Vayaḥi and Holy bodies / ויחי און הייליקע גופֿים
The bris as a mitsve object
This is a weekly series of frum, trans, anarchist parsha dvarim. It's crucial in these times that we resist the narrative that Zionism owns or, worse, is Judaism. Our texts are rich—sometimes opaque, but absolutely teeming with wisdom and fierce debate. It's the work of each generation to extricate meaning from our cultural and religious inheritance. I aim to offer comment which is true to the source material (i.e. doesn't invert or invent meaning to make it more comfortable) and uses Torah like a light to reflect on our modern times.
Content note: Discussion of circumcision; mention of fasting
An appeal: If you're fasting today, please consider donating to a family in Gaza who is hungry and living in a tent. If you're not fasting, consider donating too.
If you're wondering when the Torah tells us that it's okay for one guy to touch another guy's penis, read on. You could also read Rashi (not this parsha, but parsha Khayey Soro) but since you're here, let me tell you.
The bris is a sacred ritual (on which I have ambivalent feelings relating to tradition, body modification, and consent) which turns the penis into a sacred object—not exactly transcending sexualization but nonetheless becoming acceptable to be viewed and touched by other men, including our immediate family.
The body is holy: holy, holy, holy.
Bereshis 47:29
Yakov is dying and he makes Yosef swear that he will bury him in the cave in Knaan. "Put your hand under my thigh".
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