Q&A: A New Circumcision Covenant for a Penitent Returnee
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
A New Circumcision Covenant for a Penitent Returnee
Question
Does someone whose parents had him circumcised for national/cultural reasons by a mohel who is not God-fearing need to have hatafat dam brit performed again when he becomes religiously observant?
Answer
Obviously. What is the difference between him and someone born already circumcised?
(Assuming the mohel is an atheist. “Not God-fearing” is a vague expression.)
Discussion on Answer
In my opinion, yes. Like a non-Jew. An atheist has neither commandments nor transgressions. See my article about causing a secular Jew to stumble into transgression.
Sorry.
Is a circumcision performed by an atheist mohel invalid?