An angel almost killed Moshe for not making having circumcised his son, Eliezer. I told my shiur that this story is associated with the halacha that milas banav me’akvo mi’la’asos es hapesach— that if a man's son son is uncircumcised, that man may not bring or eat a Korban Pesach: so, if one's son's circumcision is essential to bringing a korban, and the korban merely commemorates and re-enacts Yetzias Mitzrayim, then certainly- kal vachomer- mila is me’akev a person from enacting the original event. When Moshe was on his way to Mitzrayim, to set in motion the events that would lead to Yetzias Mitzrayim, the din of millah became extremely important.
One member of the shiur vehemently disagreed with the whole idea— “this had nothing to do with the korban Pesach, that was much later!”. One of the lomdim in the shiur immediately understood it. I think it’s the kind of thing that either you immediately get it and enjoy it or you absolutely do not, and no amount of explanation will help.
Update:
I have since verified my thesis. The member that doesn't agree has gone through Shas with me three times, and every time I say this vort, he disagrees in the exact same words.
I guess that complainer would also have a hard time with the fact that Eliav (Dovid's brother) lost the malchus because of his anger which "was much later".
ReplyDeleteSee Pesachim 66b:
אמר רבי מני בר פטיש כל שכועס אפילו פוסקין עליו גדולה מן השמים מורידין אותו מנלן מאליאב שנאמר ויחר אף אליאב בדוד ויאמר למה [זה] ירדת ועל מי נטשת מעט הצאן ההנה במדבר אני ידעתי את זדנך ואת רע לבבך כי למען ראות המלחמה ירדת וכי אזל שמואל לממשחינהו בכלהו כתיב לא בזה בחר ה' ובאליאב כתיב ויאמר ה' אל שמואל אל תבט אל מראהו ואל גבה קומתו כי מאסתיהו מכלל דהוה רחים ליה עד האידנא
What an extraordinary tzushtell. I wonder who you are.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I later (and I can prove it) saw that Reb Berel Povarsky says what I said about millah being m'akev setting the geulah in motion, just as it is m'akev the korbon that is mazkir the geulah.
are you saying that milas bonov by Moshe was required for the yetzias mitzrayim itself, the "big event", or for the korban pesach which he was going to be told to do. either way your idea is great. just asking.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly right! I'm saying that just as we find that millah is necessary before bringing the korban that merely commemorates the Geulah of the past, Millah is one thousand times more necessary before effectuating the actual geulah.
ReplyDeleteHm. It's a phenomenal shtickel, the sort you'd expect to see in k'Motzei Sholol Rov.
ReplyDeleteI have my reservations, as Moshe goig to Egypt from Midyan was a long time before Yetzias Mitzrayim. The fact he did the Bris, and still the Geula was much later shows that this was not the ikuv. It might have developed into an ikuv later, but at the time, it is shver to say that it was.
Chag Kosher v'Sameach!
Hello, and thank you for your comment. I would say that Moshe coming to Mitzrayim to make the demand from Pharaoh qualifies as the beginning of the geula.
ReplyDeleteWhy the Shalal Rav? If he has it there from someone, like from Reb Berel, I can, as I said, prove that I wrote it before Reb Berel printed it. I had it in my journal from many years ago.