Why Didn’t God Create Us Perfect? | Rabbi Yosef Benyaminov

We all know the famous mitzvah that Abram was commanded to do. In other words, even though our sages tell us that our forefathers Abram, Isaac, and Jacob fulfilled all the commandments on their own, but one was given to Abram specifically was Brit Milah. The mitzvah of circumcising a baby boy when he is only 8 days old. And there's a Midrash, very fascinating Midrash that I'd like to share with you. Midrash says >> [clears throat] >> Rufus Turfus was a Roman official who tried to catch Rabbi Akiva. He asked him once, "Whose handiwork is greater, God's or human beings'?" >> [music] >> And Rabbi Akiva understood he's trying to trick him. He said, "Obviously human beings." So, what do you mean? Look at the heavens and the earth. Who could create all of that? He said, "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about things that we're able to accomplish." >> [music] >> He said, "What do you mean by that?" He said, "I'll show you." Right. He went home and he got a little bit of bread and he showed him stalks. He said, "What's greater, stalks or or bread?" He said, "Stalks are made by God and bread is made by human beings. You can't eat stalks, but you can eat bread. So, our handiwork must be better." And Rufus Rufus said, said, "Oh, you're right cuz I was I was going to ask you about the Brit Milah. If you hold that God is so perfect, how could he create a human being that's not perfect?" And >> [clears throat] >> Rabbi Akiva answered, "You're right. >> [music] >> We have the mitzvah of doing the Brit Milah to show exactly that point, that we are not perfect. We have to make this world as much as we can [music] >> [clears throat] >> to make it more perfect. And that's what the baby's taught from the very young age at 8 days old, that we are so happy that we're able to do this mitzvah and it's a lesson not just for the baby, for all of us, that we [music] have to use this world in order to perfect it, not to live for ourselves necessarily, but to to live for a sham and to try to make everything so that surrounds us to [music] be much better.