Brit shalom (naming ceremony)

Brit shalom (ברית שלום; "Covenant of Peace"), also called alternative brit, brit ben, brit chayim, brit tikkun, or bris in Yiddish and Ashkenazi Hebrew, refers to a range of newly created naming ceremonies for self-identified Jewish families that involve rejecting the traditional Jewish rite of circumcision.

Brit shalom is recognized by secular Jewish organizations affiliated with Humanistic Judaism like the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations, and Society for Humanistic Judaism. Reform Judaism encourages all Jews (beyond extraordinary circumstances) to undergo circumcision, although will allow those who are not to participate in Jewish life.

History
The first known ceremony was celebrated by Rabbi Sherwin Wine, the founder of the Society for Humanistic Judaism, around 1970.

Ceremony
There is no universally agreed upon form of Brit Shalom. Some involve the washing of the baby's feet, called Brit rechitzah. Brit shalom ceremonies are performed by a rabbi or a lay person; in this context, rabbi does not necessarily imply belief in God, as some celebrants belong to Humanistic Judaism.

Popularity
The actual number of brit shalom ceremonies performed per year is unknown. Filmmaker Eli Ungar-Sargon, who is opposed to circumcision, said in 2011, regarding its current popularity, that "calling it a marginal phenomenon would be generous." This was confirmed by a survey conducted by the Jewish Journal among mohalim and brit shalom celebrants in the Los Angeles area. Its popularity in the United States, where it has been promoted by groups such as Beyond the Bris and Jews Against Circumcision, is increasing, however. Even in Israel, more and more parents choose not to circumcise their sons.

Recognition
Orthodox Jews consider an intended failure to follow this commandment as bringing forth the penalty of kareth, or being "cut off" from the community and from Hashem, as well as being indicative of a conscious decision to cut oneself off from one's people. However, even in the most Orthodox groups, Jewish identity is defined by matrilineal descent; a child born to a Jewish mother is recognized as Jewish, regardless of the status of the genitals.

In Progressive Judaism, although refusing circumcision is frowned upon, uncircumcised boys are usually accepted for religious training and bar mitzvah if they are sons of a Jewish mother and have been raised with a Jewish identity. Movements that do not see Jewish law as binding, such as Reform Judaism and Humanistic Judaism, may permit it.