Milah reveals Hashem's Name within the flesh

במדרש סוד ה' ליריאיו זו המילה כשתמול תקח סוד ה' ע"ש שדורש על ע' זקנים וע' נפש כו'.

In the Midrash: "The secret of Hashem is for those who fear Him" (Tehillim 25:14) — this is the milah; when you circumcise (timol) you take "sod Hashem" (the secret of Hashem), see there, where it expounds upon the seventy elders and the seventy souls.

The Midrash links the "secret of Hashem" to the mitzvah of milah, hinting through the word "mol" (circumcise) at the number seventy (whose gematria is contained in "mol"), which connects to the seventy elders and the seventy souls of Yaakov's family.

דאיתא שמא קדישא סתים וגליא.

For it is brought that the Holy Name is "concealed and revealed (s'sim v'galya)."

Hashem's Name has both a hidden dimension and a revealed dimension.

והוא כמ"ש זה שמי לעלם דרשו חז"ל שמי עם י"ה שס"ה זכרי עם ו"ה רמ"ח.

And this is as it says, "This is My Name forever (l'olam)" (Shemos 3:15); Chazal expounded: "My Name" (shemi) with yud-heh equals 365, "My remembrance" (zichri) with vav-heh equals 248.

The two halves of the Divine Name divide into 365 (the negative mitzvos / sinews) and 248 (the positive mitzvos / limbs), corresponding to the hidden and revealed aspects.

וכמו כן יש באדם רמ"ח איברים ושס"ה גידים ואברים הם נגלים וגידים נסתרים והכל בחכמה עשה.

And likewise there are in a person 248 limbs and 365 sinews — the limbs are revealed and the sinews are concealed — and "He made everything with wisdom" (Tehillim 104:24).

The human body mirrors the Divine Name: 248 visible limbs (revealed) and 365 hidden sinews (concealed), all fashioned with divine wisdom.

ומול זה יש ב' בריתות ברית הלשון באתגליא ללמוד ולהתפלל והוא תיקון האברים רמ"ח.

And corresponding to this there are two covenants: the covenant of the tongue (bris halashon), which is revealed (b'isgalya) — for learning and praying — and this is the rectification of the 248 limbs.

The "covenant of the tongue," used openly for Torah and tefillah, corresponds to the revealed aspect and rectifies the 248 limbs.

וברית מילה באתכסיא והוא תיקון הגידים וכפי שמירת הברית מתגלה אותיות הנסתרות שבשם ששמו ית' נחתם בכל איש ישראל וז"ש וירא אליו ה' ואמרו במדרש על זה מבשרי אחזה אלקי פי' אליו ממש שנגלה בו בעצמותו אותיות ה' ב"ה.

And the covenant of milah is concealed (b'iskasya), and it is the rectification of the sinews; and according to one's guarding of the covenant, the concealed letters of the Name are revealed — for His Name, may He be blessed, is imprinted on every Jew. This is the meaning of "And Hashem appeared to him (vayera eilav)" (Bereishis 18:1), and the Midrash said about this, "from my flesh I behold God" (Iyov 19:26) — meaning "to him" literally, that the letters of Hashem's Name were revealed within his very self.

The "covenant of milah," hidden, corresponds to the concealed aspect and rectifies the sinews; through guarding it, the hidden letters of Hashem's Name imprinted in every Jew become revealed, so that "Hashem appeared to him" means the Divine Name shone forth from within Avraham's own being — "from my flesh I behold God."

ז"ש אחרי עורי נקפו זאת כמ"ש במ"א בחי' כתנות אור בא' ועור בע' דכתיב וירא האור כי טוב וגנזו לצדיקים אור זרוע לצדיק והוא גנוז ונסתר בע'.

This is the meaning of "after my skin has been struck off, this" (Iyov 19:26), as explained elsewhere — the aspect of "garments of light (or with an alef)" versus "skin (or with an ayin)"; as it is written, "And He saw the light that it was good" (Bereishis 1:4) and He hid it away for the tzaddikim — "light is sown for the tzaddik" (Tehillim 97:11) — and it is stored and concealed in the "ayin."

There is a play between "or" spelled with an alef (light) and "or" spelled with an ayin (skin): the original primordial light was hidden away for the tzaddikim, concealed within the physical "skin," waiting to be revealed.

והוא לשון הקודש שמתפרש לשבעים לשונות.

And it is the Lashon HaKodesh (the holy tongue) that is interpreted into seventy languages.

This concealed light is like the holy tongue, the inner root from which all seventy languages branch out.

וע"י המילה נתגלה פנימיות לשון הקודש והוא הסוד שנגנז בעין לשונות.

And through the milah, the inner dimension (penimiyus) of Lashon HaKodesh is revealed — and this is the secret that is hidden within the seventy languages.

The milah unlocks the inner penimiyus of the holy tongue, the hidden sod concealed within and beneath the seventy languages of the nations.

וזה מילה מל הוא שבעים ונגלה שם י"ה:

And this is "milah" — "mol" is seventy (in gematria), and the Name yud-heh is revealed.

The word "mol" (Mem-Lamed = 70 by its filled spelling) hints at the seventy languages; through milah, the hidden Name of Hashem (yud-heh) is revealed from within them.

Summary: The Sefas Emes connects the mitzvah of milah to the "secret of Hashem." The Divine Name, like the human body, has a revealed aspect (248 limbs / the "covenant of the tongue" used for Torah and tefillah) and a concealed aspect (365 sinews / the hidden "covenant of milah"). By guarding the bris, the hidden letters of Hashem's Name that are imprinted in every Jew become revealed from within one's very flesh — "from my flesh I behold God" — which is why "Hashem appeared to Avraham." Milah unlocks the penimiyus of the holy tongue, the concealed light and sod that lies hidden within the seventy languages, revealing the Name of Hashem.