Bereishit Rabba 46 Core Texts Use with https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/495858

i. And Abram was ninety years old and nine, etc. (xvn, i). It is written, I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness , / saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig-tree at her first season (Hos. ix, 10). R. Judan said: At first the fruit of a fig-tree is gathered one by one, then two by- two, then three by three, until eventually they are gathered in baskets and with shovels. 1 Even so, at the beginning, Abraham was one (Ezek. xxxiii, 24); then there were Abraham and Isaac; then Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Until eventually, And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, etc. (Ex. vn, 1).

R. Judan said: Just as a fig contains nothing inedible save its stalk, and with its removal even this defect ceases, so did God say to Abraham: 'There is nought unworthy in thee save thy foreskin: remove it and the blemish ceases': hence, Walk before me, and be thou whole.

(2) And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, etc. It is written, To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven (Eccl. 3:1). There was a season when circumcision should be given to Abraham In the self same day was Abraham circumcised (Gen. 17:26); there was a season when his descendants were to neglect it as it is written, For all the people that came out were circumcised; but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, had not been circumcised (Josh, 5:5).

Why should he not have circumcised himself at the age of forty-eight, when he recognised his Creator? In order not to discourage proselytes. Then why not be circumcised at the age of eighty-five, when [God] spoke with him between the pieces? In order that Isaac might issue from a holy source. Then let him be circumcised at the age of eighty-six, when Ishmael was born? Said R. Simeon b. Lakish : [God said] : ' I will set up a cinnamon tree in the world: just as the cinnamon tree yields fruit as long as you manure and hoe around it, so [shall Abraham be] even when his blood runs sluggishly and his passions and desires have ceased.

3. [Abraham] asked: 'If circumcision is so precious, why was it not given to Adam? ' Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him: 'Let it suffice thee that I and thou are in the world. 4 If thou wilt not undergo circumcision, it is enough for My world to have existed until now, and it is enough for uncircumcision to have existed until now, and it is enough for circumcision to have been forlorn until now/ 5 Said he: 'Before I circumcised myself, men came and joined me [in my new faith]. Will they come and join me when I am circumcised?' 6 'Abraham/ said God to him, ' let it suffice thee that I am thy God ; let it suffice thee that I am thy Patron, and not only for thee alone, but it is sufficient for My world that I am its God and its Patron . Nathan said in R. Aha's name, and R. Berekiah said in R. Isaac's name: I am El Shaddai (God Almighty): It is I who said to My world, 'day' (enough)! And had I not said ' dayV to My world, the heaven would still have been spreading and the earth would have gone on expanding to this very day. It was taught in the name of R. Eliezer b. Jacob : It is I whose Godhead outweighs the world and the fulness thereof. 1 Akilas 2 translated it: Sufficient and incomparable.

Walk before me, and be thou whole. R. Levi said: This may be illustrated by a noble lady whom the king commanded, 'Walk before me/ She walked before him and her face went pale, for, thought she, who knows but that some defect may have been found in me? Said the king to her, 'Thou hast no defect, but that the nail of thy little finger is slightly too long; pare it and the defect will be gone/ Similarly, God said to Abraham, 'Thou hast no other defect but this foreskin: remove it and the defect will be gone/ Hence, Walk before me, and be thou whole. And I will make my covenant, etc. (xvn, 2). R. Huna said in Bar Kappara's name: Abraham pondered 3 and drew an inference: l orlah (foreskin) is said here (v. 11), and 'orlah occurs in reference to a tree (Lev. xix, 23) 4 : just as 'orlah in the case of trees refers to the place where it yields fruit, so 'orlah employed in reference to man means the member which produces offspring [fruit]. Said R. Hanina to him: Had then reasoning by analogy already been given to Abraham? Surely not! But [he learned it from God's promise]: AndIwillmake my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly: hence, with [that member through which] I will multiply thee EXCEEDINGLY, I WILL MAKE MY COVENANT BETWEEN ME AND THEE.

(5) (5) R' Yishmael and R' Akiva: R' Yishmael says, Avraham was a High Priest, as it says (Ps. 110:4), "The LORD has sworn and will not relent, 'You are a priest forever, etc.'" and it says elsewhere (Gen. 17:11), "You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin." From where should he be circumcised? If he is circumcised from the ear, he is not fit to offer sacrifices. From the mouth, he is not fit to offer sacrifices. From the heart, he is not fit to offer sacrifices. Where should he be circumcised so that he will be fit to offer sacrifices? You must say it is the foreskin of the body.

