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Should one recite shehecheyanu at a bris milah when the child experiences pain? The Rambam (רמב"ם)'s timing provides the answer: shehecheyanu is not recited on the painful act of circumcision itself, but on the child's joyful new status as a ba'al bris. This distinction resolves the apparent conflict with those who oppose the blessing due to the child's suffering.
This shiur examines the halachic question of whether to recite the blessing of shehecheyanu at a bris milah. The Rambam (רמב"ם) rules that one should make a birkas shehecheyanu on milah, a position that is codified by the Mechaber in Shulchan Aruch. However, the Hagahos Maimoniyos cites Rabbeinu Simcha who disagrees, arguing that no shehecheyanu should be recited because, as Tosafos (תוספות) explains, the circumcision involves tzara d'yankah (suffering of the child). Since shehecheyanu is specifically for occasions of joy and simcha, and while the parents may be joyful, the child is experiencing pain, Rabbeinu Simcha holds that the blessing is inappropriate. The shiur addresses an apparent inconsistency in the Rambam's rulings. In Hilchos Pidyon HaBen, the Rambam rules that one makes the primary berachah followed immediately by shehecheyanu before performing the pidyon. However, in Hilchos Milah, the Rambam does not mention this sequence, creating a need for explanation (hesber) about why the timing differs between these two mitzvos.
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Hilchos Milah, Hilchos Pidyon HaBen
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