Note: This is a testimony from two believers who wanted to circumcise their son on the eighth day by 'traditional' Western medical means, but were unable to get traditional Western medical help where they lived.  The pictures are in the .pdf.

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This is our testimony of the process that Abba YHWH led us through in order for us to re-discover what we sincerely believe is closer to His original intent for the physical requirements and mechanics of circumcision. WARNING: this document contains our personal pictures from the procedure that include an infant penis and removed tip of foreskin. We are happy to share this for informational purposes. Please be mature and sensitive with the content.
I had always wondered what the original Scriptural circumcisions would have looked like. How exactly would Abraham, Tsipporah, Yehoshua, and the others in Scriptural time have circumcised their sons in obedience to observe the sign of YHWH’s covenant? How much of the foreskin would they have removed? What cutting implement would they have employed and how complicated could it have been considering their often nomadic and at the very least “primitive” (in our minds) conditions. My wondering was always more of a passive curiosity than a search for the truth… until we had no options for a traditional circumcision for our 4th son on his 8th day.
Our other 3 sons were circumcised in the traditional way – albeit each with a different method – but nonetheless removing the entire foreskin. Like nearly every other tradition that we’ve shed over the years in pursuit and hopefully love of our Creator’s truth, for so long we didn’t even think to seriously challenge the mechanics of what we assumed was a “normal” circumcision procedure.
When Sky Aysh Yachalel (which means “Trust in the Cloud-Fire Refuge of Elohim”) was born to us in Canada, we weren’t anticipating any difficulty of having him circumcised on the 8th day. Father had provided options to walk in obedience with our first 3 sons, and we assumed He would do so again. The public perception and opinion climate towards circumcision in Canada (at least in Manitoba) is very hostile. As we learned, many Jewish families here, in fact, have rabbis flown in order to observe the 8th day of a newborn son. Public health care no longer covers circumcision and the medical community views it as “unnecessary.” Most hospitals will not even admit infants for the procedure. Clinics or pediatrics are the only option and there are very few doctors who even do it routinely any more. And among those, most (if not all) of them only do it on specific days / times of the month or week. Some doctors only do circumcisions one day per month and are booked months out already. This makes it impossible to get an appointment for the 8th day when the day is only known a week ahead of time.
On Sky’s 7th day we had exhausted all the options – even calling rural clinics several hours away. Every door was shut. What was YHWH saying? Was not circumcising our 4th son even option? How could I ever circumcise him myself? Had I been disobedient in not purchasing a DIY circumcision kit a few months ago even though we didn’t know if we’d need it yet or not? (There are fairly automatic home devices now that will safely perform most of the difficult aspects of a traditional “full” circumcision with a simple lever operation.) How was this story going to go? I wasn’t remotely at peace about doing nothing.
Then I remembered my earlier curiosity and a link that someone had shared on a messianic forum a few months ago. Starting there, and really only because there were no other options (as YHWH had closed them all) I started some emergency research  What I found blew me away. Even in this – one of our most important acts of obedience and intimacy with our Creator – we have inherited falsehoods and lies. Here are some of the resources I found as I explored the topic:
 http://www.cirp.org/library/history/
 http://www.cirp.org/library/history/peron2/
 http://www.covenantcircumcision.info/milah_vs_Periah.html
 http://womantowomancbe.wordpress.com/2009/01/16/biblical-circumcision/
 http://www.cirp.org/library/restoration/hall1/
 http://chrislewismh.com/blog/circumcision-foreskin-restoration/
 http://www.aboutcirc.com/tradit.htm
 http://www.noharmm.org/instruments.htm#religious
Important clarification: obviously, I don’t agree with some of the “no circ” positions maintained by these websites, but they do have useful historical information even if some of their dates and cause-effect-influence conclusions are mis-ordered based on faulty assumptions. Interestingly, it seems like much of the vehemence of opinion against circumcision in general is merely a reaction to the present, twisted, traditional form that has added to and taken away from the commandments of YHWH.
In summary, what I discovered is that the original procedure was probably quite basic and certainly much simpler and faster than the procedure we know today. This makes perfect sense. How would Tsipporah have urgently circumcised her son to save Moshe’s life? This would not have been quickly accomplished without maiming her son if she had to remove the whole foreskin. And how much time would it have taken to circumcise the hundreds of thousands of Israelite males at the entrance to the promised land if it was a drawn-out procedure like it is today? The only thing that makes sense and is consistent with the Scriptural accounts is that the YHWH-given process was merely a simple cutting off the excess tip of the foreskin that extends beyond the glans of an infant. So, what happened? How did we come to require the removal of the entire foreskin?
