Why Mention Circumcision Here?
The beginning of this week’s Torah reading discusses laws of impurity, which pertain to a woman subsequent to giving birth. In the midst of discussing these laws, the Torah mentions that if the newborn is a boy, he shall be circumcised on the eighth day.
A Surprising Debate
In reference to this, the Midrash (Tanchuma) relates a dialogue which took place between the wicked Turnus Rufus and Rabbi Akiva as follows:
Turnus Rufus asked Rabbi Akiva, “Whose makings are superior, those of God or those of man?” “Those of man are superior,” answered Rabbi Akiva.
Taken aback by the unexpected response, Turnus Rufus asked, “Can man create anything as great as the heaven and earth?” To which Rabbi Akiva answered wisely, “Don’t compare creations which are beyond the reach of mankind [to those which are within the reach of mankind], let’s compare those things which are under the jurisdiction of mankind.”
What Was He Really Asking?
Turnus Rufus realized that his challenge to Rabbi Akiva was not proceeding as planned, and decided to ask his question in a straightforward manner. “Why do you circumcise?”
Rabbi Akiva answered, “I knew what you intended to ask originally, and that is why I prefaced by telling you that those of man are superior.” To prove his point, Rabbi Akiva then brought grain kernels and baked goods, and said, “These are God’s makings and these are the makings of man. Aren’t these [the baked goods] superior to the kernels?”
Turnus Rufus was at loss once again and asked more innocently, “If God wants you to be circumcised, why aren’t you born that way in the first place?”
Rabbi Akiva threw a similar question back at him, “And why is he [the baby] born with the placenta attached, needing the umbilical cord to be cut?” Rabbi Akiva then addressed Turnus Rufus’s actual question and said, “And why are we not born circumcised? Because God has given the Jewish nation His mitzvot (commandments) in order for His people to purify themselves through them [the mitzvot].”
A World That Isn’t Meant to Be Perfect
This conversation contains a fundamental concept in understanding the way this world was designed. Rabbi Yisroel Belsky once asked, while addressing a group, “Why is it that the world is full of so much trouble? Every day more troubles plague the world. There is never a time when everything around us seems to run the way it should. The answer is that it has to be that way. This world was made for the sake of improvement. If the world came to a point where everything was perfect, there would be no purpose for the world to exist.”
God created the world perfectly in such a way that people constantly need the assistance of others and there are constantly new challenges which need to be overcome. Resolving problems and making improvements are not merely the necessary outcome of the challenge which has risen. On the contrary, the whole point of the existence of the challenge is for us to tackle it, for the sake of us improving the world!
Why Challenges Frustrate Us
Often, when we face challenges in life, we resent them. We feel that our problems are out of place and we dream of a time when they will be over and life will run blissfully. This doesn’t happen. This world was specifically set up to have ongoing problems. Life contains one challenge after another. While we do not wish to have troubles and we certainly do not seek to have problems, our success in life depends on what our attitude is towards challenges.
A Different Way to See Them
If we greet every difficulty with resentment and anguish, we are setting ourselves up for a depressed life. Instead of tackling the challenge as a milestone in our personal growth, we will find ourselves just moving through life begrudged, from one disappointment to the next.
If we are wise, we will train ourselves to understand that every problem we come across was purposely placed in our lives as a means for us to achieve perfection. No challenge exists “by mistake.” A challenge is an opportunity for us to contribute to the world; to improve the world, and thereby improve ourselves.
Mitzvot: Given for Us
So too, should be our attitude towards every mitzvah. We must realize that God doesn’t need our mitzvot. When we need to exert effort in keeping a mitzvah we should realize that the mitzvot were given for us. Every mitzvah is another step in purifying ourselves, and all the challenges involved contribute to this goal. The world and the mitzvot were designed perfectly for us to achieve our own perfection — through an “imperfect” world.
By Rabbi Yitzchok Aryeh Strimber torah4every1@gmail.com
