Halakhah su Salmi 119:162

Hokhmat Adam strongly decries the conduct of those who fail to serve a proper meal in conjunction with a circumcision but falls short of a condemnation for failure to fulfill a statutory obligation. Indeed, the halakhic origin and status of the meal offered guests upon the occasion of a circumcision is a matter of some controversy. As recorded in Pirkei de-Rabbi Eli'ezer, chapter 29, rabbinic interpretation of the phrase "beyom higamel et Yizḥak" in the verse "and Abraham made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned" (Genesis 21:8) establishes that Abraham made a "great banquet" on the day of his circumcision of Isaac. Although this rabbinic comment does not unequivocally establish a normative obligation, Sha'arei Teshuvah, Oraḥ Hayyim 551:33, cites one authority who maintains that the repast is "a biblical mizvah." Sefer Haredim, chapter 40, section 3, records participation in a wedding banquet or a circumcision repast in his list of positive commandments derived "from the words of Holy Writ and from the words of the scholars." Yam shel Shlomoh, Bava Kamma 7:37, similarly writes that, in contradistinction to the celebratory meal accompanying the redemption of a first-born son, the circumcision repast constitutes a mizvah and is predicated upon the verse "I rejoice over your word like one who finds abundant spoils" (Psalms 119:162). On the other hand, Teshuvot Bet Ya'akov, no. 73, declares that the status of the repast is rabbinic in nature while Bi'ur ha-Gra, Oraḥ Hayyim 640:6, states that the repast "is not a biblical mizvah and there is no obligation of rejoicing."¹⁴See Sefer ha-Brit 265:159. Magen Avraham, Oraḥ Hayyim 640:13, interprets Teshuvot Maharik, no. 178, as asserting that the meal represents "a mere custom."¹⁵For a conflicting interpretation of Teshuvot Maharik see Eliyahu Rabbah 640:19. See also R. Shimon Konitz, Ot Brit 165:14. Elsewhere, Oraḥ Hayyim 546:5, Magen Avraham declares that a circumcision repast does not entail "rejoicing." However, Mordekhai, Mo'ed Katan, sec. 891, asserts that a mourner may not partake of a meal served in conjunction with a circumcision precisely because it involves rejoicing. That contention is based upon the interpretation by the Gemara, Shabbat 130a and Megillah 16b, of the verse "I rejoice in Your word as one who finds great spoil" (Psalms 119:162) as a reference to circumcision.