According to the records we have, this seems to be yet again the result of the same religious spirit which drove the Pharisees to lay additional burdens on the people beyond what YHWH had commanded and therefore transgressing against His covenant. There motive was not at all sinister – it was merely a reaction to the increasing Hellenization and absorption of their culture into the dominant Greek / Roman culture of the 1st and 2nd centuries. It is known that skin which is stretched will grow new skin. One example from the resources above that is fairly common knowledge is the tribes in Africa that stretch their earlobes with rings or heavy objects. The Jewish youths essentially started to do the same thing with their foreskins in the 1st / 2nd centuries in an attempt to conceal their circumcision which was abhorred by the Greeks and Romans who esteemed the body. Bathing and competing (sports) in the nude were commonplace and often a means of males advancing in that society. A circumcised Jewish man would have a very difficult, if not impossible time prospering in the society of his conquerors. Many chose to blend in, not only to advance in society but to avoid the mocking, ridicule, and persecution a circumcised penis invited. This was possible because the original circumcision most likely left a majority of the foreskin intact, which could then be stretched over a relatively short period of time to look very similar to an uncircumcised penis.
The reaction of the rabbis in authority was to adopt a form of circumcision that removed the entire foreskin – making impossible the concealment and cultural absorption they feared. Talk about adding to and taking away from YHWH’s commands! Wow.
When I learned this the night before Sky’s 8th day I shared it with a couple trusted brothers in Messiah. I wanted the full counsel of YHWH’s Spirit through others and didn’t want to proceed with anything that was not truly from our Creator. There were several confirming witnesses, and I felt such a peace and freedom in the knowledge that YHWH’s yoke is easy and His burden is light – He does not command us to do anything that we cannot completely understand and perform ourselves. Why would it be any different with circumcision? Would he ask Abraham to perform a delicate surgical procedure on himself, his 13 year old son, and the males of his entire household in the middle of the wilderness? Did he send a surgeon to Abraham? Our Creator is so much more practical that that!
So… with fear and trembling and trust I went to bed knowing I had to circumcise my own son the next day and that by faith it would be in complete obedience.
Looking back, it was a very peaceful and smooth process. I was a bit nervous, but had a determination which kept the butterflies minimal. I also had the comfort of trusting that this course was exactly why YHWH had orchestrated not only the closing of the doors but even the birth in Canada in the first place. There are still way more options in the U.S., though perhaps those are dwindling as well. I had the sense that this whole thing was not even just for us either – that it would be to help and encourage others in the form of testimony or experience in the days ahead. And, as a father faced with this difficult task, I was also comforted knowing that it would be much less painful for my son than a “traditional” circumcision, that it would bleed less and heal faster, and that he would function more completely later on in life as well.
Before I go on I will say this – not really from a legal standpoint to ensure disclaimer or whatever, although that should be common sense – but more importantly from a spiritual aspect: We want to share our experience with others to encourage and challenge assumptions out there and to let everyone know there is another way. We didn’t act on the information we found without a lot of prayer and counsel with those we trust based on the active fruit in their lives that they hear YHWH’s voice too. We are not saying that anyone should do things the way we have, or that we even have the perfectly right way in this case. The main point that I can’t emphasize enough is that every individual is accountable directly to their King and you must act based on His instruction to you in Scripture, His Spirit’s instruction to your spirit, and prayerful consideration of how to walk in faith. Without faith it is impossible to obey. It’s possible for you to try the same mechanics that I will describe below and end up with very different results. But, I trust you will be very blessed if you choose a similar path that we’ve followed as long as your heart is right and trusting completely in your Creator. This is simply a description of our experience. Father works with individuals and your experience might be very different. But it’s not my responsibility to ensure you do things “correctly.” You are accountable to your Creator for every action and word.
Sky was our 3rd home birth and so we were actually already very well prepared to do this ourselves. We had purchased a home birthing kit and were prepared to deliver “#6” on the side of the road if it came to that. To read about the actual birth and the full story behind the meaning of his name you can go here: http://theedgeofall.com/journeys/2010/10/01/sky-aysh-yachalel/
We had also purchased a nice pair of umbilical cord scissors to go with the kit, but we didn’t end up using them because the birth actually happened at our midwife’s home and she had her scissors. But it turned out that it was a good thing we had bought them after all.
Incidentally – although with none of the coincidence that implies – the circumcision followed the pattern of Sky’s birth. He was the first of our 6 children that I was finally privileged to catch as he was born (despite intending and trying to with some of the others). I also cut his cord. Father worked it out so that I was also to circumcise him. I can’t express how awesome it feels to have directly participated in this whole process with my own two hands. My wife of course bore the brunt of the labor – (bad) pun intended – and our midwife was a wonderful blessing in so many ways, but the experience overall was about as pure as it gets these days.
