Christians, Judaism and Christianity. As the paradigm of the unique features
of Jews and Christians, they served to mark the distinction between the two sis-
ter religions. Circumcision served the Jewish community as confirmation of
loyalty and religious devotion. Baptism, within the Jewish community, was the
ultimate symbol of betrayal and conversion during a period in which pressure
to convert was ever present.
Circumcision in Medieval AshkenazThe liturgy of the circumcision ceremony remained almost unaltered through-
out the medieval period with one exception—the omission of the Aramaic
prayer for the child and his mother.^29 Yet despite this uninterrupted tradition,
the medieval Ashkenazic ceremony introduced a number of nonliturgical cus-
toms. The ritual is described at length in many prayer and custom books of the
time as well as in responsa and in a manual for circumcisers. While many of
the questions raised pertain to circumcisions that take place on exceptional
days such as Sabbath, the Day of Atonement, and the Ninth of Av, others de-
scribe the normal practice of the ritual.^30 These sources enable us to better un-
derstand how this ritual was performed and who participated in it.
The first unique feature of the medieval Ashkenazic circumcision ceremony
is that it consistently took place in the synagogue. Evidence from the Second
Temple period as well as the period of the compilation of the Mishna and Tal-
mud indicates that the ceremony often took place in private homes.^31 We do
not know when the ritual was first performed in the synagogue. Gaonic sources
report that the ceremony could take place either at home or in the syna-
gogue.^32 Early modern European sources also indicate a shift back to home
ceremonies.^33 During the High Middle Ages, however, Ashkenazic sources
consistently indicate that the ceremony always took place in the synagogue,
usually immediately after the completion of the morning prayers.
The circumcision of a newborn was a major event in Ashkenazic commu-
nities, second only to marriage.^34 The relocation of the ceremony from the pri-
vate sphere, the home, to the public sphere, the synagogue, demonstrates the
importance of the ritual in the eyes of its performers and participants. The com-
munity at large participated in the ceremony, responding to verses recited by
the circumciser or the person leading the ritual. Although these responses had
become part of the liturgy earlier, I would suggest that the significance of hav-
ing the whole community participate cannot be underestimated. We might
note that one of the changes in the baptism ceremony during the Carolingian
period was the relocation of the ceremony to the church, where it was well at-
tended by the members of the parents’ community.^35
The sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, who discussed the way rituals, and espe-
cially institutional rituals, are performed, has defined rites like circumcision as