R' Akiva says, there are four foreskins. Foreskin is said with regard to the ear (Jer. 6:10): "Their ears are blocked." Foreskin is said with regard to the mouth (Exod. 6:12): "me, a man of impeded lips." Foreskin is said with regard to the heart (Jer. 9:25): "but all the House of Israel are uncircumcised of heart." Foreskin is said with regard to the body (Gen. 17:14): "male who is uncircumcised [one who is uncircumcised in his maleness]." It was said to him, (Gen. 17:1): "Walk in My ways and be blameless/whole." If he is circumcised from the ear, he is not whole; from the mouth, he is not whole; from the heart, he is not whole. From where should he be circumcised so that he will be whole? You must say it is the foreskin of the body. Scripture says (Gen. 17:11-12), "[You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.] And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at the age of eight days." If he is circumcised from the ear, he cannot hear; from the mouth, he cannot speak; from the heart, he cannot think. From where should he be circumcised so that he can think? This is the foreskin of the body. R' Tanhuma said, tis Scripture makes sense (Gen. 17:14): "male who is uncircumcised [one who is uncircumcised in his maleness]." And does there exist one who is uncircumcised in femaleness? Rather, from the place where it is recognized whether male or female -- from there we circumcise him.

6. And Abraham fell on his face, etc. (xvn, 3). R. Phinehas said in R. Levi's name: Abraham fell on his face on two occasions. 1 In consequence, his children were deprived of circumcision once in the wilderness and once in Egypt 2 : In Egypt, Moses came and circumcised them; in the wilderness, Joshua came and circumcised them. 3

7. AS FOR ME, BEHOLD, MY COVENANT IS WITH thee, etc. (xvn, 4). It is related that R. Abba, R. Berekiah, R. Abba b. Kahana, and R. Samuel b. Ammi, when sitting and studying, once raised the question : How is notarikon [as a permissible method of exegesis] deduced from Scripture? 4 We know it from this: And thou SHALT BE AB HAMON (THE FATHER OF A MULTI- TUDE — of nations), the resh being lacking. 5

8. Neither shall thy name any more be called abram, but thy name shall be abraham (xvn, 5). Bar Kappara said: Whoever calls Abraham ' Abram', violates a positive commandment. R. Levi said: A positive commandment and a negative ommandment. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram — that is a negative command; But thy name shall be Abraham — that is a positive command. But surely the men of the Great Assembly 1 called him Abram, as it is written, Thou . . . who didst choose Abram (Neh. ix, 7). There it is different, as it means that He chose him while he was yet Abram. Then, by analogy, does one who calls Sarah 'Sarai' infringe a positive command? 2 No, for only he [Abraham] was enjoined respecting her. 3 Again, by analogy, if one calls Israel, 'Jacob/ does one infringe a positive command? [No, for] it was taught: It was not intended that the name Jacob should disappear, but that ' Israel ' should be his principal name, while ' Jacob ' should be a secondary one. R. Zebida interpreted in R. Aha's name : At all events, Thy name is Jacob, save that, But Israel [too] shall be thy name (Gen. xxxv, 10) : ' Jacob ' will be the principal name, while ' Israel ' will be an additional one.

9. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojournings, etc. (xvii, 8). R. Judan gave five interpretations of this. R. Judan said: God said:

(i) 'If thy children accept My Divinity, I will be their God and Patron ; if not, I will not be their God and Patron,

(ii) If thy children enter the Promised Land, they accept My Divinity ; if not, they do not accept My Divinity,

(iii) If they accept circumcision, they accept My Divinity ; if not, they do not accept My Divinity,

(iv) If thy children accept Shabbat, they will enter the Promised Land; if not, they will not enter the Promised Land/ 4

R. Berekiah and R. IJelbo in the name of R. Abin b. R. Jose said: It is written, And this is the cause (dabar) why Joshua did circumcise (Josh, v, 4): Joshua spoke a word {dabar) to them, and circumcised them. 5 'What think you/ said he upbraiding them, 'that you will enter the Land uncircumcised?' Thus did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to Abraham, 'And I WILL GIVE UNTO THEE, AND TO THY SEED AFTER thee, etc., providing that you fulfil the condition, And as for thee, thou shalt keep. My covenant*

