Nedarim Chapter 3, Mishnah 11: Vows Concerning Descendants and the Greatness of Mila

Nedarim Mitzvos (Commandments)The Laws of Shabbos

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Nedarim, Chapter 3, Mishnah 11. Our Mishnah deals with vows in which the one who vows makes the prohibition of benefit depend on the name of a group - the sons of Noach, the seed of Avraham, Israel, the uncircumcised and the circumcised - and from there it moves on to a series of statements of the Tannaim in praise of the mitzvah of milah.

"Konam she'eini neheneh livnei Noach" (Konam, that I derive no benefit from the sons of Noach):

One who vows not to derive benefit from the sons of Noach - "mutar b'Yisrael" - he is permitted to derive benefit from a Jew. Even though the Jewish people are also descendants of Noach, they are not known by that name, but by the name "Bnei Yisrael". "V'assur b'umos ha'olam" - he is forbidden to derive benefit from the other nations, for they are the ones commonly called "the sons of Noach".

"She'eini neheneh l'zar'o shel Avraham" (that I derive no benefit from the seed of Avraham):

Here the ruling is reversed: "assur b'Yisrael u'mutar b'umos ha'olam" - he is forbidden to benefit from a Jew and permitted to benefit from the nations of the world, even from the children of Yishmael. Even though the Arabs are literally descendants of Avraham, common usage does not call them "the seed of Avraham", especially since the verse states: "For through Yitzchak will your seed be called" - the seed is reckoned specifically through Yitzchak. And not all of Yitzchak's descendants are included, for the verse says "through (b') Yitzchak", and this implies a limitation - part of Yitzchak and not all of him. Therefore the descendants of Esav are also excluded, even though they are descendants of both Yitzchak and Avraham.

One who vows not to benefit from Jews, and one who vows that Jews shall not benefit from him:

"She'eini neheneh l'Yisrael" - that he will receive no benefit from any Jew. Therefore "lokeach b'yoker u'mocher b'pachos" - he must buy items for more than their value and sell for less than their value, so that no benefit will come to him from the transaction.
"SheYisrael nehenin li" - that Jews shall receive no benefit from him. Here the rule is the opposite: "lokeach b'pachos u'mocher b'yoser" - he buys for less than the accepted price and sells for more than the going price, so that no benefit will reach the other party. And all of this applies only "im shomea lo" - if the seller or the buyer agrees to this, for not every person will consent to sell to him for less and pay him more.

And if he vowed in both directions at once - that he will not benefit from Jews and that Jews will not benefit from him - he no longer has the option of buying high and selling low, and nothing remains for him but to do business with non-Jews alone.

"Arel" and "mul" - to whom does the one who vows refer?

One who vows not to benefit from the uncircumcised - he is permitted to benefit from uncircumcised Jews and forbidden to benefit from circumcised non-Jews. A Jew who has no milah, such as one whose brothers died as a result of circumcision and who is therefore not circumcised because of the danger to life, is technically still uncircumcised, but halachically he cannot remove his foreskin, and therefore he is not called "arel".
One who vows not to benefit from the circumcised - he is forbidden to benefit from uncircumcised Jews and permitted to benefit from circumcised non-Jews. Even though this Jew was not actually circumcised, he is still counted in the category of the circumcised; and conversely, in the case of a non-Jew who was circumcised, the technical fact of his circumcision does not bring him into the category of "the circumcised".

The reason for this:

The Mishnah explains: "she'ein ha'orlah keruyah ella l'shem hagoyim" - the term "orlah" is applied specifically to the nations of the world. As it says: "For all the nations are uncircumcised" - all the nations are considered uncircumcised; whereas regarding Israel the verse continues: "and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart", that is, an uncircumcised heart, which is merely an expression of rebuke and moral instruction to the Jewish people. And so too we find: "And this uncircumcised Philistine", and likewise: "Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult" - the Philistines and the uncircumcised are one and the same, and from here we see that the title "arel" refers to a non-Jew.

