circumcision be allowed to carry it out? Or should the situation be left as is and the child be allowed to choose when he grows up?
Best regards,
Answer
That depends on what the understandings between the spouses were from the outset (when they got married). If there was no clear agreement and it also cannot be inferred implicitly (for example, from the common practice in their surroundings), etc., then it seems to me that morally the baby should be allowed to choose when he is older.
Discussion on Answer
Religiously, certainly not. Does the mother’s objection somehow cancel the father’s obligation?
I didn’t understand the question about territory. What’s the connection?
Morally—so by implication, not religiously?
And if there is a clash here between the religious and the moral, would you apply considerations of territory and prefer the moral? (Actually, why not apply that generally regarding the baby—for example, in places where the law or society does not look favorably on circumcision?)