We previously discussed why we need a pasuk to exempt a mother from the requirement to circumcise her son and do not apply the regular exemption, that it is a time-sensitive mitzvah.
The Tosfos Rid in Kiddushin offers another explanation as to why the mitzvah of milah is not considered a time-sensitive mitzvah. He explains that the mitzvah of milah given to a parent is fundamentally different from other mitzvos. The mitzvah of tzitzis, for example, is to wear a four-cornered garment with tzitzis. Although a person may need to buy or make the tzitzis, the preparation is not part and parcel of the actual mitzvah. Since the mitzvah is to wear the garment only during the day, it is considered a time-sensitive mitzvah.
However, the mitzvah of milah given to the parent of the newborn baby is of a totally different nature. In this case, the mitzvah is not just to perform the actual circumcision but also includes arranging and preparing everything that is needed. Since there, the preparations can be done at any time, it is not considered a time-sensitive mitzvah.
This concept is alluded to in the pasuk. The pasuk states: וַיָּמָל אַבְ רָ הָם אֶת יִצְחָק בְּ נוֹ בֶּן שְׁ מֹנַת יָמִ ים “Avraham performed the milah on Yitzchak at eight days.” Why does the Torah use the expression “at eight days” and not “on the eighth day”? But according to the Tosfos Rid, the pasuk’s expression is beautiful. All of the preparation of the eight days was part and parcel of the mitzvah, and Avraham was actually involved in the mitzvah for eight days, until he performed the actual circumcision itself on day eight.
Since a woman is not commanded to perform – or even arrange for – her son’s milah, she has no requirement to get involved, physically, financially, or otherwise. This applies even if the father of the child is not alive. In such a case, it becomes incumbent on Klal Yisrael to arrange for the milah, not on the mother.
WOMAN MOHEL
Can a woman be a mohel for her own child or for another child? This is not a question from the “Equal Right’s Society” but is actually discussed in the Gemara (Avodah Zora 27a).
The Gemara says there is a machlokes, and it will depend on the reason a non-Jew cannot be a mohel. According to one opinion, it is based on the pasuk “וְאַתָּ ה אֶת בְּ רִ יתִ י תִ שְׁ מֹר – You shall watch my bris,” which means only you [Avraham] and your descendants can perform the bris and not others. The other opinion learns this from the words הִ מֹּל יִמּוֹל. Rashi explains that these words can also be read הַמָ ּל יִמּוֹל, one who has been circumcised can perform the circumcision on others and not a non-Jew who is uncircumcised.
The Gemara points out that the nafka mina, the halachic difference between these two sources, will be in regard to allowing a woman to perform the bris. According to the first opinion, a woman would not be qualified because she is not someone who “keeps” the bris. However, if the requirement is to have someone who is circumcised, she would be allowed, because a woman is considered as if she were circumcised.
The Gemara then raises the obvious question. How can anyone suggest that a woman is not qualified to perform milah if the Torah writes clearly that Tziporah performed the milah on her son? The Gemara answers that it is possible that she asked someone else to perform the milah or that she just started it off, and then Moshe took over.
Tosfos explains that, although she cannot perform the milah itself, if she were commanded in the mitzvah, it would mean that she is responsible for arranging for the milah, such as by hiring a mohel. This fits well with the aforementioned notion of the Tosfos Rid. Since the mitzvah also includes taking care of all the necessary arrangements, that is something that could have been done by the mother.
SUMMARY
The mitzvah of milah is not just to perform the actual circumcision but also includes arranging and preparing everything that is needed. A woman has no requirement to get involved, physically, financially, or otherwise. There is a machlokes whether a woman can be a mohel.
RABBI NACHUM SCHEINER
