Milah Refining The Neshamah

במדרש הנולד מהול צריכין להטיף ממנו דם ברית מפני בריתו של א"א ע"ה דכ' המול ימול ד"א ב' מילות מילה ופריעה ע"ש המל צריך להיות נימול

The Midrash teaches that one who is born already circumcised must still have a drop of bris-blood drawn from him, on account of the bris of our forefather Avraham, peace be upon him, as it is written, "He shall surely be circumcised" (Bereishis 17:13) — and another interpretation: this doubled language alludes to two circumcisions, milah (the cutting) and pri'ah (the uncovering), corresponding to the principle that the one who circumcises must himself already be circumcised.

Even a baby born without a visible foreskin needs a symbolic drop of blood drawn, because the bris is rooted in Avraham's covenant and not merely in the physical act.

והכל ענין א'

And it is all one matter.

The Sfas Emes tells us that everything he is about to explain forms a single, unified idea.

כי עיקר המילה הוא בנפש ולפי שאחר החטא של אדה"ר נעשה תערובת טו"ר בכל הבריאה לכן נתן הקב"ה שע"י מצות מילה הוסר הרע שנתערב בנפש כי הגוף מלבוש הנפש לכן כיון שיש ערלה בגוף הסימן שיש פסולת בנפש וע"י הסרת הערלה במצות מילה הוסר הערלה בנפש וזה ב' מילות וזה בריתו של א"א שנתן לו הקב"ה שיהי' בכח מצוה זו לתקן הנפש ולכן אפי' נולד מהול עכ"ז לתקן הנפש צריכין להטיף דם ברית ולכן דווקא הנימול יוכל למול

For the essence of milah lies in the neshamah; and since, after the sin of Adam HaRishon, a mixture of good and evil entered all of creation, the Holy One, Blessed is He, therefore granted that through the mitzvah of milah the evil that became intermingled in the neshamah is removed — for the body is the garment of the neshamah, and so as long as there is an orlah (foreskin) upon the body, it is a sign that there is dross within the neshamah, and through the removal of the orlah by the mitzvah of milah the orlah of the neshamah is removed as well. This is the meaning of the two circumcisions, and this is the bris of our forefather Avraham, which the Holy One, Blessed is He, granted him — that this mitzvah should have the power to repair the neshamah; and therefore even one born already circumcised must still have a drop of bris-blood drawn in order to repair the neshamah, and therefore specifically one who is himself circumcised may perform the circumcision.

The real work of milah is in the neshamah: since Adam's sin mixed good and evil into everything, removing the physical orlah signals and effects the removal of the dross within the soul. That is why even one born circumcised needs bris-blood, and why only one who is himself circumcised may circumcise.

ויש ערלה שצריכין להסיר לגמרי וזה חיתוך ויש פריעה כי האדם כלול מכל העולמות ויש עולם עשי' שהרע גובר ביותר וזה עור החיתוך ויש עולם שהרע בשוה וצריכין לפרוע ולהכניע הרע אל הטוב

And there is an orlah that must be removed entirely — this is the cutting (milah); and there is the pri'ah (uncovering) — for man is composed of all the worlds, and there is the World of Asiyah, where the evil prevails most strongly, and that corresponds to the skin that is cut away; and there is a world where the evil is evenly balanced, and there one must uncover and subdue the evil to the good.

There are layers of evil within man: some must be cut away completely (milah), corresponding to the lowest world where evil dominates, and some must merely be uncovered and subdued to the good (pri'ah).

ויש אטיפא דדמא שהיא קצת פסולת

And there is the drawing of the drop of blood, which is a slight remnant of dross.

The final drop of blood removes the last slight residue of dross.

ואחר כל המילות אלו מתגלה סוד המילה שהוא פנימיות הטוב בלי רע

And after all of these circumcisions, the secret of milah is revealed — which is the innermost good that has no evil at all.

Once all these stages are done, the pure inner good of the soul — entirely free of evil — is revealed.

ומילה כולל כל מ"ע ולית

And milah encompasses all the positive mitzvos, beyond which there is nothing.

The mitzvah of milah is so central that it stands as the root of all the positive commandments.

ובהסרת הערלה היא בחי' שמור שס"ה ל"ת

And in the removal of the orlah lies the aspect of "Shamor" ("Guard"), the three hundred sixty-five negative mitzvos.

Stripping away the orlah expresses "Shamor," guarding against the negative commandments, of which there are three hundred sixty-five.

ובהתגלות ברית מילה הוא זכור רמ"ח מ"ע

And in the revelation of the bris milah lies "Zachor" ("Remember"), the two hundred forty-eight positive mitzvos.

Revealing the bris expresses "Zachor," the active fulfillment of the two hundred forty-eight positive commandments.

ופי' ברית היא התקשרות שע"י אלו המצות שנק' בריתות חל שם שמים על האדם

And the meaning of bris (covenant) is a binding: that through these mitzvos, which are called brisos (covenants), the Name of Heaven rests upon a person.

