The Secret Of Avrohom

Rashi (13:11) says Lot said, “I don’t want Avrohom and his God.”  What does it mean to separate from the God of Avrohom and why does he use the name elokim specifically?  Furthermore, we find even after departing from Avrohom, Lot fulfilled mitzvot, he ate matzoh, took in guests etc. (see 19:2,) so what does it mean he separated from the God of Avrohom?  What influenced bring the word of the Lord to the heathens, what was spurring him on?  Why was the mitzvah of bris milah specifically given to Avrohom?

The Rambam explains (Sefer Hamitzvot #2) that the reason Avrohom was driven to convince others was because of his great love of Hashem.  If a person has a great love of something, then that is what s/he likes to talk about.  Avrohom loved Hashem, therefore he spoke about Hashem.  Lot was a robot, he went through the motions of doing the mitzvot, but it didn’t have an impact on him.  There was no feeling put into his fulfillment of mitzvot and therefore it didn’t impact his kids or those that surrounded him.  Avrohom didn’t just fulfill mitzvot, he lived with Hashem.  Godliness permeated everything he did.  He was full of love and feeling for Hashem and that’s why he was able to affect his children and those around him.  Lot wanted no part of this.  This service of Avrohom and Elokie Avrohom was not for him.  Lot didn’t want to live a Godly life; to fulfill mitzvot, yes; live with God, no (based upon the writings of my great grandfather, Rav Dov Yehuda Schochet.)

The Gemorah Shabbos (130a) says that any mitzva that Klal Yisroel accepted with simcha they still fulfill with simcha.  The Gemorah proves that milah was accepted with simcha based upon the possuk (Tehillim 119:162) שָׂ֣שׂ אָ֭נֹכִי עַל־אִמְרָתֶ֑ךָ כְּ֝מוֹצֵ֗א שָׁלָ֥ל רָֽב.   How does the Gemorah know that the possuk is referring to milah (see Rashi there)?  Rav Shwab suggests a novel approach.  He asks that the possuk is a self-contradiction, if its motzeh that sounds like one happened upon it, however shallel sounds like it had to be won through battle?  He explains that the main point of a mitzvah is the fight against the yetzer harah.  That’s why it’s called shallel.  However, milah is unique for one performs it without choice and has no fight to fulfill it; that is the motzeh, the finding of the treasure (Rav Shwab says that he told it to Rav Issur Zalmen who approved of the vort.)  However, why is bris milah performed at such a young age?  Why is milah considered a mitzvah if there is no need for a fight against the yetzer harah?  What makes it unique?

The Rambam in his Perush Hamishna end of chapter 7 of Chulin says that we don’t do milah because of the commandment given to Avrohom, rather we do it because it was given to Moshe at Sinai.  The Rambam says this part of a general principal that all commandments must come from Sinai.  If so, why is the blessing of the milah that the father says, “to enter in the bris of Avrohom Avenu”, why mention Avrohom if that isn’t the source of the commandment?  The answer is that there are two dinim in the mitzvah of milah.  There is the specific mitzvah of milah, but besides the specific mitzvah there is a bris represented by milah as well.  Yes, the commandment of milah is from Sinai but the covenant that exists between us and Hashem is inherited from Avrohom.  At Sinai we entered a covenant with Hashem via the commandments.  However, the bris of Avrohom is a deeper bris.  This bris is unbreakable, it is the connection between the essence of a person and Hashem (see Likutay Sichos volime 30.)  That is why bris milah is performed without any understand, for the connection to Hashem is above sechal, it isn’t limited by the boundaries of one’s sechal, its above sechal. (see Machshovos Chassidus by Rav Yoel Kahn chapters 5-6.)  It is specifically because of the covenant that milah isn’t required to be fulfilled after a fight with the yetzer harah.  A Jew needs to battle in order to fulfill mitzvot but in regard to the covenant it is automatic.  Milah is the only mitzvah that has a physical change on the body.  Because Avrohom became completely permeated with Godliness, therefore he merited that even his body should become perfected through a mitzvah.