Milah reveals the inner form

ביום השמיני ימול.

"On the eighth day he shall be circumcised."

The Sefas Emes opens with the mitzvah of milah, which takes place specifically on the eighth day — the number that points beyond the natural seven, to that which transcends nature.

במד' תנחומא מה שהשיב ר"ע מעשה ב"ו נאים.

In the Midrash Tanchuma — what Rabbi Akiva answered: that the works of flesh and blood (human handiwork) are more pleasing.

When challenged whether the deeds of Hashem or of man are finer, Rabbi Akiva pointed to bread and finished cloth to show that human "completion" of Hashem's raw creation is precisely the point.

לא ניתנו המצות אלא לצרף הבריות כו'.

The mitzvos were given only in order to refine (purify) the creatures.

The whole purpose of the mitzvos is the avodah of refinement — taking the unfinished human being and bringing out his hidden inner form.

דאיתא אין צור כאלקינו.

As it is taught: "There is no Tzur (Rock) like our God" (Shmuel I 2:2).

Chazal read "Tzur" as "tzayar" — an artist — for there is no Artist like Hashem, who forms within a form.

צייר.

An artist (tzayar).

Hashem is the supreme Artist, and His artistry lies in the hidden form He places within the visible form.

צר צורה בתוך צורה.

He forms a form within a form.

Within the outer "form" of a person lies an inner, deeper form (penimiyus) — a hidden potential waiting to be drawn out.

פי' שנמצא באדם כמה מדרגות שיוכל האדם להוציאם מכח אל הפועל.

That is to say: within a person there are several levels (madreigos) which one is able to bring forth from potential into actuality.

Every person contains layered levels of soul, and the work of life is to actualize each one — to draw it from koach (potential) into po'al (deed).

כמ"ש זכה נותנין לו נפש.

As it is said: if one merits, he is given nefesh.

The lowest level of soul, the nefesh, is granted to one who is worthy — the first rung of inner growth.

זכה יתיר נותנין לו רוח נשמה כו'.

If he merits more, he is given ruach and neshamah, and so on.

As a person continues to refine himself, the higher levels of the soul — ruach and neshamah — are progressively revealed within him.

ולעולם צריך להיות האדם פושט צורה ולובש צורה פושט צורה ולובש צורה.

And a person must always be removing one form and donning another form, removing a form and donning a form.

Spiritual life is constant movement: one continually sheds a lower level of self and dons a higher one, never standing still in his avodah.

והנה לבנ"י ניתן התגלות צורה הפנימיות בכח המילה שמסירין הערלה.

Now, to Bnei Yisrael was given the revelation of the inner form (penimiyus) through the power of milah, by which the orlah (foreskin) is removed.

Milah is the physical act of stripping away the concealing outer layer (the orlah), which corresponds to removing the barrier that hides the inner spiritual form.

ואז יוכל להתגלות צורה הפנימיות:

And then the inner form is able to be revealed.

Once the concealing layer is removed, the hidden penimiyus of the Jew can shine forth — the deeper form within the form is at last revealed.

Summary: The mitzvos, and milah in particular, exist to refine the person and draw his hidden inner form into the open. Hashem is the Artist who set a "form within a form" in every Jew, and through milah — removing the concealing orlah — Bnei Yisrael are uniquely empowered to reveal the penimiyus that lies beneath the surface.