The hidden point uniting milah, Shabbos, Land

במדרש ואתה את בריתי תשמור.

In the Midrash on "And you shall keep My covenant" (Bereishis 17:9).

The Sefas Emes opens with a Midrash linking the keeping of the bris to inheriting the Land.

אם ישמרו בניך המילה ירשו הארץ כו' ויש גורסין ג"כ אם ישמרו בניך השבת כו'.

If your children keep the milah, they will inherit the Land… and some have the version: if your children keep the Shabbos…

The Midrash ties inheriting Eretz Yisrael to milah, with a variant reading that ties it to Shabbos — milah, Shabbos, and the Land form a single theme.

הענין הוא כמ"ש בכמה מקומות כי ארץ ישראל הוא המקום הכולל כל המקומות כדכתיב מציון מכלל יופי.

The matter is as has been written in several places: that Eretz Yisrael is the place that includes all places, as it is written: "From Tzion, the perfection of beauty [Hashem shone forth]" (Tehillim 50:2).

Eretz Yisrael is the all-encompassing place — Tzion is the "perfection" (michlal, from which all places draw) of beauty, the root that contains every other place.

והוא בחי' אבן שתי' שמשם הושתת העולם.

And it is the aspect of the even shesiyah (foundation stone), from which the world was founded.

Tzion contains the foundation stone from which all creation was established — the central point from which the world extends.

ולכן חל עליו שמו ית' והוא כלי מחזיק ברכה בעולם ונקרא שלום.

Therefore His Name rests upon it, and it is a vessel that holds blessing in the world, and it is called shalom.

Because it is the all-inclusive root, Hashem's Name dwells there; as the unifying center it is a vessel that contains berachah and is called "shalom" (peace/wholeness).

וכמו כן בנפש המילה שלא נקרא אאע"ה תמים עד שמל.

And likewise, in the soul, the milah — for Avraham Avinu was not called "tamim" (complete) until he was circumcised.

Within the person, milah plays the same all-encompassing role: only through it did Avraham attain "shleimus," completeness.

והוא כולל כל הנפש.

And it includes the entire nefesh (soul).

Milah is the central point of the soul that gathers and unifies the whole person.

והוא כלי מחזיק ברכה בנפש ועושה תולדות כי שם צוה ה' את הברכה.

And it is a vessel that holds blessing in the soul and produces offspring, for "there Hashem commanded the blessing" (Tehillim 133:3).

Just as Tzion holds blessing in the world, milah is the vessel of berachah within the soul, the source of fruitfulness — "there" being the place of holiness where blessing is commanded.

וכמו כן שבת כולל כל הזמן וששת ימי המעשה ונקרא שלום ובו הברכה על כל הזמנים.

And likewise Shabbos includes all of time and the six days of work, and is called shalom, and in it is the blessing for all times.

In the dimension of time, Shabbos is the all-inclusive point: it is "shalom," the vessel from which berachah flows to all six weekdays.

ובאמת בכל דבר יש בו נקודה שמשם נמשך דביקות אל השורש למעלה וזו הנקודה היא גנוז כמ"ש סוד ה' ליריאיו לכן סוד המילה ערלה חפיא עליה ונתגלה רק לבני ישראל וכן בש"ק אות היא ביני כו' וגוי שמל או ששבת חייב מיתה.

And in truth, in every thing there is a nekudah (point) from which there is drawn an attachment (deveikus) to the root above; and this point is hidden, as it is written: "The secret of Hashem is for those who fear Him" (Tehillim 25:14). Therefore the secret of milah — the orlah covers over it — and it is revealed only to Bnei Yisrael; and likewise on Shabbos Kodesh, "it is a sign between Me [and you]," and a gentile who circumcises himself or who keeps Shabbos is liable to death.

Every thing has a hidden inner point linking it to its supernal root, and this sod is concealed — "the secret of Hashem is for those who fear Him." The orlah covers the secret of milah, and both milah and Shabbos are signs revealed exclusively to Bnei Yisrael, so much so that a non-Jew who takes them on is liable, for these inner points belong uniquely to Israel.

וכ"כ מכנף הארץ כו'.

And so too "from the corner (kanaf) of the earth [we have heard songs]" (Yeshayahu 24:16).

The verse's word kanaf hints at the gathering point that draws all together, which he now explains.

שהיא הנקודה שמכנף ומאחד הכל צבי לצדיק שהוא היסוד עולם והוא נסתר כדכתיב רזי לי כו'.

That it is the point that gathers (mechanef) and unifies everything — "glory (tzvi) to the tzaddik," who is the yesod olam (foundation of the world) — and it is hidden, as it is written: "My secret is mine" (Yeshayahu 24:16).

This hidden gathering-point is the tzaddik, the yesod (foundation) corresponding to milah, who unifies all; like the foundation stone, milah, and Shabbos, it remains concealed — "my secret is mine."

והכל ענין א' לכן דרשו חז"ל חמוקי ירכיך כמו חלאים כו' על השיתין.

And it is all one matter; therefore Chazal expounded "the curves of your thighs are like jewels" (Shir HaShirim 7:2) as referring to the shisin (the cavities beneath the Altar) (Sukkah 49a).

The foundation stone, milah, Shabbos, and the tzaddik are all one hidden "point"; thus Chazal connected the verse about the hidden "thighs" to the deep shisin beneath the Mizbe'ach — the concealed foundation of the Beis Hamikdash.

כי כמו שהוא בנפש כך הי' מתעורר בבית המקדש כנ"ל:

For just as it is in the soul, so it was aroused in the Beis Hamikdash, as above.

The same hidden inner point — milah in the soul — was activated in the Beis Hamikdash through the foundation stone and the shisin, uniting the dimensions of soul, place, and time.

Summary: Milah, Shabbos, and Eretz Yisrael are one idea expressed in the three dimensions of nefesh (soul), time, and place. Each is the all-inclusive "point" that gathers everything to its supernal root, is called shalom, holds blessing, and is hidden — the orlah covering milah, the "sign" of Shabbos, the foundation stone and shisin of the Beis Hamikdash, the concealed tzaddik who is yesod olam. This hidden nekudah of deveikus to Hashem is revealed only to Bnei Yisrael.