From The Guide of The Perplexed (1195) (Shlomo Pines Translation) Volumes I & II University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1963. Part III. Chapter 49.

Moses Maimonides
(1135-1204 A.D.)
On Circumcision

“As regards circumcision,
I think that one of its objects is to limit sexual intercourse,
and to weaken the organ of generation as far as possible,
and thus cause man to be moderate.

Some people believe that circumcision is to remove
a defect in man’s formation;
but every one can easily reply:
how can products of nature be deficient
so as to require external completion,
especially as the use of the foreskin to that organ is evident?

This commandment has not been enjoined as a complement
to a deficient physical creation,
but as a means for perfecting man's moral shortcomings.

The bodily injury caused to that organ is exactly that which is desired;
it does not interrupt any vital function,
nor does it destroy the power of generation.

Circumcision simply counteracts excessive lust;
for there is no doubt that circumcision weakens the power
of sexual excitement,
and sometimes lessens the natural enjoyment;
the organ necessarily becomes weak when it loses blood
and is deprived of its covering from the beginning.

Our Sages say distinctly:
It is hard for a woman,
with whom an uncircumcised had sexual intercourse,
to separate from him.
This is, as I believe, the best reason
for the commandment concerning circumcision.”

InfoCirc Home ¦ Last modified: 15 Aug, 2004 ¦