This week’s parsha is parshas Sazria. It is fitting that we focus on the opening pesukim of the parsha (Vayikra 12, 1): "וידבר ה' אל משה לאמר, דבר אל בני ישראל לאמר אשה כי תזריע וילדה זכר וטמאה שבעת ימים כימי נדת דוותה תטמא, וביום השמיני ימול בשר ערלתו". Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to Bnei Yisrael, saying: When a woman conceives and gives birth to a male, she shall be impure for a seven-day period, as during the days of her menstrual infirmity shall she be impure. On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. We will endeavor to explain the reason HKB”H chose to juxtapose these three items: (1) The birth of a male child, (2) the seven-day tumah period for a woman after childbirth, and (3) performing the mitzvah of milah on the eighth day.
Additionally, it is worth noting the question posed by the Ohr HaChaim hakadosh: Why does the Torah insert the mitzvah of milah—“on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised”—in the middle of the laws pertaining to childbirth. After all, HKB”H already gave the mitzvah of milah to Avraham Avinu in parshas Lech Lecha. Albeit a new halachah pertaining to milah is learned from the passuk here (Shabbas 132a): "וביום השמיני ימול בשר ערלתו, ביום אפילו בשבת"—that the mitzvah of milah preempts Shabbas. Even so, why was this chiddush taught here rather than in parshas Lech Lecha?
The Ohr HaChaim hakadosh suggests that had the Torah informed us of this in parshas Lech Lecha, we might have thought that this only applied to Avraham and his descendants who lived prior to Matan Torah—before Yisrael were commanded to observe the Shabbas. But after Matan Torah, Yisrael were admonished (Shemos 31, 14): "ושמרתם את השבת כי קודש הוא לכם מחלליה מות יומת"—you shall observe the Shabbas, for it is holy to you; those who profane it shall be put to death. Thus, we might have concluded that milah does not override Shabbas. Therefore, the Torah informs us here that the mitzvah of milah does indeed override Shabbas.
Nevertheless, this still does not really answer the question. After all, the Torah was given to Yisrael many parshas earlier, in parshas Yisro. So, why did the Torah wait specifically until parshas Sazria, when dealing with the laws of childbirth, to teach us that the mitzvah of milah overrides Shabbas.
Which Is Greater: Milah or Shabbas?
We will begin to shed some light on the subject by introducing an exposition in the Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Sazria 547): “On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” This is the implication of the passuk (Koheles 11, 2): “Distribute portions to seven or even to eight” . . . “Distribute portions to seven,” this refers to the seven days of Shabbas (the days of the week); “or even to eight,” this refers to the eight days of milah. This profound statement by the wisest of all men is enigmatic. What portions should be distributed to the seven days of the week, and what portions should be distributed to the eight days of milah?
To unravel this enigma, let us introduce another fascinating Midrash (ibid. Yirmiyah 321):
"אתה מוצא השבת והמילה מדיינים זה עם זה, השבת אומר אני גדולה ממך, שבו שבת ממלאכת עולמו, שנאמר וישבות ביום השביעי. אמרה המילה אני גדולה ממך, שאלמלא אני לא נברא העולם, שנאמר אם לא בריתי יומם ולילה חוקות שמים וארץ לא שמתי. אמר רבי יהודה בר שלום, משל לשתי מטרונות שהיו עומדות, ולא היה אדם יודע ליתן לב להפריש איזו גדולה מחברתה, כיון שהעביר אחת מלפני חברתה, ידעו הכל שאותה שעברה מלפני חברתה היא הקטנה, כך ממה שאנו יודעים שהמילה דוחה שבת, אנו יודעים שהמילה גדולה מן השבת".
Shabbas and milah were arguing with each other. Each claimed that it was greater. Shabbas argued that it is greater, since HKB”H abstained from the work of creation on the seventh day (Bereishis 2, 2). Milah contended that it is greater, since the world would not have been created if not for it, as it states (Yirmiyah 33, 25): “If not for My covenant of day and night, I would not have established the statutes of heaven and earth.”
Rabbi Yehudah bar Shalom said: This is analogous to two matrons, and people could not discern which of the two was greater. When one of them went forward before the other, everyone understood that the other was the less important of the two. Similarly, from the fact that milah overrides Shabbas, we know that milah is greater than Shabbas.
Let us clarify the puzzling words of our sages. What lesson are we to learn from this dispute between Shabbas and milah? Furthermore, Shabbas was surely aware that the mitzvah of milah takes precedence. So, how could she have persisted that she is greater than milah by arguing that HKB”H ceased His work of creation on Shabbas?
To explain the matter, we will now introduce another Midrash with an apparent contradiction as to which is greater—milah or Shabbas. The Midrash (V.R. 27, 10) expounds on the passuk (Vayikra 22, 27): "שור או כשב או עז כי יולד והיה שבעת ימים תחת אמו ומיום השמיני והלאה ירצה לקרבן אשה לה'"—when an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain under its mother for seven days; and from the eighth day on, it will be acceptable for a fire-offering to Hashem.
This can be compared to a king who entered a province and issued a decree, saying, “All the guests that are here shall not see my face until they first see the face of the matron!” Similarly, HKB”H said: You shall not bring an animal before Me as a korban until one Shabbas passes over it. For, there is no seven-day period without a Shabbas. Similarly, there is no milah without one Shabbas (passing over the child). Thus, it is written (in our passuk): “And from the eighth day on, it is acceptable (for a fire-offering to Hashem).” Rabbi Yitzchak said: The law pertaining to a man and the law pertaining to an animal are equivalent. The law pertaining to a man—“on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised”—and the law pertaining to an animal—“and from the eighth day on, it is acceptable.”
Thus, we learn from this Midrash that the reason HKB”H commanded us not to perform the mitzvah of milah until the eighth day, is so that a day of Shabbas—compared to a matron—passes over the newborn child before he enters into the covenant. From this perspective, it would appear that the mitzvah of Shabbas is greater than the mitzvah of milah, since it is impossible to perform the mitzvah of milah until the newborn has experienced the kedushah of Shabbas. This seemingly contradicts the passage of the Midrash in the Yalkut Shimoni, which concluded that milah is greater than Shabbas.
