Milah draws holy souls from above nature

בפסוק ויוצא אותו החוצה הבט נא השמימה כה יהי' זרעך והאמין בה' כו'.

On the pasuk "And He took him outside [and said]: 'Look now toward the heavens... so shall your offspring be,' and he believed in Hashem," etc.

The Sefas Emes examines Hashem's promise to Avraham about his descendants and Avraham's faith in response.

אחז"ל שהוציאו למעלה מכיפת הרקיע.

Chazal said that He took him out above the dome of the firmament.

Chazal explain that Hashem lifted Avraham above the heavens themselves, beyond the natural order.

הבטה מלמעלה למטה.

"Looking (habatah)" is from above to below.

The word "habet" implies gazing downward from a higher vantage point — Avraham was raised up to look down upon the world from above nature.

ואמר כה יהי' זרעך שהראה לו שכל נשמות יא) יהיו נמשכים מלמעלה מן השמים.

And He said "so shall your offspring be" — that He showed him that all the souls would be drawn from above the heavens.

The promise revealed that Avraham's descendants' souls would all originate from a place above the natural heavens.

והוא בכח ברית מילה שנתן לו הקב"ה אח"כ וכמ"ש "מי "יעלה "לנו "השמימה שבנ"י הנמולין מושכין נשמות קדושות מלמעלה.

And this is by the power of the bris milah that HaKadosh Baruch Hu later gave him, as it is written "Who will go up for us to the heavens" (Mi Ya'aleh Lanu HaShamaymah — whose initial letters spell milah) — for Bnei Yisrael, who are circumcised, draw holy souls from above.

The capacity to draw souls from above comes through the bris milah, hinted at in the acronym of "Mi Ya'aleh Lanu HaShamaymah" (which spells milah) — the circumcised draw down holy souls from the heavens.

וע"ז כתיב ועמך כולם צדיקים מעשי ידי להתפאר כי הנשמות הם מעשה ידיו של הקב"ה.

And about this it is written "and Your people are all righteous... the work of My hands in which to take pride," for the souls are the handiwork of HaKadosh Baruch Hu.

The neshamos of Bnei Yisrael are Hashem's own handiwork, the "work of My hands" in which He takes pride.

כדכתיב ונשמות אני עשיתי ואין זה בכל הנשמות רק בזרע אמת בחותם ברית מילה כמ"ש עם זו יצרתי.

As it is written "and the souls I have made"; and this is not in all souls, but only in the "seed of truth," with the seal of the bris milah, as it is written "this people I formed."

This special quality of being Hashem's direct handiwork belongs specifically to Bnei Yisrael, the "seed of truth" marked by the seal of milah, "the people I formed for Myself."

וזה עדות שהם זרע קדש וע"ז כתיב כח מעשיו הגיד כי' לתת להם נחלת גוים שבכח הנשמות המיוחדים לבנ"י יורשין ארץ ישראל כמ"ש ז"ל שירש את הארץ בזכות המילה ואתה את בריתי תשמור.

And this is testimony that they are holy seed; and about this it is written "the power of His deeds He told to His people, to give them the inheritance of nations" — for by the power of the souls unique to Bnei Yisrael they inherit Eretz Yisrael, as Chazal said that he inherited the Land in the merit of the milah, "and you shall keep My covenant."

Bnei Yisrael's claim to Eretz Yisrael flows from these unique souls and from the merit of the bris milah, which Chazal tie directly to inheriting the Land.

ואאע"ה קודם שזכה לברית מילה לא הי' לו מקום להבין איך יהי' כל זרעיו למעלה מכיפת הרקיע והוא ע"ה נתעלה לפי שעה.

And Avraham Avinu, peace be upon him, before he merited the bris milah, had no way to grasp how all his offspring would be above the dome of the firmament; and he, peace be upon him, was elevated [only] temporarily.

Before receiving the bris, Avraham himself could only be raised above nature momentarily, and could not yet understand how this supernatural status would extend permanently to all his descendants.

ויוצא אותו החוצה.

"And He took him outside."

This temporary elevation is the meaning of Hashem taking Avraham "outside" — outside and above the natural order, for that moment.

אבל כה יהי' זרעך לא הי' בדרך הטבע רק שהאמין בה' עד שניתן לו ברית מילה וראה איך נבדלו זרע קודש כמ"ש המבדיל בין ישראל לעמים שיש אוצר מיוחד לנשמות יב) וע"ז כתיב יפתח ה' לך אוצרו הטוב את השמים:

But "so shall your offspring be" was not in the way of nature; rather, he believed in Hashem — until the bris milah was given to him and he saw how the holy seed was set apart, as it is written "Who separates between Yisrael and the nations" — that there is a special treasury for the souls; and about this it is written "Hashem shall open for you His good treasury, the heavens."

The permanent, supernatural promise required emunah at first; only once Avraham received the bris milah did he actually see how Bnei Yisrael's souls are set apart, drawn from a unique heavenly "treasury" of holy souls.

Summary: When Hashem took Avraham "above the dome of the firmament" and promised "so shall your offspring be," He revealed that the souls of Bnei Yisrael are drawn from above nature — Hashem's own handiwork, the "seed of truth." This capacity, and the inheritance of Eretz Yisrael, come through the bris milah (hinted in the acronym of "Mi Ya'aleh Lanu HaShamaymah"); before the bris Avraham could only be elevated temporarily and had to rely on emunah, but through the milah he saw how the holy seed is set apart and drawn from a special heavenly treasury.