A Moral Dilemma to Ask Your Family at the Shabbos Table: “The Jewish Russian Commando”
By Rabbi Yitzi Weiner
This week’s Torah portion discusses the mitzva to perform a circumcision on one’s son on the eighth day. (Vayikra 12, 13). If one cannot get a bris on the eighth day, it is a mitzva to get one at the earliest possible opportunity.
How would you answer the following true story that relates to the mitzva of circumcision?
Alex was a Russian Jew who served in the Soviet special forces, and had extensive military expertise. In the 1970’s he applied to emigrate to Israel and after much bureaucratic difficulty he was allowed to emigrate to Israel. Growing up in the USSR, Alex knew that as a Jew he had a mitzva to get a bris mila (circumcision) but he did not know of any way he could get it done where he lived in the Soviet Union. Among the many reasons he looked forward to living in Israel, he yearned to finally get a bris when he lived in the land of his forefathers.
Alex made aliah in the fall of 1973. Almost immediately after he arrived in Israel, Egypt attacked Israel in the Yom Kippur War. Alex met with local IDF officials and was informed that because of his extensive military training, his expertise could be used immediately in important front line positions.
Alex contacted a doctor and a mohel and was told that if he would perform the bris mila, he would have to recuperate for nearly two weeks before he could take any combat role. As eager as Alex was to help his fellow Jews, he felt torn. He wanted to immediately get his bris performed, a mitzva he had been yearning to do for most of his life.
At the same time he knew he had an obligation and a mitzva to protect his fellow Jews and use his skill in Israel’s defense.
Which mitzva should he do first? Should he first do the bris and only after his nearly two week recovery engage in his combat duties? Or should he go immediately to the front lines and push off the bris until peace time? If he did that, not only will he be postponing the mitzva that he had an opportunity to do, but if he died in battle, he might never be able to fulfill this fundamental mitzva.
According to Jewish law, what do you think Alex’s priority should be . To get a bris first, or to enlist first?
Answer for last week’s moral dilemma
According to the opinion Rabbi Yosef Elyashiv zt”l he should most definitely give the proprietor the mezuzah. The mezuzah may have the effect of inspiring the proprietor to perform more mitzvos and he may eventually change the menu at his restaurant. See Veharev Na Volume Two page 276
Click HERE if you would like to receive this question as an email each week.