Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz:
Every Jewish boy has a brit milah– a circumcision which creates a covenant with Hashem. How does the removal of flesh form this bond?
Rabbi Chaim Mintz responds:
What Is The Covenant?
To understand how we enter the covenant with Hashem through circumcision, we first need to understand the nature of the covenant itself.
At the end of Parshat Lech Lecha, Hashem (God) made an unbreakable covenant, known as a brit, with Avraham and his descendants. In the covenant, Hashem promised to be our God, to guide and protect us, and to give us Eretz Yisrael (The Land of Israel). In return, we committed ourselves to be His people, to serve Him and live by His Torah.
A Bond For Life
As a sign of this bond, Hashem commanded us to place an ot brit (a sign) on our body, expressing that we dedicate our entire being to fulfilling our part of the covenant. The sign is placed in the place from which life originates, symbolizing that this commitment will endure through all future generations.
This ot bris is made through the cutting and removal of the orlah, the foreskin. When commanding Avraham to perform milah (circumcision), Hashem told him, “Walk before me and you will be complete” (Bereishit 17:1), and our Rabbis explain that this completeness refers to the perfection of the body achieved through the removal of the orlah.
Even many non-Jews recognize that the foreskin serves no purpose and can even be harmful, and therefore choose to remove it. But this begs the question: if Hashem created an amazing body, full of wisdom and precision, why leave it imperfect, requiring us to perfect it by removing the orlah?
Aiming For Perfection
The Sefer HaChinuch explains that Hashem left it to us to perfect our body as a symbol and reminder that we can and must also perfect our souls.
The literal meaning of the word orlah is a covering or barrier, and just as there is a physical orlah on the body, there is also a spiritual orlah which is the orlas halev, the covering of the heart that blocks our connection to Hashem.
This orlas halev refers to our animalistic tendencies, urges, and negative character traits, such as laziness and arrogance, which prevent us from acting properly and serving Hashem. Refining our character and controlling our nature through our intellect is a lifelong undertaking, and the removal of the physical orlah serves as a constant reminder that we must also “cut off” the spiritual one.
The Significance Of Circumcision
This is why the covenant is made through the removal of the foreskin. Perfecting the body through removing the orlah mirrors our commitment to perfect the soul, subjugating ourselves to the will of Hashem and dedicating ourselves to removing the spiritual barriers that separate us from Him. Moreover, it takes place in the part of the body connected with human drives and pleasures, symbolizing our commitment to control our desires and direct all of them toward the service of Hashem.
In Short:
By cutting and removing the orlah, the foreskin, we are perfecting our body. This serves as a reminder that we must also perfect our soul by removing the spiritual orlah – our animalistic tendencies and bad character traits, and thereby achieve a true connection to Hashem.
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