The Torah commands in the Book of Shemot (12:48), “Ve’chol Arel Lo Yochal Bo” – an uncircumcised male is forbidden from eating the meat of the Korban Pesach. If a Jewish male is not circumcised, even if this is due to the fact that two of his brothers died as a result of Berit Mila, indicating a hereditary medical condition that makes circumcision dangerous, nevertheless, he may not partake of the Korban Pesach. Although a person in this situation is not required to undergo circumcision, given the life-threatening danger, he is included in the prohibition of “Ve’chol Arel Lo Yochal Bo.” The Korban Pesach celebrates the miracle of the Exodus, the time when Beneh Yisrael left their status as slaves to Pharaoh and became the servants of G-d, and so only those who have undergone Berit Mila, bearing the symbol of this status of servitude, may partake of the sacrifice. A male who is not circumcised and eats a Ke’zayit of the Korban Pesach is liable to Malkut (lashes).
The Gemara in Masechet Pesahim (120) states that although an Arel (uncircumcised male) does not eat the Korban Pesach, he does eat the other two foods required on the night of Pesach – Masa and Marror. The Torah emphasizes that an Arel may not partake “Bo” – of the Korban Pesach, indicating that he does partake of Masa and Marror.
It seems difficult to understand, at first glance, why an Arel would be required to eat Marror, which is required on the level of Torah law only in conjunction with the Korban Pesach. Unlike the Torah obligation of Masa, which applies independently of the Misva of Korban Pesach, the Torah obligation to eat Marror applies only when one eats the Korban Pesach. And thus nowadays, when we do not have the Bet Ha’mikdash and cannot offer the Korban Pesach, the requirement to eat Marror applies only Mi’de’rabbanan – on the level of Rabbinic enactment. We might wonder, then, why the Gemara inferred from the verse that an Arel, who does not eat the Korban Pesach, is nevertheless required to eat Marror. Indeed, the Meiri (Rav Menachem Meiri, France, 1249-1310) writes that the word “Marror” was added only “Agab Gerara” (“incidentally”), and the Gemara did not really mean that an Arel is obligation to eat Marror on Pesach.
The Rambam, however, writes explicitly that an Arel is obligated to eat both Masa and Marror, even though the Misva of Marror is linked to the Misva of Korban Pesach. Seemingly, we must explain that the Rambam speaks of the Rabbinic requirement to eat Marror even when the Korban Pesach is not eaten. Just as the Sages enacted a requirement to eat Marror nowadays, when we cannot offer the Korban Pesach, they similarly enacted a requirement for an Arel to eat Marror even though he may not partake of the Korban Pesach.
This prohibition applies also to the Arel’s father. If a child is at least eight days old, and his father did not circumcise him or have him circumcised by somebody else, then the father may not partake of the Korban Pesach. This applies only if the child reached his eighth day and was healthy enough to be circumcised. If Pesach is celebrated before the eighth day, or if the child is medically unfit for circumcision, then the father may partake of the Korban Pesach.
The Minhat Hinuch, in discussing this Misva, addresses the unusual case of an “Androginus,” a person who has both male and female organs, and whom Halacha thus treats as a “Safek Zachar, Safek Nekeba” – a person whose halachic gender cannot be determined. Seemingly, if one’s child is an “Androginus” who has not undergone circumcision, then the father would not be permitted to eat the Korban Pesach, as it is possible that his child is an uncircumcised male, thus forbidding him from partaking of the meat. Given the possibility that an “Androginus” is considered a male, in which case an uncircumcised “Androginus” is an Arel, we would apply the rule of “Safek De’orayta Le’humra” – that one must act stringently in situations of uncertainty when a Torah law is concerned. As the consumption of the Korban Pesach by the father of an Arel constitutes a Torah violation, the father in this case would, at first glance, be required to act stringently and not partake of the sacrificial meat.
However, the Minhat Hinuch reasons that in truth, it would seem that the father specifically should participate in the Korban Pesach in such a case. He explains that according to the Rambam, the rule of “Safek De’orayta Le’humra” applies only on the level of Rabbinic enactment. On the level of Torah law, one may act leniently in situations of doubt; the requirement to act stringently was enacted by the Sages. As such, the Minhat Hinuch reasons, it would seem that we would not apply this rule in our case, where acting stringently means not participating in the Korban Pesach, which is an especially strict obligation. Failing to fulfill this Misva is punishable by Karet (eternal excision from the Jewish Nation), and so it stands to reason that the rule of “Safek De’orayta Le’humra” is overridden by the obligation of Korban Pesach, such that the father of an uncircumcised “Androginus” should partake of the Korban Pesach.
In conclusion, some have noted the significance of the fact that this command marks the 17th Misva in the Torah, as there exists a connection between this number – 17 – and Berit Mila. The Torah tells (Shemot 2:2) that after Moshe was born, his mother saw “Ki Tob Hu” – “that he was good.” The Gemara (Sota 12a) explains the word “Tob” (“good”) to mean that Moshe was born circumcised. The word “Tob” in Gematria equals 17, and it is thus quite appropriate that the 17th command of the Torah involves Berit Mila, as the number 17, the Gematria of “Tob,” is associated with circumcision.