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(xvii, 9). And as for thee, thou shalt keep My covenant. R. Huna in Rab's name and R. Johanan each commented. Rab said: And as for thee means one like thee [must perform the actual circumcision]; hence it follows that only he who is himself circumcised may perform circumcision. R. Johanan said: He must needs be circumcised — himmol yimmol (ih. 13) teaches that the circumciser must himself be circumcised. 1 It was taught: An uncircumcised Israelite [Jew] may not cir- cumcise, and how much more so an uncircumcised Gentile !

10. And ye shall be circumcised (u-nemal- tem) in the flesh of your foreskin (xvii, ii). It [the prepuce] is like a sore (numi) hanging from the body 2 . Once Monabaz 3 and Izates, 4 the sons of King Ptolemy, 5 were sitting and reading the book of Genesis. When they came to the verse, And ye shall be circumcised, one turned his face to the wall and com- menced to weep, and the other turned his face to the wall and commenced to weep. Then each went and had himself circumcised. 6 Some time later they were sitting and reading the Book of Genesis; and when they came to the verse, And ye shall be circumcised, one said to the other, 'Woe to thee, my brother!' to which he replied, 'Woe to thee, my brother, but not to me.' Thus they revealed the matter to each other. When their mother learned about it she went and told their father: 'A sore has broken out on our sons' flesh and the physician has ordered circumcision/ 'Then let them be circumcised/ said he. How did the Holy One, blessed be He, requite them? Said R. Phinehas: When he went out to battle a band of enemies attacked him, and an angel descended and rescued him. 1

11. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised . . . He that is born in the HOUSE OR BOUGHT WITH MONEY (XVII, 12). It Was taught: If a man buys the unborn child of a non- Jewish bondmaid belonging to a Gentile — R. Johanan said: He must be circumcised on the eighth day [after birth]. It was likewise taught, R. Hama b. R. Jose said : He must be circumcised on the eighth day, while Samuel taught the same. 2 Samuel's statement is based on the verse: For a son, or for a daughter (Lev. xii, 6) ; ' For a son ' means in all cases, and 'For a daughter' means in all cases. 3

12. HE SHALL SURELY BE CIRCUMCISED — HIMMOL yimmol (xvn, 13). This intimates circumcision, perH'ahf and removal of the shreds [of the corona]. 5 He shall surely be circumcised: this teaches that the circum- ciser must himself be circumcised. He shall surely be circumcised : this signifies the inclusion of one who is born circumcised. It was taught, R. Simeon b. Eleazar said : Beth Shammai and Beth Hillel agree that when one is born circumcised, the blood of the covenant must be made to flow from him, 1 because it is a suppressed foreskin. They disagree only about a man who became a proselyte when already circum- cised. Beth Shammai maintain : The blood of the covenant must be made to flow from him, while Beth Hillel rule: It is unnecessary. R. Eleazar the son of R. Eleazar Hakappar said : Beth Shammai and Beth Hillel agree that in both of these cases the blood of the covenant must be made to flow. They disagree about one who was born circumcised, and the eighth day after whose birth 2 fell on the Sabbath. Beth Shammai then maintain : The blood of the covenant must flow 3 ; while Beth Hillel rule: It is unnecessary. 4 R. Isaac b. Nahman said in R. Hoshaya's name: The halachah is as stated by the disciple. 5

13. AND THE UNCIRCUMCISED MALE, etc. (XVII, 14). R. Haggai said in R. Isaac's name, and R. Berekiah said in R. Isaac's name: Is there then an uncircumcised female? The meaning, however, is that we must perform circumcision on the member which marks the distinction between male and female. 6 He hath broken my covenant. This refers to one whose circumcision is disguised. 7 It was taught: He whose circumcision is disguised must re-circumcise. R. Judah said: He does not re- circumcise, because it is a suppressed foreskin. 8 Said they to R. Judah: Yet there were many in the days of the son of Kosiba 1 who re- circumcised and yet gave birth to children after that. 2 Hence it is written, He shall surely be circum- cise d — even four or five times : He hath broken My covenant — viz. he whose circumcision is dis- guised.