The Circumcision Dress: Its Origins and Influences

Abstract This paper will explore the origins of the circumcision dress worn by Jewish male infants during their brit millah (ritual circumcision). With no requirements according to Jewish law on what is to be worn during this ceremony, how does early textual evidence point to our understanding and u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religion and the arts
Main Author: Klein, Warren (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2020
In: Religion and the arts
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Judaism / Circumcision (Man) / Clothing
IxTheo Classification:AG Religious life; material religion
BH Judaism
Further subjects:B Assimilation
B lifecycle
B circumcision dress
B Judaica
B Manuscripts
B Reform Judaism
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Summary:Abstract This paper will explore the origins of the circumcision dress worn by Jewish male infants during their brit millah (ritual circumcision). With no requirements according to Jewish law on what is to be worn during this ceremony, how does early textual evidence point to our understanding and use of the dress? An examination of visual representations of circumcision ceremonies during the Early Modern period in manuscript and print culture points to the adaptation and use of a jacket worn by the infant during this time. This is then paired with extant examples of the period in museum collections. Lastly, as Jews began to assimilate and adapt practices of their host cultures in the nineteenth century, we see the rise of the practice of a dress worn by the infant, with an examination of infant costume and materials of the period.
ISSN:1568-5292
Contains:Enthalten in: Religion and the arts
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15685292-02405004