Great is milah - the statements of the Tannaim:

Arising from the discussion of milah, the Mishnah adds a series of statements in praise of the mitzvah:

Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah says: "Great is milah, for through it the wicked are disgraced" - the foreskin is considered a disgrace, and through it the wicked are disgraced, as it says: "For all the nations are uncircumcised".
Rabbi Yishmael says: "Great is milah, for thirteen covenants were made over it" - for in the portion of Lech Lecha, in which we were commanded regarding milah, the term "bris" (covenant) is stated thirteen times.
Rabbi Yosei says: "Great is milah, for it overrides the stringent laws of Shabbos" - for if the eighth day falls on Shabbos, we circumcise him, even though this involves performing melachah on Shabbos, as is derived from the verse.
Rabbi Shimon ben Karcha says: "Great is milah, for Moshe the righteous was not granted even a single hour's delay on its account" - for although Moshe had many merits to his credit, and he was on his way to save the Jewish people, once he failed to circumcise his son on time he was not given even a moment's leniency, and immediately the angel sought to kill him.
Rabbi Nechemyah says: "Great is milah, for it overrides the laws of the nega'im" - for the Torah forbade cutting off a bahereth, and a person may not remove the sign of tzara'as from his body; yet when the sign of tzara'as is located on the place of the milah, one removes the foreskin together with the nega, and although this would ordinarily be forbidden, here it is permitted.
Rebbi says: "Great is milah, for despite all the mitzvos that Avraham Avinu performed, he was not called complete until he was circumcised" - as it says in the command of milah: "Walk before Me and be complete", meaning that through fulfilling the covenant he would attain his completeness.

Another explanation: "Great is milah, for were it not for it, the Holy One, Blessed is He, would not have created His world", as it says: "Were it not for My covenant day and night, I would not have set the laws of heaven and earth" - were it not for the covenant, the Holy One, Blessed is He, would not have established the laws of heaven and earth. From here we see that the bris milah is what sustains the entire world.

In summary: In this Mishnah we learned how the scope of a vow is determined by the term the one who vows chose to use - "sons of Noach", "the seed of Avraham", "Israel", "the uncircumcised" and "the circumcised" - for everything follows common usage and not technical lineage; and we also learned the ways of doing business for one who vows not to benefit from Jews or that Jews shall not benefit from him. From there we moved on to the statements of the Tannaim in praise of milah: the disgrace of the uncircumcised, the thirteen covenants, the overriding of Shabbos and of the nega'im, the severity of Moshe's delay, the completeness of Avraham, and finally the existence of the entire world, which depends on the covenant.

