Riddles of the Week

(For the questions, please see second to back page)

1. The Gemara in Berachos (55a) learns out an interesting halachah from this pasuk. The Gemara teaches, that there are three things that shorten the days and years of a person, one of them is: “If one is given a kois shel berachah to bentch with, and he doesn’t.” The Gemara says we learn this from the pasuk ואברכה מברכיך – “those who you bless shall be blessed.”
   The Elyah Rabbah (siman 201) asks: How do we learn from here that if one doesn’t make the berachah on the kois his life is shortened, perhaps, ומקללך אאור – if one curses, then he gets punished, however, if one simply refuses to bless, perhaps he gets neither a berachah [blessing] or a curse. How do we see from the pasuk that such a person gets cursed?
2. The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 265) rules: When it is possible to perform a bris milah with ten people, then it is best to do so. If it is not possible, then we may do it with less.
   As to why there should be ten people, there are a number of reasons given:
   • The child has just come out of prison (i.e. the womb), and he needs to give thanks in front of ten people like we find in Berachos 54b. For this reason, we say at the bris: הודו לה 'כי טוב כי לעולם חסדו. (Darkei Moshe, Yoreh Deah 265 in the name of the Hago’as Alfasi and Mateh Moshe end of Dinei Milah, ois 9).
     According to this, at every bris one should make sure that there are at least two talmiday chachomim, as it is clear from the Shulchan Aruch that those who need to give thanks in front of ten people, should ensure that two of them are talmiday chachomim. (The sefer Kores HaBris, Yoreh Deah 265 makes this he’orah)
     Additionally, according to this reasoning, if a bris milah is being performed for an older person, then there is no need for ten people, since he hasn’t just left prison.
   • When Hashem gives testimony, He doesn’t do it in the presence of less than ten people, therefore, here as well, we are coming to give testimony that the child entered into the briso [covenant] of Avraham Avinu, therefore, we do it in the presence of ten people. (Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer, Perek 19, and Ohr Zorua, Hilchos Milah, siman 107)
   • Ideally, we do it in front of ten for pirsumay mitzvah, to publicize the mitzvah of bris milah. (Chochmas Adam, Hilchos Milah 149, s.k. 21)
   The Pirush Siddur HaTefillah of the Rokeach (pg. 731) brings, that in the parsha of bris milah by Avraham Avinu it says the word ‘milah’ ten times. This hints to the fact that a bris milah should be performed in the presence of ten people.
3. The Shiltei Gibborim (Megillah 2b MiDafay HaRif) writes: “We cancel learning Torah for the sake of a bris milah, as a bris milah is more important than escorting a dead person to burial, and if we cancel Torah for escorting the dead to be buried, certainly, we cancel Torah for the mitzvah of milah.”
   R’ Shlomah Zalman Auerbach (cited in he’oras of the sefer Otzar HaBris, Vol. 1, siman 11, halachah 3) asks why this isn’t brought down in the Shulchan Aruch or by any of the poskim.
   The Shu”t Even Yisrael (Vol. 7, siman 36, s.k. 8) answers very simply that the poskim don’t bring down the Shiltei Gibborim, as the Shiltei Gibborim is a huge chiddush and difficult to understand. When it comes to taking out the dead to be buried, everyone that joins in gets a mitzvah of escorting out the dead (levoyas hames), however, when it comes to a bris milah, those gathered to watch don’t have a portion in the mitzvah, and all the do is make the situation רוב עם הדרת מלך – the more people there are, the more splendor there is for the king, and for this, there is no heter to miss learning Torah. For the father of the baby however, it is obvious that he can miss learning Torah.
   The Shu”t Shevet HaLevi (Vol. 11, siman 229) was asked about some bochurim who would miss learning in yeshiva to go and partake in a bris, if it was ok to do so based on the Shiltei Gibborim?
   R’ Wosner responds that the Shiltei Gibborim is halachically incorrect, as even by escorting out a dead person on his way to be buried, it’s clear in the Rosh that it’s only if there aren’t enough other people doing so. Additionally, it is clear in the poskim and the Shulchan Aruch, that young children don’t stop learning at all, and the gedolei haposkim say this applies until age 18 or 20. Interrupting young children from learning is very severe, and even for the purpose of building the Beis HaMikdosh, we don’t interrupt them.
