The Maharal on Milah and Redemption

The Maharal on Milah and Redemption

By Eliakim Willner

Eliakim Willner is author of “Nesivos Olam – Nesiv HaTorah: An Appreciation of Torah Study”, a translation with commentary of a work by the Maharal of Prague, published by Artscroll/Mesorah. This article is adapted from his forthcoming continuation of the Nesivos Olam series, “Nesivos Olam – Nesiv HaAvodah: The Philosophy and Practice of Prayer”.

Prior to our redemption from Egypt as discussed in this week’s parsha, we were commanded to perform two commandments that were blood-related – Milah, or circumcision, and Korban Pesach, the Pesach lamb sacrifice. What is the relationship of these two mitzvos to redemption from Egypt? In this article we will answer that question with a focus on the inner meaning of the mitzvah of Milah as explained by the Maharal in his various seforim.

Milah and the Land of Israel

We begin with a passage from the Maharal’s Nesiv HaAvodah, chapter 18:

“From chapter Shlosha SheAcholu (Brachos 48b): “We learned in a Braiso: … Nachum the Elder said, one must mention Bris [in the land blessing].”

“What is the relationship between Bris… to the land [of Israel], such that it is vital to the second blessing,? The answer centers around the fact that the land is sanctified, and apart from other lands. For this reason the nation that possesses the land similarly has to be apart from other nations. This is why Hashem commanded us to be circumcised. The land demands that its inhabitants be apart from other nations just as it is apart from other lands, and Milah, and the sanctity that it brings, are the only characteristics that definitively set Yisroel apart from the other nations. Milah is the excision of the foreskin, which represents lowliness, degradation, corporeality, physicality.  Its removal thus brings sanctity.  This is why we say [in the Milah blessing] asher kidash yedid mibeten, “…Who sanctified the beloved one from the womb”. (Rashi on the Gemara in Shabbos 137b that provides the text of this blessing explains these words to mean that from the time Avrohom was originally commanded to perform Milah all Jewish males are sanctified in potential form even while still in the womb, in anticipation of their forthcoming Milah.)

What does the Maharal mean? Although our entire bodies are physical the foreskin represents the depths of physicality, to the extent that it prevents our having a close relationship to Hashem. In Tiferes Yisroel chapter 19 the Maharal writes that the difference between our physical nature and Hashem’s purely spiritual nature made a relationship between man and Hashem impossible until the advent of Avrohom, who “discovered” Hashem and made a degree of closeness with Him possible. The totally physical nature of the foreskin precluded implementing that closeness so Hashem commanded Avrohom to remove his foreskin, thus doing away with the final impediment to achieving closeness with Hashem. Avrohom’s progeny, Yisroel, were commanded to maintain this practice so that they, too, could achieve closeness with Hashem. As the Zohar says (3:14a, 93b and 73b), “In what way does Yisroel form a bond with Hashem? Through the holy seal that is impressed on their flesh - their Bris Milah”. (As with many concepts in the Maharal, there are several “layers” of explanation that build one on another. We will add an additional dimension to the Bris of Avrohom later.)

Milah, which enables a closeness with Hashem, thus became the Bris, the covenant, that formalizes and finalizes our close relationship with Hashem. The Maharal elaborates on this concept further in Chidushei Aggados on Nedarim 31b, where he writes that Milah represents man’s “finishing touch”; an act by man, on his person, that completes Hashem’s creation of him. This “partnership” relationship, implemented in man’s person is the basis for the covenant “partnership”.

Now, the source for the Maharal’s statement that the land mandates Milah is a Medrash in Beraishis Rabbah 46:9 which says, “If Avrohom’s children uphold Bris Milah, they will enter the land and if not they will not enter the land”. Israel is the land where the Shechina resides, the land that is under Hashem’s direct supervision, as it were, as the Maharal explains in Gur Aryeh on Beraishis 17:8. Since Hashem “lives” in Israel and since He cannot interact with people who retain their foreskins, it follows that the nation that is destined to inherit the land and “coexist” there with Hashem must practice Milah.

Milah – Enabler of Existence

In addition to removing the barrier to a relationship between Hashem and Yisroel, Milah, on a general level, enables a relationship between Hashem and mankind. The Gemara in Nedarim 31b states that, “Milah is significant because if not for Milah Hashem would not have created His world”. The Maharal in Chidushei Aggados on that Gemara writes that the world would have no basis for existence without Milah because Milah is the covenant between Hashem and mankind and without it there would be no relationship between Hashem and mankind. Since the world was created for the sake of that relationship there would be no point in the world persisting otherwise. (As we discussed earlier, Yisroel is mankind’s “representative” in mankind’s relationship with Hashem which is why Milah is specifically mandated for Jews. See Rambam, Mishna Torah, Melachim 10:7.)

