Avraham Avinu observed the Torah and its mitzvos. It is, therefore, surprising that the mitzvah of milah, circumcision, was the one mitzvah that he did not perform until Hashem instructed him to do so. The question is well-known, and the accepted answer is: Gadol ha’metzuveh v’oseh mimi she’eino metzuveh v’oseh; “A person who does something after being commanded is superior to one who does it without being commanded.” The mitzvah of milah was so important to Avraham that he waited for Hashem to command him, so that his performance would have greater impact and generate greater reward.
Horav Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg, zl (Seridei Eish), asks a compelling question: Milah is much more than a mitzvah. It is also a sign of the bris, covenant, between Hashem and Klal Yisrael. The Bris Milah is an ose kodesh, holy sign, on one’s body, which represents our relationship with the Almighty. As such, how could Avraham have undertaken the bris milah, which involves two parties, on his own? Furthermore, posits the Rosh Yeshivah, Avraham did not fulfill those mitzvos that represent an ose, sign, relating to a specific occasion or milestone experience, such as matzah and maror. The Torah presented these mitzvos to celebrate a specific experience which had not yet occurred in Avraham’s time. Thus, when Chazal teach that Avraham fulfilled the entire Torah, this is reference to those which were germane in his time.
Thus, we must say that Avraham delayed carrying out the mitzvah of milah, because, once he performed the procedure, he could no longer redo it as part of the covenant. Furthermore, for the Patriarchs to perform the bris milah in two parts (first, making the circumcision; and then ha’tofas dam bris, releasing some blood, as part of the covenant) would not suffice. As the first person to perform bris milah, everything that he did required perfection. To split the first mitzvah in two would flaw the message for the future. Avraham had to do it right – the first time.
We see from here that the mitzvah of milah includes the accompanying kavanah, intention – not just the action. The kavanah transforms a simple surgical procedure into a mitzvah and a symbol of the bris kodesh with Hashem. Avraham wanted this particular mitzvah to be perfect from the very onset.
