The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner--those who are not your offspring. -- Genesis 17:8-12

Circumcision was a covenant of bloodshed. It was a serious vow that God made with Abraham.

Now, three thousand years later, Jews and Christians still practice this ancient ritual.

In Jewish tradition, the operation is performed, not by an M.D., but a Mohel, an observant orthodox Jew who must have studied the religious laws and surgical skills required for the operation. A Mohel's duties demand the highest standards of ethics, religious practice and surgical skills including strict hygiene.

One or two days prior to the ceremony the qualified Mohel visits the baby to ascertain that he is fit for circumcision. He will base his decision on his observation as well as enquiry about possible medical contraindication. The religious ceremonial and prayers are an essential element of the ceremony that includes the naming of the boy.

In recent years, circumcision has become something of a controversy, with some people denouncing the practice as unnecessary or harmful.

Jews Against Circumcision, a group of self-proclaimed highly enlightened Jews condemn the age-old practice as “barbaric, primitive, torturous, and a mutilating practice … [which] has no place in modern Judaism. “ They suspect that circumcision is done to desensitize the penis and curb masturbation.

Very few Jews are convinced by those who believe circumcision to be mentally or physically damaging. Circumcision, although painful for one’s newborn, is performed by many of the Judeo-Christian faith simply because God has commanded it. Whether there are practical benefits, well, those are secondary.

But, hey, the secondary benefits will get you rooting for the skinless infant:

• · On the plus side, circumcised infants are less likely to develop urinary tract infections, especially in the first year of life. UTIs are about 10 times more common in uncircumcised compared with circumcised infants.

• · Circumcised men may also be at lower risk for penile cancer, although the disease is rare in both circumcised and uncircumcised males.

• · One study in the east African country of Kenya showed that circumcision cut adult males' HIV infection risk from heterosexual intercourse by 53 percent, while another study in Uganda lowered the risk by 48 percent, according to results released Wednesday. The findings, financed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), pointed out that the latest conclusions confirmed previous investigations into the value of circumcision as a protection against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. This is especially important in Africa, where AIDS is an epidemic in many countries, infecting an estimated 25 million people on the continent.

So, this is what we like to call an indirect covenant blessing. The creator of the universe must have had some medical foresight when he instated this covenant.