A bris is a bond: by keeping these covenantal mitzvos, a person draws Hashem's Name to rest upon himself.

ובפסוק כי תצא מחנה כו' ונשמרת מכ"ד רע

And in the verse, "When you go out as a camp [against your enemies]" and so forth, "you shall guard yourself from every evil thing" (Devarim 23:10),

The Sfas Emes turns to the parsha's verse about going out to war and guarding oneself from every evil thing.

דרשו חז"ל דיבור רע כי ה' אלקיך מתהלך ב' מחניך כו' כי הנה ברית הלשון וברית המעור הם כלי זיינן של בנ"י כמ"ש רוממות א' בגרונם וחרב כו' ועל אלו כ' וחמשים עלו מזוינים שנק' צבאות ה' בכח ב' בריתות אלו ה"א מתהלך בקרב מחניך

Chazal expounded that "evil thing" refers to evil speech, as the verse continues, "For Hashem your God walks in the midst of your camp" and so forth — for behold, the bris of the tongue and the bris of the bris-milah are the weapons of Bnei Yisrael, as it is written, "The lofty praises of Hashem are in their throat, and a sword [of two edges in their hand]" (Tehillim 149:6); and concerning these it is written, "And the Bnei Yisrael went up armed [from the land of Mitzrayim]" (Shemos 13:18), for they are called the legions of Hashem, and through the power of these two brisos, "Hashem your God walks in the midst of your camp."

Chazal read "evil thing" as evil speech, tying it to Hashem dwelling in the camp; the bris of the tongue and the bris of milah are Bnei Yisrael's true weapons, which is why they left Mitzrayim "armed" and are called Hashem's legions.

מדת הרחמים והדין להצילך ולתת אויבך כו'

The attribute of mercy and the attribute of judgment — "to save you and to deliver your enemies [before you]" (Devarim 23:15).

The two attributes of mercy and judgment work together to save Bnei Yisrael and deliver their enemies into their hands.

ובשניהם כ' זכור זכירת מרים ברית הלשון וזכירת עמלק ברית המעור ותלה הכ' שניהם ביציאת מצרים לומר כי עיקר הגלות והגאולה תלוי בב' בריתות אלו

And concerning both of them the word "Zachor" ("Remember") is written: the remembrance of Miriam, which corresponds to the bris of the tongue, and the remembrance of Amalek, which corresponds to the bris of the bris-milah; and Scripture linked both of them to the exodus from Mitzrayim, to teach that the very core of the galus and the geulah depends upon these two brisos.

Both "Zachor" passages — remembering Miriam (guarding speech) and remembering Amalek (guarding the bris) — are tied to the exodus, teaching that galus and geulah hinge on these two covenants.

וכפי שמירת הבריתות כך נק' צבאות ה' ונוצחין על הסט"א והם ברית מילה ושבת ומילה ותפילין כמ"ש במ"א

And according to one's guarding of the brisos, so is one called among the legions of Hashem and is victorious over the sitra achra (the side of evil); and these are the bris milah and Shabbos, milah and tefillin, as is explained elsewhere.

The more one guards these covenants, the more one counts among Hashem's legions and overcomes the forces of evil; the Sfas Emes identifies the paired covenants of milah-Shabbos and milah-tefillin.

ולפי שבמלחמה צריכין סיוע ממדת הגבורה כמ"ש ה"א מההלך חרבא בנרתיקא לכן צריכין שמירה ביותר ועי' בתיקוני זוהר בתיקון כ"א (מ"ד ב'):

And since in war one requires the assistance of the attribute of gevurah (might) — as it is written, "Hashem your God [walks in the midst of your camp]" with the sword drawn from its sheath — one therefore requires heightened guarding; and see the Tikkunei Zohar, in Tikkun twenty-one (folio 44b).

Because war demands the strength of gevurah — Hashem's drawn sword — it demands extra vigilance in guarding these covenants, and he refers the reader to the Tikkunei Zohar for more.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that the true purpose of milah is the repair of the neshamah. Since Adam HaRishon's sin intermingled good and evil throughout creation, the physical orlah serves as a sign of the dross lodged in the soul, and its removal through the stages of milah, pri'ah, and the drawing of bris-blood progressively strips away the evil until the pure inner good is revealed; this is the covenant Hashem gave to Avraham, and it is why even one born circumcised requires a drop of blood. He then connects this to the parsha's warning to guard oneself when going out to war, teaching that the bris of the tongue and the bris of milah are the very weapons of Bnei Yisrael, drawing Hashem's Name into their camp. The dual remembrances of Miriam and Amalek, both linked to the exodus, show that galus and geulah themselves depend on guarding these two covenants. And since warfare requires the might of gevurah, these covenants demand heightened vigilance, with which Bnei Yisrael stand as the legions of Hashem, victorious over the sitra achra.