The short answer
Because in traditional law circumcision for conversion is covenantal, not merely medical; a prior secular circumcision did not mark the covenant, so hatafat dam brit draws covenantal blood to complete the act.
Why people ask this
This specific question causes real confusion and anxiety for converts-to-be; understanding the covenantal logic resolves it.
Key terms
- Hatafat dam brit
- Symbolic covenantal blood-drawing for an already-circumcised male.
Jewish perspectives
- Traditional: a prior medical circumcision does not fulfill the covenantal act; hatafat dam brit is required.
- Non-traditional communities may differ on whether the additional act is required.
Scholarly & historical context
The distinction between a medical and a covenantal act is a rabbinic development addressing converts circumcised outside a Jewish context.
What is agreed upon
The covenantal act, not the surgery alone, is what the tradition requires.
Where the disagreement begins
How strictly this is applied, and whether medical circumstances allow leniency.
Practical consequences
Clarify the requirement and any medical accommodations with your beit din.
Original sources
Related questions & knowledge graph
Ask privately
Continue exploring this question in private. Your question stays yours until you explicitly choose to share it — and sharing with a scholar always requires your consent first.
Public discussion
Public contributions are separately reviewed and approved. Beit Ha'Vaad never turns a private question into a public one without explicit consent.
Revision history
Scholarly corrections, source updates and substantive changes are versioned here. This question's current status — Source-reviewed — is shown above.