Original maamar

אות נדרים ג:יא

קוֹנָם שֶׁאֵינִי נֶהֱנֶה לִבְנֵי נֹחַ, מֻתָּר בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָסוּר בְּאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם. שֶׁאֵינִי נֶהֱנֶה לְזֶרַע אַבְרָהָם, אָסוּר בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וּמֻתָּר בְּאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם. שֶׁאֵינִי נֶהֱנֶה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, לוֹקֵחַ בְּיוֹתֵר וּמוֹכֵר בְּפָחוֹת. שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל נֶהֱנִין לִי, לוֹקֵחַ בְּפָחוֹת וּמוֹכֵר בְּיוֹתֵר, אִם שׁוֹמְעִין לוֹ. שֶׁאֵינִי נֶהֱנֶה לָהֶן וְהֵן לִי, יְהַנֶּה לַנָּכְרִים. קוֹנָם שֶׁאֵינִי נֶהֱנֶה לָעֲרֵלִים, מֻתָּר בְּעַרְלֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָסוּר בְּמוּלֵי הַגּוֹיִם. קוֹנָם שֶׁאֵינִי נֶהֱנֶה לַמּוּלִים, אָסוּר בְּעַרְלֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וּמֻתָּר בְּמוּלֵי הַגּוֹיִם, שֶׁאֵין הָעָרְלָה קְרוּיָה אֶלָּא לְשֵׁם הַגּוֹיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ירמיה ט) כִּי כָל הַגּוֹיִם עֲרֵלִים וְכָל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל עַרְלֵי לֵב, וְאוֹמֵר (שמואל א יז) וְהָיָה הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי הֶעָרֵל הַזֶּה, וְאוֹמֵר (שמואל ב א) פֶּן תִּשְׂמַחְנָה בְּנוֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים, פֶּן תַּעֲלֹזְנָה בְּנוֹת הָעֲרֵלִים. רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה אוֹמֵר, מְאוּסָה עָרְלָה שֶׁנִּתְגַּנּוּ בָהּ הָרְשָׁעִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, כִּי כָל הַגּוֹיִם עֲרֵלִים. רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל אוֹמֵר, גְּדוֹלָה מִילָה שֶׁנִּכְרְתוּ עָלֶיהָ שְׁלֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה בְרִיתוֹת. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, גְּדוֹלָה מִילָה, שֶׁדּוֹחָה אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת הַחֲמוּרָה. רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן קָרְחָה אוֹמֵר, גְּדוֹלָה מִילָה, שֶׁלֹּא נִתְלָה לוֹ לְמֹשֶׁה הַצַדִּיק עָלֶיהָ מְלֹא שָׁעָה. רַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה אוֹמֵר, גְּדוֹלָה מִילָה, שֶׁדּוֹחָה אֶת הַנְּגָעִים. רַבִּי אוֹמֵר, גְּדוֹלָה מִילָה, שֶׁכָּל הַמִּצְוֹת שֶׁעָשָׂה אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ לֹא נִקְרָא שָׁלֵם, עַד שֶׁמָּל, שֶׁנֱּאֶמַר (בראשית יז), הִתְהַלֵּךְ לְפָנַי וֶהְיֵה תָמִים. דָּבָר אַחֵר, גְּדוֹלָה מִילָה, שֶׁאִלְמָלֵא הִיא, לֹא בָרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת עוֹלָמוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ירמיה לג), כֹּה אָמַר ה' אִם לֹא בְרִיתִי יוֹמָם וָלָיְלָה, חֻקּוֹת שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ לֹא שָׂמְתִּי: If one says: The property of the descendants of Noah is konam for me, and for that reason I will not benefit from it, he is permitted to derive benefit from a Jew but prohibited from deriving benefit from the nations of the world. If one says: The property of the offspring of Abraham is forbidden to me, and for that reason I will not benefit from it, he is prohibited from deriving benefit from a Jew but permitted to derive benefit from the nations of the world. If one says: The property of a Jew is forbidden to me, and for that reason I will not benefit from it, he may purchase items from a Jew for more than the market price and may sell items to a Jew for less than the market price, so that he does not derive benefit from the transactions. If one says: Benefit from me is forbidden to a Jew, he may purchase items from a Jew for less than the market price and may sell items to a Jew for more than the market price, so that he does not derive benefit from the transactions. But although this would be permitted, they do not listen to him, i.e., people will generally not agree to deal with him in a manner that causes them a loss in every transaction. If one says: The property of a Jew is forbidden to me, and for that reason I will not benefit from them, and my property is forbidden to a Jew and they will not benefit from me, in this case he may benefit from the nations of the world but not from a Jew, and a Jew may not benefit from him. If one says: Benefiting from those who are uncircumcised is konam for me, he is permitted to derive benefit from uncircumcised Jews because they are not regarded as uncircumcised, but he is prohibited from deriving benefit from the circumcised of the nations of the world. Conversely, if he said: Benefiting from those who are circumcised is konam for me, he is prohibited from deriving benefit even from uncircumcised Jews and he is permitted to derive benefit from the circumcised of the nations of the world, as the term uncircumcised is used only to name the nations of the world, as it is stated: “For all the nations are uncircumcised, but all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart” (Jeremiah 9:25), and it says: “And this uncircumcised Philistine shall be” (I Samuel 17:36), and it says: “Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph” (II Samuel 1:20). These verses indicate that ordinary gentiles are referred to as uncircumcised, regardless of whether they are actually circumcised. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya says: The foreskin is repulsive, as is evident from the fact that the wicked are disgraced through it, as it is stated: “Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will punish all them that are circumcised in their uncircumcision: Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair polled, that dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, but all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart” (Jeremiah 9:25), which indicates that there is an element of disgrace associated with the foreskin. Rabbi Yishmael says: So great is the mitzva of circumcision that thirteen covenants were sealed with regard to it, for the word covenant appears thirteen times in the biblical passage that discusses circumcision (Genesis, chapter 17). Rabbi Yosei says: So great is the mitzva of circumcision that it overrides the strict halakhot of Shabbat, as circumcision is performed even if the eighth day following the birth of a son occurs on Shabbat, despite the fact that circumcision violates the prohibition of labor on Shabbat. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa says: Great is the mitzva of circumcision, as is evident from the fact that the punishment of Moses the righteous for not circumcising his son when he was capable of doing so was not postponed for even a full hour (see Exodus 4:24–26). Rabbi Neḥemya says: So great is the mitzva of circumcision that it overrides the prohibitions associated with leprosy. If leprosy is found on the foreskin of an infant, although it is generally prohibited to cut the afflicted area, it is permitted to do so to perform the mitzva of circumcision. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: So great is the mitzva of circumcision that despite all the mitzvot that Abraham our Patriarch did, he was not called wholehearted until he circumcised himself, as it is stated at the time that the mitzva was given to him: “Walk before Me and you should be wholehearted” (Genesis 17:1). Alternatively, so great is the mitzva of circumcision that if not for it the Holy One, Blessed be He, would not have created His world, as it is stated: “Thus says the Lord: If My covenant be not with day and night, I would not have appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth” (Jeremiah 33:25), and the covenant that exists day and night is the covenant of circumcision, as it is always found on the person’s body.