Question: If Abraham was commanded to circumcise his descendants on the eighth day, why do Arabs – who claim to descend from Abraham through Yishmael – wait until their children are 13 to circumcise them? I am aware that this is a matter of little consequence to our people. Nevertheless, this inconsistency is one that piques my curiosity.
M. Goldman
(Via E-mail)
Answer: As you are aware, you sent me this question a while back. It is one that I have been considering for some time, yet I never seriously addressed it until recently. (I spoke about it in a recent Shabbat morning sermon in my synagogue, Kahal Bnei Matisyahu, in Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY.) Please accept my apologies.
As you will see, the answer to your question may have interesting ramifications.
The command to circumcise a baby boy eight days after he is born is found in Parshat Lech Lecha (Genesis 17:9-14): “Vayomer Elokim el Avraham, ve’atah et briti tishmor, atah ve’zar’acha acharecha, l’dorotam – G-d said to Abraham, ‘And as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. Zot briti asher tishmeru beini u’veineichem u’vein zar’acha acharecha, himol lachem kol zachar – This is My covenant which you shall keep between Me and you and your descendants after you, every male after you shall be circumcised. U’nemaltem et b’sar orlatchem, v’hayah l’ot brit beini u’veinechem – You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. U’ven shemonat yamim yimol lachem kol zachar l’doroteichem y’lid bayit u’miknat kesef mi’kol ben neichar asher lo mi’zaracha hu – At the age of eight days every male among you shall be circumcised throughout your generations, he that is born in the household or purchased with money from any stranger who is not your offspring….’”
Abraham of course obeyed G-d’s command (ibid. 17:23-26): “Vayikach Avraham et Yishmael b’no v’eit kol yelidei veito v’eit kol miknat kaspo, kol zachar b’anshei beit Avraham, vayomolet b’sar orlotom, b’etzem hayom hazeh ka’asher diber ito Elokim – Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those servants born in his household and all that he had purchased for money, all the male members of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, as G-d had spoken with him. V’Avraham ben tish’im v’teisha shanah b’himolo b’sar orloto – And Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised of the flesh of his foreskin. V’Yishmael b’no ben shlosh esreh shanah b’himolo eit besar orloto – And his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised of the flesh of his foreskin. B’etzem hayom hazeh nimol Avraham v’Yishmael b’no – On that very day Abraham was circumcised and [so was] Ishmael, his son….”
The amount of detail and emphasis in the wording of the first passage (ibid. 17:9-14) convey to us how dear the command of brit milah is to G-d. By way of extra verbiage, G-d wished to grant Abraham unique reward for fulfilling this command. The greatest reward was that His name would be forever connected to Abraham and his progeny (Sforno, ad loc.). This serves as a message to all future generations concerning the great significance and reward attached to this mitzvah.
Regarding the second passage (ibid. 17:23-26), Rashi comments that Abraham hastened to fulfill the command right away. On the very day that G-d issued His instruction, Abraham eagerly fulfilled it; he did not even wait until night fell even though doing so would have been safer considering that it was no secret that in his time there were those who might have sought to restrain him from fulfilling G-d’s command. Abraham didn’t care. He performed it on himself and his entire household in the open, during the day, exhibiting fearlessness and great self-sacrifice.