בעצם היום הזה נימול אברהם וגו׳

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The maamar in the Rebbe’s light

The maamar asks why Avraham, who kept the whole Torah before it was given, did not circumcise himself until he was commanded, and answers that „רצה להגיע לאותה מילה גדולה שמלמעלה למטה” (he sought the “great circumcision” from above), „למעלה מבחי׳ שם הוי״ה ולמעלה מבחי׳ תורה” (beyond the Torah and the Name Havayah). The Rebbe takes up the same question and gives three answers, pointing the reader to this maamar for the Alter Rebbe’s: „בפנימיות הענינים” (in the inner sense), one mitzvah of the Avos had to come by command, like the mitzvos after Sinai (Likkutei Sichos vol. 5, Vayera 5725); in the plain sense, wounding oneself is forbidden until a command overrides it (vol. 5, Shabbos Mikeitz 5728); and only the Creator can make a „ברית עולם” (“everlasting covenant”) (vol. 25, Acharon shel Pesach 5741). He also unfolds the circumcision from above: what Avraham reached before it he could reach by his own power (Lech Lecha 5711); it brought him from Atzilus to a wholeness above it (12 Tammuz 5714); it stands above the letters of Havayah, though „צריך להיות תחלה השלימות דהשתלשלות” (the order of the worlds must first be complete) (Ashrei Tivchar 5716); and, being above the Torah’s measure, it overrides Shabbos, and „דמילת אברהם היתה ביום הכפורים” (Avraham’s own fell on Yom Kippur) (vol. 35).

Paragraph by paragraph

1. ¶1

   A question the Rebbe raisesThe Rebbe says this in more than one place

   In a sicha of Shabbos Vayera 5725, asking why G‑d waited until the third day after Avraham’s circumcision to visit him, the Rebbe explains that Avraham’s circumcision had to be done „בדוגמת המצות שלאחרי מ״ת” (in the way of the mitzvos after the Giving of the Torah), and in a note he takes up this paragraph’s question.

   The mitzvos of the Avos were mainly spiritual and did not permeate the physical things they were done with; so that their deeds could connect with the mitzvos after Sinai, at least one of them had to be like those mitzvos, and that is milah. This, the Rebbe writes, is one of the reasons, „בפנימיות הענינים” (“in the inner dimension of the matters”), why „שאברהם לא מל א״ע קודם שנצטווה” (Avraham did not circumcise himself until he was commanded), though he kept the whole Torah: „קיום מצוה זו הוצרכה להיות מצד ציווי הקב״ה” (this mitzvah had to come from G‑d’s command). In marked notes he sends the reader to „ביאור אדה״ז בתו״א ס״פ לך” (“the Alter Rebbe’s explanation in Torah Ohr, end of Lech Lecha”) and to the plain-sense explanation, and adds that the command then was „אבל לא ממש” (“not exactly”) like Sinai’s, not from „אנכי הוי׳ אלקיך” (“I am Havayah your G‑d”).

   The Alter Rebbeמפני מה לא מל אברהם א״ע קודם מאחר שקיים כל התורה כולה עד שלא ניתנה

   The Rebbeוזהו אחד הטעמים (בפנימיות הענינים) מה שאברהם לא מל א״ע קודם שנצטווה . . כי קיום מצוה זו הוצרכה להיות מצד ציווי הקב״ה

   Likkutei Sichos, vol. ה, p. 79–80 · ש״פ וירא תשכ״ה

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2. ¶1

   A question the Rebbe raisesThe Rebbe says this in more than one place

   In a sicha printed for Vayetzei (from Shabbos Mikeitz 5728), asking how Yaakov could marry four sisters, all daughters of Lavan, if the Avos kept the whole Torah, the Rebbe sets out the plain-sense (עפ״י דרך הפשט) rule for the mitzvos the Avos took on themselves and applies it to Avraham’s circumcision.

   The Avos’ keeping of mitzvos they were not commanded was, by the plain sense, a stringency (חומרא) and an added piety, and a stringency cannot override a command they were under. That, the Rebbe says, is, in the plain sense, why Avraham did not circumcise himself before he was commanded: wounding oneself is forbidden („ואך את דמכם לנפשותיכם אדרוש”, “but your blood of your souls I will require”, explained of „השופך דם עצמו”, one who sheds his own blood), so until the command came he could not do it; once he was commanded, the explicit command overrode that prohibition. His note 26 sends the reader to our maamar for the reason „בפנימיות הענינים” (“in the inner dimension of the matters”).

   The Alter Rebbeבעצם היום הזה נימול אברהם וגו׳. להבין הקושיא שנזכר בספרים מפני מה לא מל אברהם א״ע קודם

   The Rebbeאיז מהאי טעמא האָט אברהם ניט געטאָרט זיך מל זיין כל זמן שלא נצטווה

   Likkutei Sichos, vol. ה, p. 145–146 · ש״פ מקץ תשכ״ח

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3. ¶1

   A question the Rebbe raisesThe Rebbe says this in more than one place

   In a sicha of Acharon shel Pesach 5741 on circumcision „לשמונה ימים” (on the eighth day), when the child can take no part in it (and Yitzchak’s claim over Yishmael), the Rebbe explains what a covenant made by G‑d is.

