The two keys to the gate of the soul

והוא יושב פתח האהל לשון עכבה ולשון הוה.

"And he was sitting at the entrance of the tent" (Bereishis 18:1) — this is a term of "remaining" and of the ongoing present.

The verse describes Avraham continually sitting at the "entrance," denoting a permanent, ever-present state rather than a one-time act.

שכיון שנפתח פתח ע"י המילה גי' פה שהוא פתח הגוף שמאיר בו הנשמה.

For once an "entrance" (pesach) was opened through the milah — the numerical value of "mouth" (peh) — which is the opening of the body through which the neshamah shines.

Through the bris milah an "opening" was made in the body (the word pesach hinting at peh, "mouth"), a channel through which the holy neshamah can radiate outward.

וכתיב לשקוד על דלתותי כו' לשמור מזוזות פתחי וכתב שם במדרש כשם שאין המזוזה זזה מן הפתח כך לא תהי' זז מבתי כנסיות ובתי מדרשות ע"ש.

And it is written, "to watch at My doors… to guard the doorposts of My entrance" (Mishlei 8:34), and the Midrash there writes: just as the mezuzah does not budge from the doorway, so too you should not budge from the batei knesios and batei midrashos. See there.

One must "guard the entrance" steadfastly, like a mezuzah fixed to the doorpost — meaning constancy in the places of Torah and tefillah, never straying from them.

כן שמר אאע"ה את הפתח ולא שכח לעולם מזה הברית לכן וירא אליו כמ"ש במ"א פי' המדרש וכרות עמו הברית עמו בשותפות.

So too Avraham Avinu guarded the "entrance" and never forgot this bris (covenant); therefore "Hashem appeared to him," as explained elsewhere on the Midrash's interpretation, "and He cut a covenant with him" — a covenant with Him in partnership.

Because Avraham steadfastly guarded the opening of the bris and never forgot it, Hashem revealed Himself to him; the bris is a kind of partnership between man and Hashem in keeping that channel open.

דכתיב פתחי לי אחותי כו'.

As it is written, "Open for Me, My sister…" (Shir HaShirim 5:2).

Hashem asks us to make the first "opening" from below; the imagery of opening expresses the mutual effort of the covenant.

וכתיב פתחו לי שערי צדק שיש לזה הפתח ב' מפתחות א' בידו של הקב"ה ואחד ביד ישראל וכן איתא בגמ' מי שיש בו תורה ואין בו יראה כאלו לא נמסרו לו מפתחות החיצוניות שהוא המפתח שביד איש ישראל שע"ז כתיב מה ה' שואל מעמך א"כ הוא ביד האדם.

And it is written, "Open for me the gates of righteousness" (Tehillim 118:19) — for this "entrance" has two keys: one in the hand of Hashem and one in the hand of Yisrael. And so it is said in the Gemara: one who has Torah but lacks yirah (fear of Heaven) is as though the "outer keys" were not handed to him — that is the key in the hand of the Jew, concerning which it is written, "What does Hashem ask of you?" (Devarim 10:12) — meaning it is in the hand of man.

The "entrance" has two keys: the inner one held by Hashem and the outer one held by the Jew. That outer key is yiras Shomayim — the one thing "asked of us" that lies entirely in our hands. Torah without yirah leaves a person lacking the very key he was given to turn.

והוא להסיר הערלה לפתוח פתח הגוף ואז הקב"ה פותח פנימיות פתח הנשמה וכ"כ מו"ז ז"ל בשם הרב הקדוש מפרשיסחא במ"ש רז"ל לעולם יכנוס אדם שתי פתחים ויתפלל שפתח אחד לצאת מעוה"ז ופתח השני לכנוס בעולם העליון עכ"ד.

And this is to remove the orlah (foreskin), to open the entrance of the body — and then Hashem opens the inner entrance of the neshamah. So too my grandfather, of blessed memory, wrote in the name of the holy Rav of Peshischa, on the teaching of Chazal that a person should always enter the distance of two doorways and then pray: that one "door" is to depart from this world, and the second "door" is to enter the upper world. Thus far his words.

Our task is to do our part — removing the orlah, opening the body's "entrance" — whereupon Hashem opens the inner gate of the soul. The Rav of Peshischa's "two doorways" express the same idea: a person must pass through one threshold, leaving behind the pull of this world, in order to enter the upper world of closeness to Hashem.

וב' אלו הם בחי' זכור ושמור בשבת ג"כ כמ"ש במ"א מזה:

And these two are also the aspect of "Zachor" (Remember) and "Shamor" (Guard) of Shabbos, as explained elsewhere on this.

The two "keys" or "doors" correspond to the twin commands of Shabbos: "Shamor," the work we do from below (the outer key), and "Zachor," the inner revelation Hashem grants from above.

Summary: Through the bris milah an "opening" is made in the body so the neshamah can shine through, and Avraham Avinu's greatness lay in guarding that opening constantly and never forgetting the covenant — which is why Hashem appeared to him. This "entrance" has two keys: the outer one, yiras Shomayim, lies in our hands and is "all that Hashem asks of us"; once we turn it by doing our part below, Hashem opens the inner gate of the neshamah from above. These twin efforts — man's and Hashem's — mirror "Shamor" and "Zachor" of Shabbos.