On the 8th day we prepared the following supplies that we had on hand either from our homebirth kit or around the home:
1) Small Gauze Sponges
2) Large Gauze Sponges
3) Absorbent pads
4) Sterile latext gloves
5) Providone-Iodine (external use)
6) Healing ointment Eden Salve by
www.bulkherbstore.com
7) Dental Floss
8) Umbilical Cord Scissors (which we sterilized in boiling water for at least 5 minutes and kept sterile by placing in one of the sterile gauze packets)
I really feel like Father nudged us as we figured out how to apply the basic raw information we had studied. It was a very simple process, but still things to consider ahead of time:
- Everything must be kept sterile to prevent even the remote chance of infection
- I had two “assistants” – my wife and her mother (a nurse, though not necessary was certainly a blessing) – the most important thing was the extra hands. I do not recommend trying anything like this without at least two helpers that can understand and follow directions quickly. The extra hands are required to help keep things sterile, hand things, grab things, throw things away, hold baby, etc.
- We thought through the entire process, broken down by steps, before we started so that we didn’t run into the situation where we’re asking each other, “ok, now what?”
- We wanted to do everything quickly, but knew we shouldn’t feel rushed. We prayed ahead of time, committed it all to YHWH and trusted in His perfect peace to think clearly and remain relaxed.
This is what we did:
1) Sterilized the umbilical cord scissors and stored them to remain sterile and be easily retrievable
2) Laid everything out for easy access
3) Laid Sky on our bed on top of an absorbent pad and got into comfortable sitting positions (Renee’s mother was standing at the foot of the bed and we gave our other children strict instructions about keeping a foot or two back from the bed – don’t want any unexpected bumps at the wrong time.)
4) Looking at some of the historical ways used to isolate the tip of the foreskin while protecting the glans, we liked the idea of tying a string around it since that offered the added benefit of constricting blood flow which would in theory help with bleeding. This probably wasn’t entirely necessary, but the other important function was to provide a guide about where to cut. We took Sky’s diaper off, gave the entire area a coat of Iodine (only for use on healthy skin to sterilize the area – NOT for use on the cut skin itself), I donned a set of gloves (careful to put them on in a way that kept the fingers sterile), stretched the tip forward slightly and used dental floss to snuggly tie it off. I did NOT pull it super light like I would for boot laces. It was simply snug enough to cause discoloration within the first minute or two. I also made sure that it was tight enough to pull the excess skin completely forward of the tip of the glans. I could tell that Sky felt a slight discomfort for it, but he did not cry at this point.
5) Research said it was common to wait around 30 minutes. I think we lasted about 20-25 minutes and just wanted to get on with it – not out of a sense of feeling rushed, but wanting it to be over for sky as quickly as possible and let him nurse and cuddle again. We maybe could have even cut sooner. My mother-in-law handed the scissors to me via the packet and I drew them out by the handle keeping them sterile. Then, I lined the blades up just outside of the floss, closed them as far as I could without cutting, took in a deep breath, prayed one last time while I counted to 3 in my mind, closed the blades quickly and smoothly in a crisp snip, and finally let out my breath. Sky cried for about a minute and that was all. It was over. Jaiden (our next youngest) cried quite a bit more than that even after fastest mohel I’ve ever seen circumcised him in our home.
6) Immediately after I cut, I placed a new, sterile gauze pad on the tip and applied pressure for at least a minute or two. You can see the tiny tip of skin that was removed in this picture, and get a general feel for the minimal amount of blood involved.
7) This is after that first application of pressure. There is still some bleeding but very slow and it was clotting quickly. The reddish color on his skin is the iodine.
8) This next picture is literally within 5 minutes of the cutting. Bleeding has stopped.
9) Finally, we put some healing salve on a fresh gauze pad, covered the cut, put a clean diaper on him, and he fell asleep nursing shortly after that.
In terms of care, we treated it more or less like a normal post-circumcision process: fresh gauze and petroleum jelly with every diaper change. His first few urinations were a little painful and he cried briefly on a few of them. But we were careful to make sure that he was urinating normally and that we kept everything very clean. There were tangible signs of healing the next day and by the 3rd day healing was at least 80% complete if not more.
We maybe should have started this a little sooner, but it didn’t become a problem. Even so, as a precaution, it’s probably a good idea to start pushing the foreskin back ever so gently with each diaper change throughout the healing process so that the cut skin doesn’t try to grow together and seal shut. Normal urination should prevent this, but it’s probably a good idea anyway.
If you are personally used to a fully circumcised penis for yourself and your sons, it would be beneficial to pay extra attention to the portions of the materials referenced above regarding penile development, care, and cleaning for a penis circumcised minimally this way so that you can educate yourself and your son as he grows older.
I pray this testimony is a blessing to others that find themselves in similar circumstances as we were – desiring to obey but feeling like there aren’t any “normal” options.
On the next page is one final picture, for comparison, of the amount of foreskin removed, next to a penny, and the first gauze we used to staunch the bleeding (to indicate roughly how little blood was involved in this process). YHWH bless you as you seek to walk in complete faith-obedience to Him.
-Andrew & Renée