‟A baby boy who dies before reaching eight [days] is circumcised with a flint or reed at his grave” (Shulḥan ‘Arukh, Yoreh De‘ah 263:5): From Women’s Custom to Rabbinic Law

The custom to circumcise newborns who died before being circumcised by their parents is addressed in a short but important responsum by R. Nahshon,Gaon of Sura (872–879). This article examines the development of the practice, and the way in which this geonic responsum was transmitted among later halakhic authorities. Rabbis active in Rome in the late 11th –early 12th centuries rejected this practice. Their approach that halakhah is directed to the living and not to the dead led them to dispute R. Nahshon’s responsum, taking liberties with its language and contents in the process. In contrast, the Gaon's ruling was adopted by the sages of Barcelona and Lucena. They offered various reasons in support of their position, such as preventing the uncircumcised newborn’s descent to Gehenna or assuring its place at the Resurrection of the Dead. These legal rulings, examined more broadly, reveal their image of the world after death. The responsum by the Italian sages opposing the practice was the basis for halakhic discussion in Ashkenaz even though the custom of circumcising the dead was prevalentt here. The article concludes with an analysis of the tension between textual sources and the custom as practiced.The obligation to circumcise a newborn boy who dies before his parentscan enter him into the covenant of Abraham is settled halakhah and thuscodified in Shulḥan Arukh. By its very nature, the fulfillment of this obligation is hidden from the eye. It is not performed festively or before a large crowd,and it seems that the Jewish masses are unfamiliar with it and with the details of its performance, even though it is carried out to this day by ḥevrakadisha (burial society) members around the world. This article describes thehistory of this practice, which is possibly halakhah, possibly custom, possiblya balm for the soul of a mother who has lost a child, and possibly a practice that stems from beliefs about the nature of the afterlife. Along the way, ittraces the development of this practice, from the responsa of the Babylonian