Avraham as echad mends the world

במדרש אחות לנו קטנה שאיחה לכל באי עולם כו'.

In the Midrash: "We have a little sister" (Shir HaShirim 8:8) — [read as "she sewed/mended"] that she mended (ichah) for all who come into the world.

The Midrash reads "achos" (sister) as related to "ichui" (mending/uniting), teaching that Avraham mended and reunited all of humanity, repairing the rupture caused by Adam's sin.

כי אברהם אע"ה תיקן חטא אדם הראשון וכ"כ במדרש ואברהם הי' שמתוקן להדריך העולם בתשובה.

For Avraham Avinu rectified the sin of Adam HaRishon, and so the Midrash says: "And Avraham was" — that he was prepared and rectified to guide the world in teshuvah.

Avraham's role was to repair Adam's sin and to lead all of humanity back to Hashem through the path of teshuvah.

ואיתא במדרש כי אברהם אבינו הי' צריך להיות נברא קודם אדה"ר כמ"ש האדם הגדול בענקים רק שאם יקלקל לא יהי' מי לתקן דכתיב אחד הי' אברהם.

And it is brought in the Midrash that Avraham Avinu should have been created before Adam HaRishon, as it is written, "the greatest man among the giants" (Yehoshua 14:15) — except that if he would spoil, there would be no one to repair, as it is written, "Avraham was one (echad)." (Yechezkel 33:24)

Avraham's greatness was such that he was fit to be created first; but Hashem placed him after Adam so that there would always be a "fixer" — Avraham — available to repair any future ruin.

וכ"כ אחד קראתיו.

And so it is written, "I called him as one (echad)." (Yeshayahu 51:2)

Avraham is repeatedly described by the term "echad" (one), pointing to his unique quality of unity and oneness.

וזה השם הוא יותר מאדה"ר כי ראשון תחלת המספר ואחד הוא דביקות באחדות שלמעלה מן המספר.

And this title is greater than that of Adam HaRishon, for "rishon" (first) is merely the beginning of the count, whereas "echad" (one) is attachment to the Oneness that is above all counting.

Adam is called "rishon," the first in a series — still part of the numbered, created order. Avraham is "echad," bound to Hashem's transcendent Oneness, which is above all enumeration entirely.

וכמו שהי' מוכן להיות קודם החטא כמ"ש הן האדם הי' כאחד ממנו.

And just as he was prepared to be [created] before the sin, as it is written, "Behold, the man has become like one (k'echad) of us." (Bereishis 3:22)

Avraham embodied the lofty, pre-sin state of Adam — the "echad" level of dveikus that Adam possessed before his fall.

ולפי שנבראו האבות לתקן העולם הוצרכו להמשיך כח מלמעלה מהטבע.

And because the Avos were created to rectify the world, they needed to draw down power from above nature.

To accomplish a tikkun of the entire world, the Avos could not rely on the natural order; they had to draw upon a supernatural power from above.

וכן שמעתי מפי מו"ז ז"ל הפותח שער לדופקי בתשובה הם האבות והמשיכו דרך מעולם התשובה שקדמה לעולם.

And so I heard from the mouth of my grandfather, of blessed memory: "He who opens the gate for those who knock in teshuvah" — these are the Avos, who drew a path from the world of teshuvah that preceded the world.

Quoting his grandfather, the Sefas Emes explains that the Avos are the ones who open the gate of teshuvah, drawing down a channel from the realm of teshuvah, which Chazal say existed before creation itself.

וזה השער הוא בחי' ברית מילה שהיא הארה מעוה"ב כמ"ש כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעוה"ב ועמך כולם צדיקים כמ"ש במדרש פתח גדול פתחת לבאי עולם:

And this gate is the aspect of bris milah, which is an illumination from Olam Haba, as it is written, "All Yisrael have a portion in Olam Haba… and your people are all tzaddikim" (Sanhedrin 90a; Yeshayahu 60:21), as the Midrash says, "You opened a great opening for those who come into the world."

This supernatural gate of teshuvah is embodied in the mitzvah of bris milah, which carries a glow of Olam Haba. Through it, Avraham opened a great "opening" for all of humanity, granting every Jew a portion in the World to Come.

Summary: Avraham Avinu's mission was to mend the rupture of Adam's sin and guide the world back through teshuvah. Though great enough to have been created before Adam, he was placed afterward so a "fixer" would always remain. Avraham is called "echad" — bound to Hashem's Oneness that transcends all counting — a higher level than Adam's "rishon." To rectify the world, the Avos drew down supernatural power from the world of teshuvah that preceded creation, and this gate is embodied in bris milah, an illumination of Olam Haba that opens a great opening for all who come into the world.