[Avodah] FW: RSRH on Metzitzeh bePeh

[Micha Berger]

Adding more sources to those in my prior post. On Wed, Sep 05, 2012 at
6:23:06PM EDT, I wrote:
: Within Qabbalah, orlah is associated with the kusones or of Adam after the
: cheit, and thus requires curing via that part of the body that performed
: the cheit. I do not have a mar'eh maqom, but I saw this attributed to
: a source well before the3 MbP controversy of the CS's day -- R' Avraham
: Azulai (Morocco, EY; c 1570-1643, the Chida's gg-grandfather and a talmid
: of the Ohr haChaim).

RAA's source is apparently Tiqunei Zohar, tiqun 18. Apparently those of
us who didn't have MbP are missing out on the essence of "peh el peh
adabeir bo" (peh = 85 = milah) and "Hashem sefasai tiftach". So, the
most meiqil a mequbal could hold would be like RSRH -- one needs MbP,
but using a tzinor is still bepeh.

Add to RSRH the Kovno Rav. R' Yitzchaq Elachanan Spector confirmed RSRH's
shitah when R' Hirsch asked for a pesaq. RSRH allows a tzinor when the
family insists; RYES only allows using it when the gov't won't permit
direct bepeh.

: I should also note that while most defenses of metzitzah and MbP in
: particular start in the 19th century, this isn't necessarily because
: it was a chiddush. Rather, EVERYONE did MbP, and no one questioned its
: status until then. Silence came from taking it for granted (c.f. Rama
: YD 265:10 telling you to spit the blood into the dirt), not disimissing
: it! Veharaayah, Sephardim weren't touched by any of these battles,
: and never questioned MbP or even looked to see if alternatives were valid.

The Machzor Vitri (#505) also takes use of the mouth for granted.

As for other acharonim who require *direct* (non-tzinor) MbP, there
is also the Maharam Shik (YD 244), and R' Yehudah Asad. The Maharam
Shik's argument is simply that metzitzah is deOraisa in addition to being
medical. Since metzizah has been done bepeh since Giv'as ha'Aralos in the
days of Yehoshua, we would need proof that alternatives are valid. Last,
the Maharam Shik himself was a mohel, and says he never had a problem.
He blames mohelim who don't take proper precautions, rather than MbP
itself being a medical problem. This might be true of today's situation
as well.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "Fortunate indeed, is the man who takes
micha at aishdas.org        exactly the right measure of himself,  and
http://www.aishdas.org   holds a just balance between what he can
Fax: (270) 514-1507      acquire and what he can use." - Peter Latham