   R' Moshe Sternbuch (Shu”t Teshuvos V’Hanhagos4:226) also writes that we don’t interrupt learning to go to a bris, unless one’s lack of presence will be heavily felt. He brings an interesting proof from the Leket Yoshar. When the Leket Yoshar’s bochurim wanted to attend a bris, he asked them, “What do you want to go for? If it is to answer amen to the berachos, then go to a slaughterhouse and hear lots of berachos there”, we see that he wasn’t happy for them to miss learning to go to a bris milah.
4. As has been pointed out by many roshei yeshivos, mashgichim and roshei kollel, it’s interesting how bochurim and avreichim somehow always manage to find time to attend a bris milah, however, those who are working are somehow to busy...
5. The Rema (Yoreh Deah 265:11) writes: “Even though a woman can’t be a sandek, she can help her husband and bring the child to the beis haknesses, and then her husband can take the child from her and be the sandek.”
   The sefer Ois Chaim VeSholam (siman 265, s.k. 25) is medayek [makes an implication] from here, that a bris milah should be performed in a beis haknesses or beis hamedrash. The seforim write that a bris milah should be performed in a beis haknesses as bris milah is like a korban, therefore, it should be done in a place of davening, which is like a mini-Beis HaMikdash.
   There is another proof to the above from the Maharil. The Maharil (Hilchos Shivah Asar B’Tamuz and Tisha B’Av) writes: When a bris milah took place on Tisha B’Av, the Mahari Segel was accustomed that after finishing kinnos before starting Iyov and Yirmiyah he would tell the father of the child, the ba’al bris, and the mohel, to return to their homes and put on Shabbos clothes. Then they should return to the beis haknesses, light candles, and then bring in the child and perform the bris, and then they should all remove their Shabbos clothes.
   We see that there is a special inyan to perform a bris milah inside a beis haknesses.
   A further proof can be brought from the Magen Avraham. The Magen Avraham (331:5) writes: It’s obvious that we don’t bring a child to the beis haknesses via a courtyard without an eruv even with using a non-Jew, as the bris can take place in the house, and many times when it is cold this is what is done.” Implicit from here is, that if there is no reason not to perform the bris in a beis haknesses then it should be carried out there.
   There is even a rishon who clearly says to perform a bris milah in a beis haknesses, the Shu”t HaRashbah (7:536) writes:מה שנהגו למול בבית הכנסת משום דכתיב ויכרתו ברית לפני ה' ואין ברית אלא מילה - “The reason for the custom of performing a bris milah inside a beis haknesses, is because it says “make the covenant of the bris in front of Hashem”, and bris refers to bris milah.
   The sefer Be’er Yaakov (Din Ner LeMilah pg. 59) writes that it is best to perform a bris milah inside a beis haknesses and he lists a number of reasons for doing so:
   • Because of its kedusha [sanctity].
   • Because the entire tzibbur [congregation] will hear the berachos, which is not the case when the bris is performed at home, especially in the homes of the poor, where cleanliness is not prevalent.
   • Because sometimes the mohel will arrive late, and if the father starts without him something may go wrong and the father will get very scared, and it can lead to sakonah. If it’s in shul this is more easily avoided.
   • Performing a bris milah is comparable to offering a korban, and a korban shechted outside the azorah [temple courtyard] is shechutei chutz [the prohibition of slaughtering a korban outside the temple courtyard] therefore, a bris milah as well should be performed inside the azorah, i.e. a beis haknesses.
   I saw an additional fifth reason:
   The Tehillah L’Dovid (HaGaon HaKadosh MiButchatch on Tehillim, Perek 27) says: The reason we perform a bris milah in a beis haknesses is because it has אוירא דא"י – the air of Eretz Yisrael, and because it has the kedusha of Eretz Yisrael.
   According to this, there is room to question if in Eretz Yisrael there is any advantage of performing a bris milah inside a beis haknesses. (Interestingly, in Eretz Yisrael many people perform the bris inside the simcha hall where they plan to make the seudah, and don’t make the bris inside a beis haknesses.)