Milah Reveals the Inner Holiness

במדרש סוד ה' ליריאיו זו המילה שלא גלה הקב"ה רק לאברהם כו' דייך אני ואתה כו' כי היראים יכולין לשמור את הסוד לכן הקב"ה מודיע אותם.

In the Midrash: "The secret of Hashem is to those who fear Him" (Tehillim 25:14) — this refers to the milah (circumcision), which Hashem revealed only to Avraham — "it is enough that I and you [know it]" — for the G-d-fearing are able to guard the secret, and therefore Hashem makes it known to them.

Milah is a "secret of Hashem," entrusted only to one with yiras Shomayim, since only such a person can be trusted to keep and protect a holy secret.

הסוד.

The secret:

The Sefas Emes now turns to explain what this "secret" actually is.

כי ע"י המילה מתגלה קדושה פנימיות שגנז הקב"ה באדם והמילה עלי' נאמר זה השער לה' צדיקים יבואו בו.

For through the milah there is revealed an inner kedushah (penimiyus) that Hashem concealed within man; and concerning the milah it is said, "This is the gate to Hashem, the tzaddikim shall enter through it" (Tehillim 118:20).

Milah uncovers a hidden inner holiness that Hashem planted in every person. It is the very "gate" through which tzaddikim enter into closeness with Hashem.

והוא כמו השבת דכתיב ביום השבת יפתח והוא מגלה הקדושה שנסתרת בימי המעשה כמו כן בגוף המילה מגלה מה שמכסה הגוף ונגלה סוד ה'

This is like the Shabbos, of which it is written, "on the day of Shabbos it shall be opened" (Yechezkel 46:1) — for Shabbos reveals the kedushah that is hidden during the weekdays; so too, in the body, the milah reveals what the body conceals, and the "secret of Hashem" becomes uncovered.

Just as Shabbos opens up and reveals the holiness concealed within the ordinary week, milah opens up and reveals the holiness concealed within the physical body.

ולכן לא נברא האדם מהול ולא ניתן פתיחת השער רק לבנ"י שהם שומרים הברית כמ"ש ואתה את בריתי תשמור שידע הקב"ה שבני ישראל הם בני שמירה.

Therefore man was not created already circumcised, and the opening of the gate was given only to Bnei Yisrael, who guard the bris (covenant), as it is written, "And you shall keep My covenant" (Bereishis 17:9) — for Hashem knew that Bnei Yisrael are "guardians."

Man is born uncircumcised so that the revealing of his inner holiness is left to his own effort. This privilege of "opening the gate" belongs to Bnei Yisrael precisely because they are entrusted to guard the covenant.

ובאמת קדושת המילה מתגלה כפי השמירה כמ"ש זכור ושמור בדיבור אחד כל שישנו בשמירה ישנו בזכירה וזהו בשבת וכמו כן במילה כפי מה שאדם שומר בריתו כן מתגלה לו קדושת הברית.

In truth, the kedushah of the milah is revealed in proportion to one's "guarding," as Chazal said regarding "Remember" (zachor) and "Guard" (shamor) being spoken in a single utterance: "whoever is included in 'guarding' is included in 'remembering'" — and this applies to Shabbos. So too with the milah: in accordance with how a person guards his covenant, so is the kedushah of the bris revealed to him.

Just as with Shabbos the revelation of "remembering" depends on "guarding," so the holiness of milah is revealed to a person in exact measure of how faithfully he guards the covenant in his life.

וכל הגוים ערלים שאין להם שום שייכות לזה הסוד ואינם בני שמירה.

And all the nations are uncircumcised, having no connection to this secret, for they are not "guardians."

The nations have no share in this inner secret, because they are not entrusted to guard the covenant.

אבל בבני ישראל יש כמה מדריגות וכפי השמירה כך נגלה הקדושה כמ"ש בזוה"ק דנשמה יתירה אינה לכל אדם בשוה כו'.

But within Bnei Yisrael themselves there are many levels, and according to one's guarding so is the kedushah revealed, as the Zohar states that the neshamah yeseirah (the additional Shabbos soul) is not equal in every person.

Even among Bnei Yisrael the revelation is graded: the more one guards, the more holiness is uncovered — just as the extra Shabbos soul is not granted equally to all.

ואיתא בכ"מ שאתה מוצא גדר ערוה אתה מוצא קדושה והוא באמת קדושת הברית שלא דבר קטן הוא מה שהקב"ה חתם שמו בבשרינו.

And it is taught in many places: wherever you find a "fence" against immorality (geder ervah), there you find kedushah — and this is truly the holiness of the bris, for it is no small matter that Hashem sealed His Name in our flesh.

Guarding against immorality is the gateway to holiness, and this is bound up with the covenant of milah, through which Hashem inscribed His very Name upon our bodies.

וכפי הגדר ערוה כך נמצא הקדושה כמ"ש.

And in accordance with one's "fence" against immorality, so is the kedushah found, as stated.

The measure of one's guarding in matters of purity is the measure of holiness one attains.

ואחר המילה נעשה אברהם אבינו כבריה חדשה לכן הקורא אברהם אברם עובר בעשה ולא כן ביעקב וישראל כי נשתנה לאדם אחר לכן כתיב התהלך לפני והי' תמים וכי עד עתה לא הי' תמים אבל נעשה כברי' חדשה וכל מה שעשה עד עתה הוצרך עתה לעשותו בדרך פנימי ואופן אחר מכל מה שהי' מקודם.

After the milah, Avraham Avinu became like a new creation. Therefore one who calls Avraham "Avram" transgresses a positive commandment — unlike the case of Yaakov and Yisrael — for he became an entirely different man. Thus it is written, "Walk before Me and be tamim (whole/perfect)" (Bereishis 17:1). Was he not already tamim until now? Rather, he became like a new creation, and everything he had done until then he now had to do in an inner manner, in a different mode than before.

Milah so transformed Avraham that his old name "Avram" was effectively abolished — unlike Yaakov, whom one may still call by the prior name. His former avodah was not discarded but had to be redone on a deeper, inner plane befitting his new creation.

וכמו כן בכל איש ישראל ע"י המילה מתגלה בו ציור פנימי ונעשה כברי' חדשה לכן קורין שם הילד אחר המילה:

So too with every Jew: through the milah an inner form (tziyur penimi) is revealed within him and he becomes like a new creation. This is why the child is named after the milah.

Every Jewish boy, through milah, has his inner spiritual form revealed and becomes a "new creation" — which is precisely why we give the child his name only at the bris.

Summary: Milah is the "secret of Hashem" entrusted to the G-d-fearing — it reveals the inner kedushah that Hashem concealed within man, much as Shabbos reveals the holiness hidden in the week. This revelation is graded according to one's "guarding" of the covenant and of purity, which is why only Bnei Yisrael, the faithful guardians, possess it. Through milah Avraham — and every Jew — becomes a new creation whose entire avodah is reborn on an inner plane, which is why the child receives his name at the bris.