Targum Onkelos translates “Bris” as kayama, a force that maintains. Bris Milah is the “maintainer” of the relationship between Hashem and mankind.

Milah Prevents Destruction

The Maharal in Gur Aryeh on Beraishis 41:55 discusses why Yosef demanded that the Egyptians circumcise themselves prior to his selling them food during the years of famine. The intent was not conversion – we do not encourage non-Jews to convert – but rather, Yosef, with his divine vision, realized that the reason the produce that the Egyptians themselves hoarded for the famine rotted was because the Egyptians were uncircumcised. Milah is a “maintainer”; it promotes persistence. Lack of Milah – the presence of the foreskin – leads to the opposite: rotting and disintegration. That is why the private produce of the Egyptians rotted and that is why Yosef commanded them to circumcise themselves.

Milah – Our Connection with the Metaphysical

Although Milah is a physical act on a physical person it is essentially metaphysical in nature in that it elevates man to a state where he can have a connection with Hashem. In Chidushei Aggados on Nedarim 31a the Maharal writes that Milah is on the eighth day because eight is step beyond the physical world. The physical world is represented by seven – a central point (1) with arcs extending towards each of the four points of the compass (4), and up and down (2). The world, which was created in seven days, is bound by time and space. Eight projects us into a metaphysical world that is not limited by those boundaries.

The Maharal often distinguishes between matter and form. Matter is physical. Form is not. Eight-day Milah is in the category of metaphysical form.

The Gemara in Nedarim 31a declares, “Great is Milah in that it did not let pass a delay of even one hour on the part of the righteous Moshe”. The reference is to the incident described in Shmos 4:25-26 (see the commentary of Rashi) where, despite Moshe’s greatness, his life was at risk because he briefly tarried before performing Milah on his son. Why is this indicative of the greatness of Milah? The reason Milah is unforgiving of delay is because its origins are in a world that is beyond time – and this is its greatness.

Milah – Our Mark of Servitude to Hashem

As noted, Milah enables and establishes a covenantal relationship between Hashem and Yisroel. What is the nature of this relationship? Simply put, it is one of servant to Master. We, Yisroel, are the servants and Hashem is our Master. In his Drush L’Shabbos Shuva the Maharal writes that Milah “brands” us as servants of Hashem in the same manner that ordinary servants are customarily branded with the insignia of their human masters. Indeed, the Maharal writes in Tiferes Yisroel chapter 9 that Avrohom was the first to be commanded to perform Milah not simply because he was the first to establish the possibility of a relationship with Hashem, as mentioned earlier, but because he defined that relationship by referring to Hashem as adon, Master. We  recognize this aspect of Milah in one of the accompanying blessings: v’tzeetzaav chasam b’os bris kodeh, “… [Hashem] branded his [Yitzchok’s] offspring with the sign of the holy covenant”.

The Maharal in Gur Aryeh on Shmos 12:6 writes that in preparation for our exodus from Egypt Yisroel was commanded to perform Milah and the Pesach sacrifice. Since we were exiting servitude to Pharaoh and entering into servitude to Hashem we  were required to “rebrand” ourselves accordingly. That Milah constituted our formal entry into the service of Hashem. (The purpose of the Pesach sacrifice at that juncture was to initiate us into servitude with our first commanded act of service. This is why a non-circumcised person is forbidden to partake of the Pesach sacrifice – he has not entered himself into formal service to Hashem.)

Milah – Arouser of Divine Mercy

In Gevuros Hashem chapter 35 the Maharal presents another reason Milah was required before the redemption from Egypt and that is that the blood of Milah evokes divine mercy. Tehillim 44:23 says, “For it is for Your sake that we are killed all the time, [that] we are considered as sheep for the slaughter”. The Gemara in Gittin 57b applies this verse to Milah – throughout history Jews sacrificed to the point of death, ignoring the decrees of oppressors, in order to perform Milah. Milah “reminds” Hashem of our willingness to sacrifice for His sake and causes Hashem to be merciful to us and free us of oppression. It was thus an appropriate precursor to our exodus from Egypt.

May our continued perseverance against today’s Milah antagonists similarly evoke divine mercy and may we thereby merit a speedy redemption from our current exile!