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Bris Milah in Lech Lecha: Avraham's Transmission of a Spiritual Inheritance to Yitzchak

In Parshat Lech Lecha we learn that Avraham performed the mitzvah of bris mila at age ninety nine (99) following Hashem's command to do so (17:24). In Parperaot L'Torah, R' Menachem Baker asks why Avraham did not fulfill the mitzvah of mila earlier according to the opinion that Avraham voluntarily kept all of the mitzvot in the Torah (see Toldos 26:5; Yoma 28b; though not all commentators agree). R' Baker cites an explanation from R' Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik (Rav "Velvel" - son of R' Chaim) that Avraham kept all of the mitzvot according to the principle "zerizim makdimim l'mitzvot", but since mila is characterized as a "brit" - a covenant between man and Hashem - and a covenant (by definition) requires two parties - it was impossible for Avraham to observe this mitzvah prior to Hashem's explicit command.

That is, the essence of the mitzvah of "brit" mila, as the very name of the mitzvah conveys, is a "brit" - covenant - between a Jew and Hashem, and this essential "covenantal" aspect would be missing had Avraham independently performed mila without the participation of the other "party" to the covenant - i.e., Hashem (it has been noted that the word "bris" (covenant) appears 13 times in the verses in Bereishit that introduce this mitzvah).

I want to suggest another possible explanation for the delay in Avraham's performance of mitzvat bris milah.

Reading the verses in parshat Lech Lecha (17:1-21), we can readily see that the performance of mila was a transformative event for Avraham - at the same time that Hashem commands Avraham concerning mila, He also tells Avraham that his name will be changed from Avram to Avraham. And though Sarah did not physically participate in this mitzvah, it was a transformative event for her as well insofar as her name was also changed from Sarai to Sarah, and Hashem then tells Avraham that Sarah will give birth to a son. When Avraham suggests that perhaps Yishmael should be appointed to carry on the covenant with Hashem, Hashem replies that while He will make Yishmael into a great nation, the covenant shall be with the son of Sarah who shall be called Yitzchak.

In connection with Hashem's designation of Yitzchak as the son through whom the covenant shall be transmitted, it is interesting to note that the mitzva of mila was introduced to Avraham only AFTER Yishmael was born. Specifically, at the time Yishmael was conceived, Avraham was uncircumcised and still called Avram. Then at age 99, Avraham's name is changed, and he performs the mitzvah of mila. Thereafter, when Avraham is 100, Yitzchak is born. Clearly, there was a certain "spiritual" endowment passed on to Yitzchak, that had not been passed on to Yishmael, by virtue of the fact that Yitzchak was born to Avraham and Sarah AFTER the transformative event of the mila and name change.

According to Olelos Efraim, III:386, Milah, taam, sec. 8 (cited in The Encyclopedia of the Taryag Mitzvoth, at 122), the sacrifice and pain involved in undergoing circumcision lays the foundation for an entire lifetime of self-sacrifice in the service of Hashem. Such self-sacrifice (and self-discipline) include minimizing material pursuits for the sake of devoting more time to Torah learning and other spiritual pursuits; reducing one's own personal consumption in order to maximize one's ability to give tzedaka to, and perform chesed for others; abstaining from certain material pleasures that the Torah forbids, or are not consistent with the spirit of Torah (as per Ramban), and in the most extreme case, being prepared to give up one's life for the sanctification of Hashem's Name (as we see Yitzchak was prepared to do).

To be sure, Yishmael underwent a bris mila and apparently this imbued him with a sense of self-sacrifice as well. Indeed, we see that the descendants of Yishmael are prepared to give up their lives for G-d and for the land of Israel - however, it is a very distorted and tragic form of self-sacrifice that involves taking the innocent lives of others. Clearly, the notion of self-sacrifice for G-d passed on to the descendants of Yishmael is defective - for how can it be just and righteous for one's self-sacrifice to also destroy the lives of others? (indeed, the very word "self-sacrifice" implies sacrifices that one takes upon oneself, but that do not affect others). Possibly, this defective form of self-sacrifice is due to the fact that Avraham was not yet circumcised (and his name was still Avram) when Yishmael was conceived. As such, the "mila" of Yishmael was not directly passed on to Yishmael from Avraham as a spiritual inheritance - as part of Yishmael's soul (spiritual "genes," if you will) - but rather was passed on solely as a physical act to be performed at age 13.

In contrast, by virtue of being conceived after Avraham's name was changed, and after Avraham had performed the mitzvah of mila, a more spiritual form of self-sacrifice was, so to speak, embedded in Yitzchak's genes. Of course, the physical act of mila was performed on Yitzchak as well, at 8 days old. However, the ideal of self-sacrifice represented by mila was transmitted to Yitzchak not simply as a physical act, but as a spiritual inheritance as well. Mila, in essence, was a part of Yitzchak's soul, not just a mark on his body. As such, Yitzchak's mila represents one of self-sacrifice rooted in spirituality - an internal, pure self-sacrifice -- that elevates the individual who undertakes it, and improves the lives of others (e.g. tzedaka, chesed, etc.).

In Strive for Truth, Rav Dessler differentiates between "having" and "being." "Having" is lower level by which service of Hashem is rooted only in the intellect. "Being" is a deeper level at which spiritual commitment to Hashem is rooted in one's very soul. One's spiritual attainments have become internalized to such an extent that one cannot imagine oneself without them - they are as essential to a person as seeing or hearing (see Part III, page 186).

Rav Dessler elsewhere explains that the spirit of self-sacrifice exhibited by so many Jews throughout the generations in terms of their heavy involvement in charitable and other noble causes, their unbending attachment to Eretz Yisroel, and ultimately being prepared to give up their lives al kiddush hashem, are all part of the spiritual inheritance from Avraham (Part 1, page 55). Apparently, the mitzvah of mila externalizes the ideal of self-sacrifice that is already inherent in the Jew's soul.

Now we can perhaps answer why Avraham had to wait to perform the mitzva of milah. Since Hashem wanted Avraham's spiritual inheritance to be passed down through Yitzchak alone, it was not possible for Avraham to perform mila prior to the birth of Yishmael. For Yishamael, mila was only intended to be a physical act - "having" not "being." Therefore, it was critical that Avraham wait to perform mila until after Yishmael was born so the notion of self-sacrifice as a spiritual ideal would be passed down only to Yitzchak. And we see that as soon as Avraham performed mila and his name was changed, Yitzchak was born within the year.

[note: one could ask why it was necessary to wait until Yishmael turned 13 for Avraham to perform mila and for Yitzchak to then be born - why not when Yishmael was 1, or 2, etc. It could be that it was important for Avraham to focus on raising Yishmael without distraction perhaps in the hope that as much as possible of Avraham's spiritual ideals could be transmitted to Yishmael during his childhood through educational means. But once Yishmael turned 13 - bar mitzvah if you will - then Yishmael became responsible for his own actions, and Avraham was free to focus on the task of raising Yitzchak (who from birth was endowed with certain spiritual endowments as a result of Avraham's prior mila).]

In any event, what we learn from all this is that the performance of mila is not some perfunctory physical act. Rather, it reflects the first step in the responsibility we assume as parents when we bring a child into this world. A responsibility not just to teach mitzvot to our children as rote actions - physical acts devoid of spiritual significance. But rather to teach our children that the purpose of performing mitzvot and learning Torah is to acquire spiritual qualities that ultimately should become part and parcel of our very souls (see prior posts on the "Purpose and Psychology of Mitzvah Performance" and "Serving Hashem Without Expectation of Reward").

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