   A covenant G‑d makes through milah is „ברית עולם” (“an everlasting covenant”), with no room for change, and that, the Rebbe says, is one of the explanations why Avraham did not circumcise himself until G‑d told him, though „קיים אברהם אבינו כל התורה כולה עד שלא ניתנה” (he kept the whole Torah): a creature, being subject to change (בעל שינוי), cannot by his own power make anything everlasting; that can be done only by „כח הבורא” (the power of the Creator) who commands it. His note 18 sends the reader to Be’etzem Hayom Hazeh in Torah Ohr and Torah Chaim for the explanation „ע״ד החסידות” (“in the manner of Chassidus”).

   The Alter Rebbeמאחר שקיים כל התורה כולה עד שלא ניתנה ואפילו עירובי תבשילין

   The Rebbeווייל אַ נברא, זייענדיק אַ בעל שינוי, קען בכח עצמו ניט אויפטאָן אַן ענין עולם, אַ „ברית עולם”

   Likkutei Sichos, vol. כה, p. 87–88 · אחרון של פסח תשמ״א

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4. ¶2

   The Rebbe explains

   In the same sicha of Acharon shel Pesach 5741, explaining „והיתה בריתי בבשרכם לברית עולם” (“My covenant in your flesh for an everlasting covenant”), the Rebbe describes what a covenant is.

   A covenant (כריתת ברית), the Rebbe says, is like one made between two who love each other: when they want to secure their love forever, so that no thing and no situation can undo it, they strengthen it by making a covenant. His note gives Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim, and „וראה תו״א ס״פ לך (בנוגע למילה)” (“see Torah Ohr, end of Lech Lecha (regarding milah)”), our ¶2. He adds that between people such a covenant can still be annulled, since people change, while the covenant G‑d makes through milah is everlasting („ברית עולם”).

   The Alter Rebbeשענין הכריתת ברית הוא למעלה מן השכל והדעת ע״ד ב׳ אוהבים שעושים כריתת ברית להיות אוהבים זע״ז

   The Rebbeבשעת זיי ווילן פאַרזיכערן אויף שטענדיק די אהבה צווישן זיי באופן אַז קיין זאַך אָדער מצב זאָל דאָס ניט צעשטערן

   Likkutei Sichos, vol. כה, p. 87 · אחרון של פסח תשמ״א

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5. ¶2

   The Rebbe explains

   In the maamar "אשרי תבחר ותקרב" (Thursday night, the eve of Friday of Chayei Sarah, 26 Cheshvan 5716, said at a vachnacht, the night before a bris), explaining why this verse is said before a bris, the Rebbe sets the four worlds of hishtalshelus against milah, „ומילה היא למעלה מהשתלשלות” (which is above them).

   „דמילה היא למעלה לא רק מד׳ העולמות אלא גם מד׳ האותיות דשם הוי׳” (Milah, the Rebbe says, is above not only the four worlds but also the four letters of the Name Havayah) from which the worlds come into being; as Torah Ohr says on „מי יעלה לנו השמימה” (“Who will go up for us to heaven”), milah is in the first letters and Havayah in the last because milah is above Havayah (his note gives our maamar). But to draw that revelation down through milah, „צריך להיות תחלה השלימות דהשתלשלות” (the completeness of the order of the worlds must come first): „כדי שיעבור עליו שבת אחת” (a Shabbos must pass over the child). So, he suggests, „התהלך לפני והי׳ תמים” (“walk before Me and be (vehyeh) whole”): first vehyeh, the letters of Havayah, and then “whole”, the revelation through milah.

   The Alter Rebbeאבל מילה הנ״ל היא למעלה משם הוי״ה עד שהיא בר״ת ושם הוי״ה הוא בס״ת

   The Rebbeדזה שמילה הוא ראשי תיבות והוי׳ הוא סופי תיבות הוא לפי שמילה היא למעלה מהוי׳

   Sefer HaMaamarim Melukat (new edition), vol. ג (אדר–סיון), p. קסא · אור ליום ועש״ק פ׳ חיי שרה, כ״ו מרחשון ה׳תשט״ז (published in the kuntres for 18 Nissan 5751)

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6. ¶2

   The Rebbe explains

   In a sicha printed for Lech Lecha (from the night of Simchas Torah 5711 and Shabbos Naso 5741) on the three sources the Sages give for circumcision overriding Shabbos, the Rebbe considers the view that learns it „מפרשת מילה שנאמרה לאברהם” (from the passage of milah told to Avraham), before the Torah was given.

   If the law that milah overrides Shabbos was known from Avraham’s time, before the Torah and before any law of Shabbos, then, the Rebbe says, it is not merely a law of milah or of Shabbos: it is „למעלה ממדידת התורה” (above the measure of the Torah) and above every definition of Shabbos, like the Sages’ „גדולה מילה שנכרתו עלי׳ שלש עשרה בריתות” (“Great is milah, for thirteen covenants were made over it”). His note gives our maamar’s reading of “Great is milah” as „מילה הגדולה שמלמעלה למטה” (the great circumcision from above), above the Torah: the Torah „לא בשמים היא” (“is not in heaven”), while „מי יעלה לנו השמימה” (“Who will go up for us to heaven”) spells milah first and Havayah last.

