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From the Rabbi:
In Parashat Tazria, we learn about the mitzvah of brit milah, circumcision: "And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised" (Vayikra 12:3).
In Parshat Lech Lecha God commanded Avraham: "This is my brit (covenant), which you shall keep, between me and you and your seed after you. Every baby boy shall be circumcised" (Beresheet 17:10). Why the repetition in our parasha?
The Radak says that it is clear that the commandment to Avraham included Yitzchak and Yaakov and the future generations as well.
Nechama Lebowitz quotes the Or HaChaim in stating that the reason why the commandment of brit milah is reiterated in our parsha is to teach that brit milah is done on the eighth day, even if it is Shabbat. But, Avraham, says the Ohr HaChaim, was not commanded in the mitzvah of Shabbat, and thus it would not have made sense to include the obligation to perform a brit milah even on Shabbat.
The Talmud relates that the wicked Turnus Rufus asked Rabbi Akiva why baby boys aren't already born circumcised if it is God's will that they should be circumcised. Rabbi Akiva answered that God gave us the commandments in order to refine our character through them.
Brit Milah, says the Sefer HaChinuch, thus draws attention to the fact that God did not create us in a perfect state from the womb. God wanted to teach us that just as perfection of man's physical form is by man's own hand, so does it lie within each and every one of our means and power to complete our spiritual purpose through the worthiness of our actions.
Brit Milah teaches that through our actions we have the opportunity to perfect ourselves and the entire world both physically and spiritually.
Shabbat Shalom!
Classes This Week
- Sunday at 7:30 PM - KOT Beit Midrash - A Deep Dive Into Shabbat
- Tuesday at 12:30 PM - Parsha Conversations
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