El Shaddai and the Four Kinds of Foreskin

"I am God Almighty [El Shaddai]." I am the One who said to My world, Enough [dai], for had I not said to the heavens and the earth, Enough, they would have gone on stretching out until now. I am the One for whom the world and its fullness are not worthy of My divinity. Rav Levi said: a parable of a noblewoman to whom the king said, Pass before me, and she passed before him and her face went pale. She said: perhaps he has found a blemish in me. The king said to her: there is no waste in you except that the fingernail of your little finger is a bit long; remove it and the blemish is gone. So too the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham: there is no waste in you except the foreskin alone; remove it and the blemish is gone. "Walk before Me and be whole." Rabbi Yishmael said: Abraham was a high priest, as it is said, "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek" (Psalms 110:4). He said: if he should be circumcised in the ear, he is not fit to offer; in the mouth, he is not fit to offer; in the heart, he is not fit to offer. You must say, this is the foreskin of the body. Rabbi Akiva says: there are four foreskins. A foreskin is mentioned regarding the ear, "behold, their ear is uncircumcised"; a foreskin regarding the mouth, "and I am of uncircumcised lips" (Exodus 6:12); a foreskin regarding the heart, "and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart"; and it was said to him, "Walk before Me and be whole." If he is circumcised in the ear, he is not whole; in the mouth, not whole; in the heart, not whole; and from where shall he be circumcised so as to be whole? You must say, this is the foreskin of the body. If he is circumcised in the ear, he cannot hear; in the mouth, he cannot speak; in the heart, he cannot think. You must say, this is the foreskin of the body. (Genesis 17:2) Rav Huna in the name of Bar Kappara said: Abraham sat and expounded an analogy of identical phrasing. A foreskin is mentioned regarding a tree, and a foreskin is mentioned regarding a person: just as the foreskin mentioned regarding a tree is at the place that produces fruit, so too the foreskin mentioned regarding a person is at the place that produces fruit. Rabbi Chanina ben Pazi says: but had analogies of identical phrasing already been given to Abraham? This is astonishing. Rather, He hinted a hint to him: "And I will set My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you," and so on. Rabbi Tanchum said: it is reasonable, for this verse says, "and the uncircumcised male" (verse 14). But is there an uncircumcised female? Rather, from the place where it is recognized whether male or female, from there they circumcise him.