   The Alter Rebbeוע״ז ארז״ל גדולה מילה שנכרתו עליה שלש עשרה בריתות

   The Rebbeאלא שהוא למעלה ממדידת התורה, ולמעלה מכל גדר השבת

   Likkutei Sichos, vol. לה, p. 55–56 · ליל שמח״ת תיש״א; ש״פ נשא תשמ״א

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7. ¶3

   The Rebbe explains

   In a sicha of Shabbos Lech Lecha 5711 (unedited text in Sichos Kodesh 5711 p. רו), speaking of the joy of the week after Lech Lecha, when the Torah tells of Avraham after his circumcision, the Rebbe explains how high a level he reached through it.

   Everything Avraham reached before the mitzvah of milah, the Rebbe says, had a relation to created beings, and so he could reach it by his own power; milah, however, is something given from above, as it is said that Avraham’s circumcision is „מילה שלמעלה” (the circumcision from above), „ומל ד׳ אלקיך את לבבך” (“And Havayah your G‑d will circumcise your heart”). His note for this gives Torah Ohr, end of Lech Lecha, 13c. Through milah, he adds, lights far above creation and the order of the worlds (סדר ההשתלשלות) are drawn down, which is why milah is bound up with birth.

   The Alter Rebbeאבל אברהם זכה לגילוי בחי׳ ומל ה׳ את לבבך ע״כ נאמר נמול אברהם

   The Rebbeמצות מילה אָבער איז אַ ענין וואָס מען האָט געגעבן פון אויבן, ווי עס שטייט אַז מילת אַברהם איז דער ענין פון מילה שלמעלה

   Likkutei Sichos, vol. א, p. 22–23 · ש״פ לך לך תשי״א

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8. ¶3

   A question the Rebbe raises

   In the sicha printed for Lech Lecha in Likkutei Sichos vol. 35 (from the night of Simchas Torah 5711 and Shabbos Naso 5741), having said that milah expresses „התקשרות עצמית דישראל בקוב״ה” (the bond of Israel with G‑d) above the Torah, the Rebbe shows it in Avraham’s own circumcision, which Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer dates to Yom Kippur („דמילת אברהם היתה ביום הכפורים”).

   Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer learns from the word etzem (עצם), “on that very day”, that Avraham was circumcised on Yom Kippur. The Rebbe asks how, since „מילה שלא בזמנה” (milah not at its time) does not override Yom Kippur; in the plain sense it was the day of the command, so it was “at its time”; in the inner sense, Avraham’s milah was of the level above the Torah’s measures, and it fits Yom Kippur, „שעיצומו של יום מכפר” (whose very essence (itzumo shel yom) atones) by revealing „ההתקשרות העצמית של ישראל בקוב״ה” (Israel’s essential bond with G‑d). That bond, he says, shows in „בעצם היום הזה נימול אברהם” (“on that very day Avraham was circumcised”), with the note “see Torah Ohr, end of our parsha”. Our ¶3 reads the same word as „בעצמיות של היום הזה” (“the essence of this day”), the day „שכולו טוב” (that is wholly good).

   The Alter Rebbeוזהו בעצם היום הזה נמול פי׳ בעצמיות של היום הזה

   The Rebbeוקשר זה מתבטא במילת אברהם עצמו, „בעצם היום הזה נימול אברהם”, שנמול ביום הכפורים, שבת שבתון

   Likkutei Sichos, vol. לה, p. 59–60 · ליל שמח״ת תיש״א; ש״פ נשא תשמ״א

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9. ¶3

   Background from the Rebbe

   In a sicha of 12 Tammuz 5714 (printed for Vayera; unedited text Toras Menachem 5714 vol. 3 p. 81), asking why Yitzchak had to be born „מטיפה קדושה” (from a holy drop), only after Avraham’s circumcision, the Rebbe explains what circumcision gave Avraham.

   Avraham’s own level, the Rebbe says, was Atzilus, „אלקות בהגבלה” (G‑dliness within limits); through the mitzvah of milah he reached „תמימות” (“temimus”), wholeness (“walk before Me and be whole”), which is „אלקות שלמעלה מאצילות” (G‑dliness above Atzilus). His note for this gives the end of Be’etzem Hayom Hazeh, our ¶3. That, he says, is what called forth Yitzchak’s service, a service without limits, not even those of holy intellect (שכל דקדושה).

   The Alter Rebbeוהעצמיות של היום הזה היינו אותו הגילוי הגדול שיהי׳ לע״ל גילוי בחי׳ רב טובך

   The Rebbeאיז ער צוגעקומען צו „תמימות” . . וואָס דאָס איז דער ענין פון אלקות שלמעלה מאצילות

   Likkutei Sichos, vol. א, p. 30 · י״ב תמוז תשי״ד

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Short quotes only, with the place of each so it can be read in full. The Rebbe’s sichos, letters and maamarim are published by Kehot and by Vaad Hanochos B’Lahak (lahak.org).