📖 Daily Rambam (1 Chapter) Mila Chapter 3: Blessings, Procedure, and Significance of the Bris

Halacha 1 — The brachot said before the circumcision

Who says what, and when:

1. The mohel (the one performing the milah) says a berachah before doing the circumcision.

• If he is circumcising someone else’s son:
  He says:
  “…Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the circumcision.”
• If he is circumcising his own son:
  He says instead:
  “…to circumcise a son.”

1. The father says an additional berachah at the circumcision:

• “…Who commanded us to have our children enter the covenant of Abraham our Patriarch.”

1. Why this berachah belongs to the father (and not just anyone):

• Because the father’s mitzvah to circumcise his son is described here as a “greater mitzvah” than the communal obligation to circumcise uncircumcised males generally.

1. If the father is not present:

• This father-berachah should not be recited.
• Even though some rule the court or another attendee should say it when the father is absent, the Rambam says not to follow that ruling.

Halacha 2 — What the people say (a ציבור response)

If others are present, they say:

• “Just as you have brought him into the covenant, so too may you bring him to Torah, marriage, and good deeds.”

This is presented as the standard ציבור response said at the time of the milah.

Halacha 3 — The longer “covenant” berachah and Shehecheyanu

Afterward, one of these people may recite the long covenant berachah:

• The father, or
• The mohel, or
• Someone else present

The berachah text begins:

• “Who has sanctified the cherished from the womb… affixed His covenant… sealed descendants… saved from the abyss… Blessed are You… Who establishes the covenant.”

Additionally:

• The father recites Shehecheyanu.

So Halacha 3 is essentially:

• Who may say the “Asher kidesh…” berachah, and
• That the father adds Shehecheyanu.

Halacha 4 — Berachah for converts

When circumcising converts, the berachah is different:

• “…commanded us to circumcise converts and to extract from them the blood of the covenant…”

And it includes an added theme:

• The covenant is portrayed as sustaining creation:
  “Were it not for My covenant, day and night, I would not have established the laws of heaven and earth.” (Jeremiah 33:25)

So Halacha 4 defines:

• The text and focus of the convert-milah berachah.

Halacha 5 — Berachah for circumcising slaves + modesty for adult milah

1. If one circumcises his slave, he says:

• “…commanded us to circumcise slaves and to extract from them the blood of the covenant…”
  (and repeats the same covenant-sustains-world idea)

1. If one circumcises a slave belonging to someone else:

• He changes the wording to:
  “…concerning the circumcision of slaves…”
  (i.e., altered נוסח when it is not “your” slave)

1. When circumcising an adult male:

• One must cover the sexual organ until after the berachah is recited.
• After the berachah, it is uncovered and the circumcision is performed.

So Halacha 5 contains:

• Slave berachah (own vs. someone else’s)
• Modesty procedure for adult milah around the berachah

Halacha 6 — Cases where no berachah is recited

No berachah is needed in these cases:

1. Hatafat dam brit (extracting covenant blood) for:

• A convert who was already circumcised before conversion
• A child born without a foreskin

1. Androgynous:

• No berachah over the circumcision of an androgynous, because he is not definitely male.

So Halacha 6 is a “no-berachah list,” plus the reason for androgynous.

Halacha 7 — Circumcising a gentile

1. Forbidden case:

• A Jew may not circumcise a gentile who is removing foreskin because of a wound or tumor, because we are instructed (as stated here) neither to save them from death nor to cause them to die.

1. Reason given:

• Even though a mitzvah-act happens during the treatment, the gentile did not intend the mitzvah.

1. Permitted case:

• If the gentile intends to fulfill the mitzvah of circumcision, then it is permitted to circumcise him.

So Halacha 7 turns on intent: medical necessity without mitzvah intent vs. mitzvah intent.

Halacha 8 — Greatness of milah + consequence of “breaking the covenant”

1. Foreskin as disgrace:

• The foreskin is described as extremely disgraceful; it is used as a derogatory marker regarding gentiles.

1. Abraham and “perfection”:

• Abraham is not called “perfect” until circumcised (“Proceed before Me and become perfect… I will place My covenant…”).

1. Severe consequence:

• One who breaks Abraham’s covenant and remains uncircumcised, or
  one who was circumcised but causes it to appear extended,
  has no share in the World to Come, even if he learned Torah and did good deeds.

So Halacha 8 is primarily:

• Milah’s spiritual centrality and
• The ultimate spiritual penalty described here for nullifying it.

Halacha 9 — Severity: Moshe + number of covenants

1. Milah’s urgency shown by Moshe:

• Moshe was not granted even a temporary respite from this mitzvah.

1. Covenants comparison:

• Torah as a whole is described here as having three covenants.
• Milah is described as having thirteen covenants with Abraham.

1. The halacha lists those 13 “covenant” phrases from Genesis 17.

So Halacha 9 is a “proof-by-structure”:

• Moshe’s case + 13 covenant statements = how weighty milah is.