Question:
Shalom Harav if after a Brit Mila the mohel gives the orla to someone to bury, what’s the exact procedure how to do & where?
Do you have to say any verses or pesukim while doing it? I heard the mohel said something to say but not sure what
Is there any segula in this?
Please let me know ty
Chazak Baruch
Answer:
There is a long standing minhag to bury the orlah (foreskin) in earth or sand, often it is buried in earth or sand in a cup at the bris. The Zohar gives two kabalistic explanations for this. One is that the orlah is considered a korban, part of the person that is sacrificed and given to Hashem, and it says that the alter should be made out of earth. Another reason brought in the Zohar is that the orlah represents lust and has a connection to the sin of Adam and the snake, which was given earth to eat. A third reason given is because it says in the verse, “and your children will multiply like the sand of the ocean and the earth on the ground”. It is also brought in the Zohar, that burying the orlah saves the person from “chibut hakever”, and from the sword of the angle of death.
There is a segula that when the person places the orlah in the earth to say the words "לנחש עפר לחמו", (Isiah 65-25). Tis is most probably what you heard the mohel say.
Additionally, it is brought from the Arizal (Kisvei Ari- Mamarei Chazal Shabbos 2a) that the prayers of the person burying the orlah are accepted quickly. This is alluded to in the verse “השולח אמרתו ארץ עד מהרה ירוץ דברו”. The simple meaning of the verse is that Hashem sends his word to earth quickly. However, there is a hidden message in this. He sends his word, meaning the person who sends Hashem’s commandment (meaning the mila), and his word, (meaning his prayer) runs and is answered quickly.
Another segula is brought in the name of the Chazon Ish to invert the orlah before placing in the earth, and that it helps the child’s memory. (See Shevet Halevi 4-135(3)
Sources:
Pirkei D’rabi Eliezer 29, Y:D 265 -10, Zohar Lech Lecha 95, Tikunei Zohar 37, Orchos Chaim (Ri M’lunil) – Hilchos Milah, Chochmas Adom 149-23, Shela Hakadosh MIseches Chulin- Torah Ohr 23. Also see Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel Bamidbar 23-10, that there were Jews who did bris in the desert and this caused Bilam to say, “how multitudinous are the merits of Israel”.
Answer:
Sources:
Pirkei D’rabi Eliezer 29, Y:D 265 -10, Zohar Lech Lecha 95, Tikunei Zohar 37, Orchos Chaim (Ri M’lunil) – Hilchos Milah, Chochmas Adom 149-23, Shela Hakadosh MIseches Chulin- Torah Ohr 23. Also see Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel Bamidbar 23-10, that there were Jews who did bris in the desert and this caused Bilam to say, “how multitudinous are the merits of Israel”.