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Dec 3, 2019

Interesting Psak: mila or money?

An interesting question was presented to Rav Dovid Yosef.

Father had a baby boy. Father is a baal teshuva with a strained relationship with his father, since he became frum. Father learns in kollel in Bnei Braq, and since he became frum, Grandfather pulled the plug and does not support him - even to the point that he refused to help with the wedding, of his only son, when Father got married.

So now Father is making a bris. He called Grandfather and invited him to the bris and invited him with the honor of being sandak. Grandfather has a problem though. On the baby's 8th day, the day of the bris, Grandfather is scheduled to be abroad in a business meeting - a trip that he cannot cancel.

So, Grandfather made Father an offer. Grandfather offered Father to buy him a 4 room apartment in Bnei Braq if he would agree to push the bris off one day, giving him time to return in time for the bris and to be sandak.

Father sent the question to Rav Dovid Yosef asking if he could push off the bris one day, as the Rama writes by the halachos of the esrog that one need not take a loss of a lot of money (1/5th value of an object) in order to perform the mitzva, and he referred to opinions that apply the Rama's statement to bris mila as well. Father said, receiving this gift of an apartment would save him 3000nis each month from rental payments, which he said is more than 1/5 loss if he would pass up the gift of an apartment in exchange for the bris.

According to Kikar, Rav Yosef responded by pointing Father to the writing of Rav Ovadia Yosef, his father, who deliberated between the issue of pushing off a mitzva that needs to be done, which could be a "bittul aseh", versus the loss of significant money that Father would incur if he does not take the apartment and does not push off the bris. Rav Yosef left the decision in Father's hands, essentially saying either side of the debate is legitimate, and he should follow the opinion that speaks to him more or that he feels is more correct.

I don't know of any source for this being a factor, but I am surprised it was not at least part of the question - that being, if he would push it off by a day and be able to honor his father, it would go a long way in healing the rift in the family, while rejecting Grandfather's request would probably even make it worse. Again, I am not aware of a source that would allow that to be a factor in delaying a bris, but there might be such an opinion and at least it could have been asked and discussed, even if ultimately rejected.



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5 comments:

  1. And????? what to spoke to the boys heart? the apt or the mila?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Father is a CLEAR narcissist -- narcissists always play games with the money. He has a GRANDCHILD - but it's all about him.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't really understand the question. This is not a loss of money. I am not familiar with any source that says that a person may get paid not to perform a mitzva.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Repeating Dr. Goldmeier's question -- which did he choose?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Clearly he's not interested in repairing rifts, or he would have mentioned it. He's interested in the money.

    ReplyDelete

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