Timeless Torah

Two stories: 3 candidates for new samurai, German knife (Personal: Agnostic) Abraham’s self-performed circumcision launched him as a Jew. Why? Greeks, Bolsheviks decreed against bris. Why? Mitzvos performed by uncircumcised person just doesn’t cut it. Why?

Torah: Body and soul. Mystical Judaism is not divorced from body of Torah. Body without soul is corpse; soul without body is a ghost.

Mitzvohs (like everything else) need to be defined: 1) Physical (tells us little), 2) what you do (work, hobbies), 3) inner passions/desires. Ex: succah – 1) hut, 2)Party hut, 3) Hashem sheltering the Jewish people, Makifin D’binah. Circumcision: 1) a cut on a sensitive part of the flesh, 2) Bris (gematria 612 + the word itself), bris is equal to all other mitzvohs. Why?

Such an important mitzvah, that Moses is swallowed by snake because of his neglect, though he is on his way to redeem the Jews. Bris as in the covenant of Torah is mentioned 3 times, the covenant by Bris, 13 times. Relationships are built because of some sort of attraction. What happens when relationships sour? For most of history, couples stayed in bad relationships. Why? Covenant. Bris is an irrational covenant. 612 mitzvohs have 3 covenants to sustain them. Bris (oldest mitzvah) has 13 covenants.

Though Abraham started his search at 3, gets first mitzvah at 99. Even today, baby gets first mitzvah at 8 days old, all other mitzvahs when you’re 13 years old. Why? Doesn’t mitzvah require intent, consciousness. Maybe make it at 13, give people a choice?

Define mitzvah: commandment, good deed (give charity, eat cracker??), act of faith. Tzavta: connection (metaphor of sage who asks little boy for glass of water.) A mechanism by which we bring G-d into the world and elevate the physical Bracha: Literally to draw down. “Thank you G-d for giving me this opportunity.” When Moshiach comes this energy will be tangible because of G-d’s 3 eternal covenants, yet 13 for circumcision.

Why didn’t Abraham, who kept all mitzvohs, not do bris? Torah is not in Heaven as Moses argued before the Giving of the Torah? What did angels think? To fulfill the spiritual aspects of the mitzvah. However the essence of Torah is played out in this physical world. “Mi yaaleh lonu Hashomaymah? Torah is not in heaven “that one might say, ‘who shall go up to the heavens for us’ and get it for us.” (Deut. 30:12) First letters: Milah Last letters: Hashem’s name, Y-H-V-H. One mitzvah that comes from Heaven. Every other mitzvah accesses g-dliness from three worlds. (B’riah, Yetzirah, Assiyah) Bris accesses 10 sefiros of Atzilus plus 3 worlds.

Leaves an imprint on your physical flesh, not tefillin, etc. Patriarchs’ mitzvohs were deemed ruchos-scents, mitzvohs that pass. (Jacob discarding sticks).

Before Sinai (before covenant), mitzvohs could not make a lasting impact. But Maaseh Avos Siman L’banim: so he needed one mitzvah. All mitzvohs reach 49 levels of spirituality. All other mitzvohs create something. Bris doesn’t create something, it merely reveals that was hidden, we just remove any obstacles

Mee – 50 gets us into heaven. You get your neshama. Neshama is hovering to get it into flesh is by removing the orlah. Uncircumcised Jews cannot merit resurrection. Without Bris, soul cannot re(enter) body.