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Why does the Gemara (גמרא) say mitzvos accepted with joy remain joyful while those accepted reluctantly stay burdensome? The shiur develops a yesod that bris milah corrects physical self-centeredness by creating independence from bodily desires, but this can reinforce emotional self-centeredness. Arayos prohibitions address the emotional dimension where people relate to others as extensions of their own will.
This shiur analyzes a perplexing passage in Masechta Shabbos (שבת) (130a) which states that any mitzvah (מצוה) Klal Yisrael originally accepted with joy (like bris milah) continues to be performed joyfully, while mitzvos accepted reluctantly (like arayos prohibitions) remain burdensome. Rabbi Zweig questions the obvious nature of this statement - why wouldn't things that were originally liked continue to be liked? The deeper analysis reveals that bris milah and arayos represent two forms of self-centeredness that should theoretically correct each other. The Rambam (רמב"ם) in Moreh Nevuchim explains that bris milah reduces physical pleasure, creating independence from bodily desires. However, Rabbi Zweig distinguishes between physical self-centeredness (gratification of bodily desires) and emotional self-centeredness (doing everything for one's own emotional fulfillment). The joy of bris milah comes from achieving independence - like a child being weaned (the pasuk's reference to 'b'yom higamel es Yitzchok'). This creates freedom from being enslaved to physical drives, making one a master over their body rather than its servant. However, this independence can actually reinforce emotional self-centeredness - the feeling of 'I want to be above that thing.' The prohibition of arayos addresses a different form of self-centeredness - the emotional aspect where a person relates to others only as extensions of their own will. Rabbi Zweig explains that had bris milah been accepted at its ultimate level - recognizing that pleasure is merely a means of discovering Hashem (ה׳) rather than self-gratification - it would have corrected both physical and emotional self-centeredness simultaneously. The fact that it was accepted only at the level of achieving personal independence (b'yom higamel) meant it couldn't serve as a complete tikkun for the self-centeredness underlying arayos. The shiur connects this to Avrohom Avinu's bris being milah without priyah, which was only given later at Har Sinai. The complete bris, including priyah, represents the crown of kedushah that would create total anti-avodah zarah consciousness. True bris milah at its highest level should eliminate both the drive for physical pleasure and the emotional self-centeredness that makes one resistant to relating properly to others. The perpetuation of the original attitudes toward these mitzvos reflects the spiritual level at which they were initially accepted.
Shabbos 130a
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