## Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Brit Mila

###### Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Brit Mila 1
[Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Brit Mila 1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Rosh%20HaShana%20Mahzor/s/Brit%20Mila/r/1)

**English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2019:**
SERVICE AT A CIRCUMCISION
Since the days of Abraham (Gen. 17:4–14), circumcision has been the sign, for Jewish males, of the covenant between God and His people. Despite the fact that the law was restated by Moses (Lev. 12:3), it remains known as the “Covenant of Abraham.” The ceremony – always performed on the eighth day, even on Shabbat, unless there are medical reasons for delay – marks the entry of the child into the covenant of Jewish fate and destiny. The duty of circumcision devolves, in principle, on the father of the child; in practice it is performed only by a qualified *mohel*.


###### Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Brit Mila 21
[Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Brit Mila 21](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Rosh%20HaShana%20Mahzor/s/Brit%20Mila/r/21)

**English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2019:**
בָּרוּךְ *Blessed are You:* There are three blessings to be said at a circumcision: (1) *And has commanded us concerning circumcision*– a blessing over the commandment itself, the “about” formula signaling that the *mohel* is performing the commandment on behalf of the father; (2) *To bring him*[*our son*]*into the covenant of Abraham, our father* – a separate blessing, referring not to the circumcision itself, but what it is a sign of – namely entry into the life of the covenant, under the sheltering wings of the Divine Presence (*Arukh HaShulḥan*, *Yoreh De’ah* 365:5); (3) *Who made the beloved one*[*Isaac*]*holy from the womb* – a blessing of acknowledgment. Isaac was the first child to have a circumcision at the age of eight days. He was consecrated before birth, Abraham having been told that it would be Isaac who would continue the covenant (Gen. 17:19, 21).


###### Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Brit Mila 27
[Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Brit Mila 27](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Rosh%20HaShana%20Mahzor/s/Brit%20Mila/r/27)

**English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2019:**
כְּשֵׁם שֶׁנִּכְנַס לַבְּרִית *Just as he has entered into the covenant:* Mentioned already in early rabbinic sources as the response of those present. The three phrases refer to the duties of a parent to a child: (1) to teach him Torah; (2) to ensure that he marries; and (3) to train him to do good deeds, as the Torah says in the case of Abraham: “For I have singled him out so that he may instruct his children and his posterity to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is just and right” (Gen. 18:19).