Bulletin10.16.2010 - Lech Lecha.pub

indicates that circumcision is a continuous Mitzvah which is
fulfilled every moment of one’s life.
There is a positive Mitzvah for a father to circumcise his son. This
Mitzvah is more significant than other positive commandments as
it is one of only two positive commandments which carry the
punishment of Karet (excision) for their lack of fulfillment. If the
father is unable or unwilling to perform the circumcision the local
Rabbinical court must ensure that it takes place. If they don’t the
child upon reaching adulthood must arrange it on his own.
The circumcision is performed after sunrise on the eighth day from
the birth e.g. if the child was born on Sunday, the Bris is on the
following Sunday. It is proper to perform the Bris early in the day
unless there will be a larger crowd if the Bris is pushed to later. If
the child is born “Bein Hashemashos” (between sunset and three
average stars being visible) there is Halachic doubt as to which day
that is considered, if from sunset is already considered the next
day or is it the previous day until three start come out. In a regular
case we consider it to be the next day e.g. if the child was born
Bein Hashemashos on Sunday he is considered born on Monday
and the Bris is the following Monday. If a child is born Bein
Hashemashos on Friday we cannot perform the Bris is performed
on Sunday. (Because a Bris is only done on Shabbat if it is the
Eighth day, as there is doubt if this child was born on Shabbat or
Friday and Shabbat might be the ninth day, we must wait till
Sunday.)
If a child is ill the circumcision is delayed until the child is healthy
again. There are certain times where we must wait one week from
when the child gets better to perform the Bris.
At the Bris two blessing are made, the first for the commandment
of circumcision and the second to bring the child into the
covenant of Abraham our father. At this point the community
blesses the child “as he has entered into the covenant may he
come to Torah, Chupah (marriage) and Ma’asim Tovim (good
deeds). There is a third blessing which is then said after making a
blessing over a cup of wine, which is a request that in the merit of
the covenant may the child be saved from purgatory.
If possible there should be a Minayn (10 men) at the Bris. There
should be a chair which is explicitly designated as the chair of
Elijah. It is a great Mitzvah to hold the child during the Bris, the
custom is that every father honors separate people for each boy.
After the Bris it is customary to make a meal which is considered a
Seudat Mitzvah. As one who is invited to such an auspicious meal
and chooses not to attend is “banned from heaven” the custom is
not to invite to the meal following the Bris. There is also a custom
to make a meal on the Friday night following the birth. There are
many reasons given for this custom, amongst them are that
people are coming to comfort the child about the Torah it forgot.
Also, as a child can only have a Bris after living through one
Shabbat, it is considered the first step of the Bris.
The Bris represents our connection to Hashem which transcends
logic. The 8 day old infant enters a covenant of which he has no
understanding. We proclaim that whether we understand or not,
whether it’s easy or difficult, the primary factor is the will of
Hashem. This fundamental principle is signed into our flesh from
infancy and we can only pray that we allow this ideal and intrinsic
commitment to guide us through our entire lives.
Inspiration, Insights & Ideas
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By Rabbi Simon Jacobson ~ www.meaningfullife.com
Based on a letter by the Rebbe dated Kislev 2, 5707 (November 25, 1946)
“
The righteous emulate their Creator,” say our sages. If you want
to know how to behave in a given situation, see what G-d does.
On the whole, G-d chooses to run His world in accordance with
a series of unchanging (and thus predictable) behavior patterns—
what we call “the laws of nature.” It would be just as “easy” for Him
to rain down manna from heaven as to cause grain to grow and
flour and water to bake into bread; but with the exception of one
forty-year period in our history, G-d has consistently chosen to
nourish us via natural bread from the earth rather than miracle
bread from the heavens.
So we, too, manage our lives in accordance with the rules of nature.
While we believe with complete faith that G-d is the sole provider of
life and sustenance, we labor to construct the natural vehicles
through which His providence may flow. We know that to be
nourished by a piece of bread supposedly produced by human hands
is no less a “miracle” than to be nourished by “bread” falling from
the heavens; nevertheless, we do not sit around waiting for manna
to rain down upon us, but devote hours, energy and talent—
resources that could have been devoted to “holier,” more spiritual
pursuits—to plowing, sowing, milling, kneading and baking, or to
earning the money to pay others to produce our bread.
In the 12th chapter of Genesis, we find our model for this approach
to life in the behavior of the first Jew, Abraham. G-d had
commanded Abraham to take up residence in the Holy Land; but
when shortly thereafter a famine swept through the land, Abraham
journeyed to Egypt, where there was bread to be had. Approaching
Egypt, a land notorious for its depravity, Abraham realizes that he is
in mortal danger on account of the beauty of his wife, Sarah, and he
tells her to say that she is his sister, lest he be killed by an Egyptian
coveting her beauty.
The famine in the Holy Land and Abraham’s travails in Egypt are
counted among the “Ten Tests” which established the depth and
invincibility of his faith in G-d. At first glance, however, it would
seem that Abraham “failed” these tests: he did not stay in the Holy
Land, trusting that G-d would provide for him even under conditions
of famine; he did not assume that if G-d desired that he live, no lustmaddened
Egyptian could take his life.
In truth, however, a disavowal of the natural tools of life does not
imply a greater faith in G-d. Indeed, to do so is to go against the
divine desire that we live within the natural world as G-d’s “partners
in creation.” The true test of faith lies in how a person regards his
natural activities. Does he consider them the source of his
achievements? Or does he recognize that they are merely
“garments” within which G-d enclothes and disguises His essentially
supra-natural sustenance of our lives?
Abraham’s faith did not prevent him from going to Egypt when the
natural sources of nourishment ceased to function in the Holy Land,
or from resorting to connivance and deceit to ensure his safety
when his life was threatened. Indeed, the fact that he could take
these actions and experience their apparent success in bringing him
material gain and, at the same time, relate to G-d as the sole source
of his safety and enrichment, was the ultimate proof of his faith in
G-d.
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