“Behold, My covenant is with you.” The word “behold” [hineh] indicates something that already exists. One can explain that “My covenant is already present within you,” and this is indeed true, because this external circumcision serves a noble purpose — it provides proof of the circumcision of the heart and its purity. Without doubt, even before the physical circumcision, Abraham already had a pure and circumcised heart. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “I know that My covenant is already with you because you are pure of heart. However, since I now want to make you a father of many nations, I need to provide an explanation to all the people of the world as to why I am appointing you as the father of many nations. This is to publicize your virtue and the purity of your heart before all the nations, through this external circumcision which testifies to the purity of the heart, so that your generations will know that I justly made you a father of many nations.” This is what is meant by And I will establish My covenant between Me and you — meaning, that same internal covenant of the heart which was previously hidden between Me and you, and which all the people of the world did not know about, I am now raising as a banner of that covenant so that all the people of the world will know of it. This is what is meant by for an everlasting [leolam] covenant — meaning, that covenant which was between Me and you will now be a covenant for the entire world, as all the people of the world [haolam] will know of it and reflect upon it.

“And you shall keep My covenant.” What is the meaning of and you and why does it repeat you and your offspring? Here is the explanation: The main commandment was for the sake of his offspring, as they need this external circumcision in order to reach through it the internal circumcision and purity of heart. But you [Abraham], who already have a pure heart, did not need circumcision for your own sake, but rather for the sake of the entire world as mentioned. However, your descendants afterward need circumcision for their own sake. Therefore it says and you with the inclusive vav, meaning that you too shall keep this external covenant. And it gives a second reason for the matter: that if you also keep My covenant, then your offspring will see and do likewise — this is what is meant by you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. And it says this is the covenant which you shall keep between Me and you — meaning for future generations the purpose of circumcision is only to bring them to circumcision of the foreskin of the heart, a matter that is entrusted between Me and you alone. And it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you — that this external circumcision is a revealed sign of the internal covenant that is entrusted to the heart between Me and you. And My covenant shall be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant — meaning a covenant that all who come into the world will recognize. And the Holy One, Blessed be He, repeated this matter several times to teach that the main reason for this external circumcision is to reach through it the internal purity of the heart.

Her name shall no longer be called Sarai. Since every yod [the letter י] denotes a masculine form, and we find this language used in masculine form as it says and the princes in Issachar (Judges 5:15). Because she was barren like males who cannot give birth, and now she was given a hei [the letter ה] in place of the yod, since every hei denotes feminine form, indicating that from now on she would be a female who bears children. And so that the yod would not have a complaint saying that half of its numerical value was removed from the Torah [since the numerical value of yod is 10 and the value of hei is five], therefore a hei was added to Abraham to give him dominion over all multitudes of nations and over the five chief limbs. According to the kabbalists, the hei has the power of procreation, as it is written Here is seed for you (Genesis 47:23), and as it says Am I in place of God? (Genesis 30:2) This is also the reason for the two heis in the name Bilhah. Therefore, two heis were given here — one to Abraham and one to Sarah. And the yod was taken from Sarah to Abraham, to indicate that Sarah’s merit caused this procreation, just as it says I too will be built up through her (Genesis 30:3) — in the merit of bringing her rival into her house. Thus, Sarah’s merit enabled Abraham to procreate. Another explanation for why they were given the hei is because God created the world with the letter hei, and He did not create it to be desolate but rather for habitation, therefore the hei would be the cause of their offspring for the purpose of settling the world. And it’s possible that what was said I will make your name great with the addition of hei hints that He would add a hei to his name, and through this cause I will make you into a great nation.

But Sarah your wife will bear you a son. One must contemplate: Didn’t the Holy One, Blessed be He, already tell him I have also given you a son through her (Genesis 17:16)? And although the word “given” [in past tense], when used in God’s promise, is as if it has already been given, nevertheless it appears that He used the past tense because He had already given Sarah the letter heh which is the cause for reproduction, as mentioned. Furthermore, what’s the meaning of Abraham saying Will a hundred-year-old man father a child? Was Abraham, heaven forbid, doubting God’s ability? For the simple meaning suggests this wasn’t a sustained question, as evidenced by its parallel statement and will Sarah, at ninety years old, give birth? The explanation that seems closest to me is based on our finding the term “son” used even without actual birth, as it says regarding Moses and he became to her as a son (Exodus 2:10). Similarly, Abraham thought that since God said I have also given you a son through her without explicitly mentioning birth, surely His intention was that she would adopt a foundling from the street and raise him with blessing, and it would be as if he were truly their son. For why would God change nature when it’s possible to interpret His words in a way that aligns with nature? Therefore, he expressed his wonderment, Will a hundred-year-old man father a child? To this, the Holy One, Blessed be He, responded, But Sarah your wife will bear a son — an actual birth.

And regarding what [God] said “and she shall become nations” in plural form, it can be explained that this hinted that in her merit, all the barren women throughout the world were remembered [by God and granted children], and through this it is as if many nations came from her. For from Sarah herself, only Israel emerged — one nation in the land — since Esau is not included [in this count], as it was already stated for in Isaac shall your seed be called.

“And God went up from Abraham.” Rashi explains that from here we learn that the Patriarchs themselves are the divine chariot [merkavah] of the Omnipresent. This teaches that there is no intermediary between the Omnipresent, blessed be He, and the Patriarchs, and their partition [in heaven] is within [closer than] the partition of the ministering angels, as Rashi explained on the verse In due time it will be said of Jacob, etc. (Numbers 23:23), and as it is written (Deuteronomy 33:27), The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. For the Holy One, blessed be He, dwells above, and beneath Him are the Patriarchs who are the “arms of the world,” for they, as it were, support the Throne, and as it is written (Deuteronomy 33:26), Who rides through the heavens to help you [be’ezrecha, which can also mean with your help] — meaning, You help Me, as it were, in the way that they said (Yalkut Shimoni, Psalms 60:879) that the righteous add strength to the power above, etc. And the reason why it says And God went up is so that Abraham would attend to the circumcision and not delay while the Divine Presence was with Him.

On this very day Abraham was circumcised, etc. Although it was already stated and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin and it is written when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, nevertheless, the text returns and explicitly states that he also performed his own circumcision on this very same day in full view of everyone, and he was not embarrassed before those who saw. For according to Rashi’s explanation, it is difficult [to understand] why the scoffers of the generation would protest against him. And according to our Sages’ interpretation (Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer 29), he was circumcised on Yom Kippur, as they derived from the parallel usage of the phrase “on this very day.”