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3 ‎[1] Before the circumcision, the person who performs the circumcision recites the blessing, "[Blessed are You...] who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the circumcision." [This applies] when circumcising the son of another person. When circumcising one's own son, one should recite the blessing "... to circumcise a son."
[At the circumcision,] the father of the child recites another blessing:
Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to have our children enter the covenant of Abraham, our Patriarch.
[This blessing was instituted because] it is a greater mitzvah for a father to circumcise his son than for the Jewish people as a whole to circumcise the uncircumcised among them. Therefore, if a child's father is not present, this blessing should not be recited. There are those who have ruled that the court or one of the people [in attendance should recite this blessing in the father's absence]. [Nevertheless, this ruling] should not be followed. ‎[2] If others are present, they say: "Just as you have brought him into the covenant, so, too, may you bring him to Torah, marriage, and good deeds." ‎[3] Afterwards, the father of the child, the person who performed the circumcision, or one of the people in attendance should recite the [following] blessing:
Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has sanctified the cherished from the womb, affixed his covenant in his flesh, and sealed his descendants with the sign of the holy covenant. Therefore, as a reward for this [circumcision], living God, our Portion, our Rock, has ordained that the beloved of our flesh be saved from the abyss for the sake of His covenant that He has set in our flesh. Blessed are You, God, who establishes the covenant.
The father of the son recites the blessing *shehecheyanu*. ‎[4] When circumcising converts, one should recite the blessing:
Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to circumcise converts and to extract from them the blood of the covenant, for were it not for the blood of the covenant the existence of the heavens and the earth could not be maintained, as [Jeremiah 33:25] states: "Were it not for My covenant, day and night, I would not have established the laws of heaven and earth." ‎[5] One who circumcises his slave recites the blessing:
[Blessed are You...] who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to circumcise slaves and to extract from them the blood of the covenant, for were it not for the blood of the covenant the existence of the heavens and the earth could not be maintained...."
If one circumcises a slave belonging to someone else, one should [alter the text of] the blessing and say, "[and commanded us] concerning the circumcision of slaves [and...]
When circumcising an adult male, one must cover his sexual organ until after the blessing is recited. Afterwards, one reveals it and performs the circumcision. ‎[6] When the blood of circumcision is extracted from a convert who had been circumcised before conversion, or from a child who was born without a foreskin, there is no necessity to recite a blessing. Similarly, a blessing is not recited over the circumcision of an *androgynous*, because he is not definitely categorized as a male. ‎[7] It is forbidden for a Jew to circumcise a idolator who is forced to remove his foreskin because of a wound or because of a tumor, since we are instructed neither to save the idolator from death, nor to cause them to die. Although a mitzvah is accomplished in the process of administering this medical treatment, the idolator did not intend to fulfill the mitzvah. If, however, the idolator intends to fulfill the mitzvah of circumcision, it is a mitzvah to circumcise him. ‎[8] How disgusting is the foreskin that is used as a term of deprecation with regard to the gentiles, as [Jeremiah 9:25] states: "For all the gentiles are uncircumcised!" How great is the circumcision! Behold, our Patriarch Abraham was not called "perfect" until he was circumcised, as [Genesis 17:1-2] states: "Proceed before Me and become perfect. And I will place My covenant between Me and you."
Anyone who breaks the covenant of Abraham our Patriarch and leaves his foreskin uncircumcised, or [although he was circumcised,] causes it to appear extended, does not have a portion in the world to come, despite the fact that he has studied Torah and performed good deeds. ‎[9] Come and see how severe a matter circumcision is. Moses, our teacher, was not granted even a temporary respite from [fulfilling this mitzvah].
The Torah mentions only three covenants regarding all its mitzvot, as [Deuteronomy 28:69] states: "These are the words of the covenant that God commanded... in addition to the covenant that He established with you in Chorev." And [Deuteronomy 29:9-11] states: "You are all standing today... to enter into a covenant with God, your Lord." Thus, there are three covenants.
In contrast, thirteen covenants were established with Abraham, our Patriarch, with regard to circumcision:
"I will place My covenant between Me and you" [Genesis 17:2],
"And I, behold, My covenant is with you" [*ibid.*:4],
"I will establish My covenant between Me and you" [*ibid.*:7],
"For an eternal covenant" [*ibid.*],
"And you shall observe My covenant" [*ibid.*:9],
"This is My covenant which you shall observe" [*ibid.*:10],
"It will be a sign of the covenant" [*ibid.*:11],
"My covenant will be in your flesh" [*ibid.*:13],
"For an eternal covenant" [*ibid.*],
"He will have nullified My covenant" [*ibid.*:14],
"And I will establish My covenant with Him" [*ibid.*:19],
"For an eternal covenant" [*ibid.*],
"And I will establish My covenant with Isaac" [*ibid.*:21].
Version: Mishneh Torah, trans. by Eliyahu Touger. Jerusalem, Moznaim Pub. c1986-c2007
Source: https://www.nli.org.il/he/books/NNL_ALEPH001020101/NLI
License: CC-BY-NC