בראשית פרק יז פסוק יב
יב) וּבֶן־שְׁמֹנַת יָמִים יִמּוֹל לָכֶם כָּל־זָכָר לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם יְלִיד בָּיִת וּמִקְנַת־כֶּסֶף מִכֹּל בֶּן־נֵכָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא מִזַּרְעֲךָ הוּא
Why do we have the brit on the eighth day? The Zohar says the baby must experience a Shabbat before being circumcised. This gives the baby a special soul; a soul of Shabbat. The baby needs this soul to prepare for the brit. What are other reasons for the significance of the 8th day?
We see the number 7 come up many times in Judaism. There are 7 days of the week, and of that week the 7th day is Shabbos. The 3 avot and 4 imahot combined equal 7. So what is the significance of 8? 7 represents things that are natural, things that have an end, like the week and someone's life. However, the number 8 represents things miraculous and infinite. When a boy is given a brit milah on day 8, he enters into the Jewish nation, a nation which has miraculously survived for generations and has infinite potential and opportunities in this world.
ReplyDelete~idea from Rabbi Yisroel Cotlar
In Judaism, we consider circumcision a symbol of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. We have the bris on the 8th day so that the newborn baby lives through the holiness of a shabbat before entering the covenant of the Jewish people. A more medical response to this question is given by Tracey R Rich. He says that modern medicine has revealed that a baby's blood clotting mechanism stabilizes on the eighth day after birth. Because of this, a baby will only be able to survive the procedure after the eighth day of his existence. Although this is not in the torah, this seems like a rational explanation for a bris being on the eighth day rather than right after he is born.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason the Rabbah gives for giving a brit mila on the 8th day is because "Hashem had mercy on the infant until he had strength" Ohr Hachaim questions how Chazal knew that the baby acquires enough strength precisely on the 8th day. He quotes the Zohar saying that the baby has its strength once it goes through a shabbat, because the Midrash says that before shabbat the world is weak but once shabbat comes, the baby's body is strengthened and stabilized so he is able to endure a brit.
ReplyDeleteRabbi Moshe Isserles talks about how the Shalom Zachor for a baby boy is ALWAYS on a Friday Night as a "welcoming party". To which Rabbi David HaLevi Segal quotes a midrash on the Torah which talks about how you cannot bring a newborn animal as a korban before 8 days. The Midrash continues by stating the following "HaShem says: do not bring a sacrifice before me until at least one Sabbath has passed for there are no seven days without a Sabbath and there is no mila (circumcision) without a Sabbath." Therefore, we wait 8 days to make sure that the baby boy has had 1 shabbat before a brit was made
ReplyDeleteArielle Samuel - Chabad.org says that eight days represents a miracle or miraculous occurrence. For this reason, we circumcise a baby boy on the eight day to show that a miracle took place.
ReplyDelete