Sicha, Simchas Torah Night 5711
Circumcision Overrides Shabbat
In this week’s Torah reading, we learn about circumcision (source 1). The Talmud infers from the verse that circumcision overrides Shabbat (Source 2).
Communal offerings also override Shabbat (Source 3), because they occur in the Holy Temple and are a communal requirement. Circumcision, however, is not a communal obligation, nor does it take place in the Hold Temple, yet it still overrides Shabbat.
Jewish law rules that it is forbidden to sin to help another do a mitzvah (Source 4). If so, how does the mohel desecrate Shabbat to circumcise a child? This is even more perplexing when considering that the mohel is an adult and obligated in mitzvot, while the child is not, and could just as well be circumcised a day later.
The Process of the Soul’s Entry
Citing the Alter Rebbe, the Rebbe says that although the soul completely enters a person upon bar and bat mitzvah, the process begins at the circumcision. To allow that to happen, the mohel must have self-sacrifice and desecrate Shabbat to circumcise the child.
This recalls the story of when the Alter Rebbe, on Yom Kippur, went to the city’s outskirts, kindled a fire, and cooked for a lone new mother to save her life (Source 5).
Real Impact is Only With Self-Sacrifice
Circumcision, which draws down the G-dly soul of a child, can only be done by a mohel who is prepared to sacrifice his own (spiritual) life for it. A mohel who avoids desacrating Shabbat cannot circumcise on a Sunday either, because a mohel who is unwilling to sacrifice cannot draw down such revelation.
The lesson is that when we want to influence another, we need to have self-sacrifice and only then can we succeed.
