Inborn Bond To Mitzvos
במדרש נולד מהול צריכין להטיף דם ברית מפני בריתו של אאע"ה המול ימול כו'
In the Midrash: One who is born already circumcised must still have a drop of bris-blood drawn, on account of the bris of Avraham Avinu, peace be upon him, as the pasuk says, "He shall surely be circumcised" (Bereishis 17:13).
Even a baby born without a foreskin still needs a symbolic drop of blood drawn, because the bris is tied to Avraham Avinu's covenant and not merely to the physical act.
כי יש לבנ"י מצד עצם מדרגתם שייכות אל התורה ומצות
For Bnei Yisrael, by the very essence of their level, have a connection to the Torah and the mitzvos.
Bnei Yisrael are inherently linked to the Torah and its mitzvos by the very nature of their spiritual level.
לכן קיים אברהם אבינו ע"ה המצות קודם הציוי כי הי' מיוחד להתורה
It is for this reason that Avraham Avinu, peace be upon him, fulfilled the mitzvos even before he was commanded to do so, for he was uniquely bound to the Torah.
Because Avraham was so completely bound up with the Torah, he kept its mitzvos even before Hashem formally commanded them.
כמ"ש אברהם גי' רמ"ח
As Chazal expound, the name "Avraham" has the numerical value of 248 (ramach).
Chazal note that the gematria of the name Avraham equals 248, hinting at his bond with the mitzvos.
שהיו רמ"ח אבריו בקדושת הרמ"ח מצות כנ"ל
For his 248 limbs corresponded to the kedushah of the 248 mitzvos, as explained above.
Avraham's 248 physical limbs paralleled and were sanctified by the 248 positive mitzvos.
ולכן אף שנולד מהול צריך להמול שנית מצד שכח בנ"י בעשיות המצוה מסייע לעורר קדושת המצוה
Therefore, even one who is born already circumcised must be circumcised a second time, since the power of Bnei Yisrael in the performance of the mitzvah helps to arouse the kedushah of that mitzvah.
Even when there is no physical foreskin to remove, the Jew's own act of performing the mitzvah awakens the mitzvah's kedushah, so a drop of blood is still drawn.
וז"ש המול ימול ב' בחי' הנ"ל
And this is what the pasuk means by "He shall surely be circumcised" (himol yimol) — the doubled expression alludes to the two aspects mentioned above.
The Torah's doubled wording 'himol yimol' points to these two dimensions: the inborn connection and the act that arouses it.
וזה ענין מ"ש קדשנו במצותיו וצונו
And this is the meaning of what we say in the berachah, "Who has sanctified us with His mitzvos and commanded us."
This dual idea underlies the berachah formula praising Hashem for sanctifying us with His mitzvos and commanding us.
כי הם ב' דברים גוף ההכנת ציור האדם הישראלי שיש בו קדושה זו לבד הציוי כנ"ל
For these are two distinct matters: the very substance and preparation of the form of the Jewish person, who possesses this kedushah in his own right, apart from the command itself, as explained above.
There are two separate things here: the inherent kedushah built into the makeup of a Jew, and the additional command — the Jew is holy in his own essence even apart from the tzivui.
כמ"ש שהתורה ובנ"י והקב"ה מעידין זה ע"ז
As Chazal say, that the Torah, Bnei Yisrael, and the Holy One, Blessed is He, each testify one about the other.
Chazal teach that the Torah, Bnei Yisrael, and the Holy One, Blessed is He, mutually testify to one another, reflecting their deep bond.
ובמד' לוית כו' הם לראשך המצות מלוין את האדם
And in the Midrash: "They shall be a graceful adornment for your head" (Mishlei 1:9) — the mitzvos escort a person.
The Midrash on the verse about a graceful adornment for the head teaches that the mitzvos accompany and escort a person.
פי' שיש לבנ"י החן בשמים מצד שורשם
The explanation is that Bnei Yisrael possess a special grace (chein) in the Heavens by virtue of their root.
Bnei Yisrael already possess an inherent grace before Hashem in Heaven, stemming from their spiritual root.
וכל המצות הם רק לעורר החן שלהם
And all the mitzvos serve only to arouse this grace that is already theirs.
The mitzvos do not create this grace from nothing; they merely awaken and reveal the chein that Bnei Yisrael already have.
והבן:
And understand this.
The Sfas Emes invites the reader to contemplate this idea further.
Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that Bnei Yisrael possess an essential, inborn connection to the Torah and mitzvos by virtue of their very spiritual root. This is why Avraham Avinu, whose name equals 248 like the 248 positive mitzvos, kept the mitzvos even before being commanded, and why even one born already circumcised must still have a drop of bris-blood drawn — the Jew's own performance of the mitzvah awakens its kedushah. The doubled language 'himol yimol' and the berachah 'Who has sanctified us with His mitzvos and commanded us' both reflect two dimensions: the inherent kedushah within the Jew himself, and the command that arouses it. Drawing on the Midrash that the mitzvos escort a person as a graceful adornment, the Sfas Emes teaches that Bnei Yisrael already enjoy a special grace in Heaven from their root, and that all the mitzvos serve only to awaken and reveal that grace which is already theirs.