פרשת וירא - וַיִּטַּ֥ע אֶ֖שֶׁל בִּבְאֵ֣ר שָׁ֑בַע

(3) Avraham, however, understood that God, “fills the whole world with His glory.” He removed the orlah,³⁹Orlah means “foreskin.” The author is stating that Avraham’s removal of concealment of G-d paralleled his own act of circumcision. This idea is found in the Zohar, and many Kabbalistic and hasidic writings. the force of concealment, which divided God’s light from man’s understanding. Thus we find after he was given the commandment of circumcision (milah) it is said (Bereshit, 21:33), “And he called in the name of Hashem, the God of the world.” This means that God’s existence became apparent in all aspects of the creation, as the Midrash Rabbah (Vayera, 48) states, on the verse (Iyov, 19:26), “‘From my flesh I shall see God’ – Were it not for the act of circumcision, how could God have been revealed to me?” That is, he saw God’s light in every detail of creation. When Avraham said, “I raise my hands to the Supernal God,” it was before the circumcision.⁴⁰See the Beit Yaakov in parshat Lech Lecha, 33. Similarly, we find that the Patriarchs taught the Torah to their sons. The Midrash⁴¹Midrash Tankhuma, Vayigash 11; Midrash Rabbah,Vayigash 95; Midrash Rabbah, Shemot 5. tells us that while Israel was in Egypt they possessed scrolls with which they would delight in each Shabbat.

(19) The Holy One, Blessed be He, said : "Be jealous for My sake, were it not for envy, the world would not stand. A man would not plant a vineyard, marry a wife or build a house (Shoher Tob 37a). For all of these matters come about because one man envies his companion. If he builds a house, then another person will have it in mind to do likewise, and thus it is concerning a wife. And since the perpetuation of the world depends upon envy, let him dedicate all these envious qualities to God. If he builds a house let him build in it room for the study of Torah, a gathering place for the wise, a place where guests are welcomed, and a place where he does kindness to men. And thus did they say (Shohar Tov ibid). Had not Abraham been jealous he would have not acquired both worlds. And how was he envious? He asked Melchizedek¹See Nedarim 32b, where Melchizedek is identified with Shem, the son of Noah., "How did you emerge from the Ark?" And Melchizedek answered, "Because of the charity that we did there," Abraham said to him, "What kind of charity could you do in the Ark; — were there any poor people there? There was no one there except Noah and his sons, so to whom were you doing charity?" Melchizedek answered him : "With the animals, with the beasts and with the fowl. We did not sleep but were constantly giving food to all these living creatures all night long." At that moment Abraham said, "If these people had not done charity with the animals, beasts and fowl, they would not have emerged from the Ark, but because they did justice with them, they did emerge safely, then I who will do justice with all the children of man who are in the image of the Holy One, Blessed be He, will not this be all the more favorable in God's eyes?" At that moment "And he planted a tamarisk (eshel) in Beersheba" (Gen. 21:33). (The sages take each letter of the Hebrew word Eshel and they say that the word Eshel means a place where strangers can eat, drink and lodge.) In this manner, a man ought to, indeed, increase his zeal.