How Brit Milah Is A Foundation Of Judaism

The message of Shavuot is relevant year-round. Unlike other holidays, Shavuot has no specific mitzvot. Instead, Shavuot is reserved to celebrate Matan Torah (receiving the Torah), and this is part of the reason why men have a custom to stay up all night learning the Torah. The Mitzvah to study the Torah is of course not a seasonal pursuit. When we as a nation accepted the Torah, we gained immeasurable benefit and enlightenment. However, in order to receive this benefit, we must keep the Mitzvot of the Torah which define us as a people and separates us from the nations. We have carried our unique status throughout the generations with a special Mitzvah as a sign on our body called Brit Milah (Covenant of Circumcision). This Mitzva is the foundation of our faith and demonstrates the general purpose of all of Hashem’s Commandments.

In the Zohar, it is taught that just as Hashem provides us with a Neshama (Soul) to will and direct our entire body, so too must we submit our body to the Will of Hashem, the Soul of all creation. As Jews, we understand that Hashem directs the entire universe with all of its systems and complexity. However, we also know that He gives us the free will to recognize His Dominion, and it remains our responsibility to do so. In connection to this, our Rabbis teach us that every person is a world unto himself. We are taught that the body is a microcosm of the entire world. When one saves a single person; it is as if he saves an entire world. Our sages teach us that this principle extends even further: when a person controls himself, keeps the Torah and accepts the yoke of Heaven, he is recognized as one who exhibits Hashem’s Mastery over the entire universe. 

Central to Judaism is the commandment upon every Jew to abolish idol worship, or the worship of ‘strange gods’. By doing so, we actively spread the recognition of reality amongst all the nations who are trapped in the darkness of falsehood and superstition. On a deeper level, by keeping this commandment we actually make world a proper dwelling place for the Shechinah.  This explains why in the Zohar, this directive is equated with the Mitzva of Brit Milah. When a Jewish child enters the covenant of Hashem through this mitzvah of Milah, his body itself becomes a dwelling place for the Shechinah. Because the body is a microcosm of the world at large, preparing it as a dwelling place for the Shechinah is similar to filling the world with G-dliness.

The Pasuk in Devarim says, we must keep the Torah and cannot say “who will go up to heaven and bring it down for us.” Moshe Rabeinu had to ascend on high to bring us the Torah. Our sages point out that the Roshei Teivot (first Hebrew letter of each word) in the verse above spell out ‘Milah’. This is to teach us that when a person performs the mitzvah of Milah (on his son) in awe of G-d and with happiness and love, he becomes worthy to ascend higher and higher in his service of G-d.

Our sages teach us that awe, love and happiness are the secret ingredients to all of the commandments. When we perform mitzvot with the proper emotions and mindset, they elevate us and draw us close to the Soul of the Universe and the source of our Life. May we all merit living the Torah and benefiting from a close and personal relationship with Hashem, Amen.