Think: In Jewish tradition, we are commanded to circumcise our sons at eight days old. Why do we perform the mitzvah, one so core to Jewish faith, at such a young and tender age? Even more so, given its message, the eternal bond of the Jewish people with G-d, shouldn't it have been held for a later date, perhaps a time when the child experiencing the circumcision can full understand the impact and importance of what the act relates?
The answer is found in the core message of this mitzvah. If the bris milah represents the immutable and eternal connection between the Jewish people and their Creator, then such a bond is not based on knowledge or understanding, nor is it earned through action or lost through inaction. It is inborn and eternal. It is something beyond.
If the seven day cycle of the week represents the ebb and flow of nature - sunrise, sunset, day in, day out - eight days represents a break from the natural order and a step into the transcendent and sublime. The bris is held on the eighth day, because it shows the truly eternal and transcendent nature of that bond.
Do: Grab a seat at our seder, or email us for a little shmurah matzahof your own. Save the date for a very special Lag Baomer celebration and our son Levi's upshernish!Â
Read: Abigail Disney on the meaning of philanthropy, wealth and its affect on our lives in What It’s Like to Grow Up With More Money Than You’ll Ever Spend
Over at Buzzfeed, friend of Tech Tribe Joe Bernstein writes about the complex realities behind the "Nazi Prom solute" photo that shocked the country last November.Â
Watch:Marvel in the timeless beauty of this video I produced, and keep your eye out for some exciting cameos, in How A Mezuzah is Made