Saturday 19 March 2011

Mussar: Tomer D'vorah 5 - Lamul et ho'Orlah an act of Chessed

Tomer D'vorah 5 - Lamul et ho'Orlah [Tomer Publications pp. 52-53] paragraph beginning Sh'niyah..

English Translation:

«One should pursue all those who cause foreskin to be there, and bring them back to repentance .... He must maintain a firm stance in rectifying everything which causes the foreskin to be there. For this reason ... Pinchas became worthy of the priesthood for he did CHESSED with his Creator..»

When is being a Qannai deemed an act of Chessed? Wouldn't we attribute to it a different middah - such as G'vurah?

Yet taking up the cudgels for Hashem's honour - even in a most confrontational way - may be deemed a Chessed. This may dovetail with Moshe's command to the Levites to execute 3,000 @ the time of the Eigel, as an act of removing that Orlah from Israel.

How might this apply today? Are there Orlot hanging on to otherwise good Jews that need to be circumcised?

Are those opposed to Milah in SF clinging to a form of Orlah? In Opposing mutilation are they perpetuating another agenda?

Shalom,
RRW

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