I was wondering how Klal Yisrael's milah worked to make them Geirim if they did not perform Priah. It seems that even those who received Milah at the time of Y"M did not do Priah (though I saw Tosfos suggests otherwise) until the time of Knisa Laaretz. Was milah alone enough at that time since it was before Matan Torah? Were they then Geirim and Areilim in the period after Matan Torah until Yehoshua did Priah How can we resolve the simple reading of the Gemara (ie not like Tosfos's chiddush)?
Thanks!
-Sender Klein
PS - I thought maybe priah is not needed for Geirus, but really it seems that Tzitzin are also a chiddush of Yehoshua, ie. Halacha L'moshe Misinai like Tos' explains, and Tzitzin are also me'akeiv for geirim as it says on 47b. Maybe Tzitzin are different though.
Sender Klein, United States
Your question is interesting. We find a few sources that the fact that Klal Yisrael did not perform Peri'ah was considered sort of a sin.
The Pirkei d''Rebbi Eliezer (29) cited by Tosfos says that Hashem told Yehoshua, "Don't you know that Klal Yisrael were not circumcised properly?" We see from here that what was performed in the Midbar was not perfect. In the Zohar in a few places we see the same (Bo 40a, Emor 95a, Shelach Lecha 163b).
We need to say one of the following ideas:
(a) Because of Piku'ach Nefesh one needs to do as much as possible, and that is considered the maximum for his situation. Once they arrived in Eretz Yisrael, they were expected to finish off the Mitzvah as soon as possible.
(b) Although Tosfos says that Peri'ah is a Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai, the Ramban and Rashba here say that Moshe was told that Peri'ah is obligated only when Klal Yisrael entered Israel. If so, the Milah that Klal Yisrael did was what they were commended to do.
See also the Beis ha'Levi on Beshalach.
Kol Tuv,
Aharon Steiner