This  week's parsha begins with the laws of a woman who has given birth. The Torah tells us that if she gives birth to a male, she is in a state of impurity for seven days. Then, on the eighth day the child is circumcised. After that, the woman is in a state of purity even if she does emit blood during that period. The verse that presents the requirement for circumcision, "On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised," (Vayikra 12:2) serves as the source for many of the laws of bris milah. Why did the Torah choose this context as the place to mention these laws?

Rabbi Zvi Dov Kanotopsky, in his work The Depths of Simplicity, in his comments on parshas Tazria, writes that there was a need to focus the mother's efforts at child-rearing in the proper direction. When a woman gives birth, she feels fulfilled as a woman, and is apt to view her new child exclusively from her own perspective. However, it is important for her to realize that eventually her child will become an independent personality, and raise his own family. Therefore the Torah had to remind her that he is part of the Jewish people and must serve a role within the wider community. This connection to the Jewish people is signified by the mark of circumcision. Rabbi David Zvi Hoffman, in his commentary to Vayikra, in explaining the reason behind the mitzvah of milah, accepts as central this very notion, that it serves as a form of group identity, as the Rambam writes in his Guide for the Perplexed. Building on Rabbi Kanotopsky's explanation, I would like to suggest a further reason for the contextual significance of the mitzvah of bris milah.

Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib, the second Gerrer Rebbe, in his commentary Sefas Emes to parshas Tazria, cites the Midrash Tanchuma, which records a conversation between Rabbi Akiva and Tyrranus Rufus the Wicked concerning the mitzvah of bris milah. Against Tyrranus Rufus' contention that the performance of circumcision constitutes a violation of God's perfect creation, Rabbi Akiva demonstrates that, in fact, the acts of man are more beautiful than the acts of God. He concludes that the mitzvos were not given for God's benefit, but for man's benefit, to refine him. In this connection, the Sefas Emes cites the verse from the prayer offered to God by Chana upon the birth of her son Shmuel, "And there is no 'tzur' like our God," (Shmuel I, 2:2). Although the word 'tzur' is usually translated as rock, the Talmud (Berochos 10a) interprets it as if it were written as 'tzayar' - artist. Chana, the rabbis explain, was saying that there is no artist like God, Who creates a tzuroh - a form - within a form. Though, simply understood, this Talmudic passage is referring to the fetus, which is a form of a human being created within the mother's womb, the Sefas Emes adds that there is a further level of meaning to this term for the human being, which has significance for the mitzvah of milah.

Using well known terms going back to ancient philosophy, and developed by the Maharal of Prague and others, the Sefas Emes explains that the human being consists of chomer, matter, and tzuroh, form. A person's tzuroh constitutes the essence of who he is. When the rabbis refer to man as a tzuroh within a tzuroh, they mean to say that within each human being, there are ever deeper layers of spirituality. These layers need to be mined, and the first step in this process is the mitzvah of circumcision. By removing the physical orlah, or covering, a spiritual covering is also removed, revealing the person's tzuroh, his inner essence. This process of descending ever deeper into one's inner essence must continue throughout his life. Through the performance of mitzvos, man continually refines himself, delving ever deeper into his soul.

Following the teaching of the Sefas Emes, and with the background of Rabbi Kanotopsky's comment in mind, we can offer a further suggestion to explain the placement of the mitzvah of milah within the context of childbirth. As Rabbi Kanotopsky noted, the birth of a child gives the mother a sense of fulfillment. Both parents, in fact, may have a tendency to develop their child in a matter that reflects their own personalities, viewing him as an extension of themselves. Although it is important for the parents to dedicate themselves to the child's education as a Jew, they must also recognize that the child has his own inner essence, and must be allowed and encouraged to develop it. Perhaps, then, this is an additional message to be derived from the requirement to circumcise the child so shortly after his birth, and the Torah's mention of the requirement within this context.