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Is bris milah the father's mitzvah (מצוה) or the son's? The Gemara (גמרא) in Kiddushin 29a lists both milah and pidyon haben as "mitzvah haben," yet the Rambam (רמב"ם) paskens different berachos—lemol for milah but al pidyon haben for redemption. The shiur develops a yesod distinguishing mitzvah aav (the father's direct obligation) from mitzvah haben (responsibility for the child's need), showing that milah has both dimensions while pidyon haben is purely mitzvah haben, which explains the berachos, shehecheyanu, and when beis din may act.
This shiur analyzes a fundamental sugya in Kiddushin 29a regarding the nature of a father's obligations toward his son, focusing on two primary mitzvos: bris milah and pidyon haben. The Gemara (גמרא) presents both as "mitzvah (מצוה) haben" (the son's mitzvah), yet the halachic parameters and berachos differ significantly. Rabbi Zweig explores why Rashi (רש"י) and Tosafos (תוספות) disagree on whether a pasuk is needed to exclude women from these mitzvos, given that both appear to be mitzvos asei she'hazman grama (time-bound positive commandments from which women are generally exempt). The shiur begins by examining Rashi's approach. Rashi asks why we need a pasuk to exclude women from pidyon haben, stating it is a mitzvah asei she'lo hazman grama (not time-bound), yet Rashi does not raise this question regarding bris milah, which clearly cannot be performed at night. Tosafos does ask this question by milah, suggesting that no pasuk should be necessary since it is clearly time-bound. The Kesef Mishneh addresses this by explaining that milah remains a mitzvah even after the eighth day, thus making it not strictly time-bound. However, this does not fully resolve why Rashi treats the two mitzvos differently.
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Kiddushin 29a
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