One of the parashot This week's topic is Tazria (of seed) (the other is Metzora, who has the miraculous disease of Tzaraat). One of the first topics of this parashah is the Brit Mila, Circumcision. The Torah says that every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day of life.
There are several parts that make up the Mitzvah of circumcision: milá, the cutting of the foreskin, Pria, move the excess skin back and metzitzá, to absorb the blood from the wound. Each of these parts is essential to fulfilling the mitzvah.
Our sages say that one of the spiritual meanings of Brit It is about completing the body. God creates man incomplete, so to speak, and places the task of completion in his hands. Of course, God could have created man already complete, so that he wouldn't have to make any effort to improve himself, which would generate in man a feeling of uselessness, "bread of poverty," as it is mentioned in Judaism: someone who is given bread without working to obtain it. Our sages say the same regarding creation itself, that God created it "to make" (Genesis 2:3), which means "to correct." The world was created in such a state that it needs the action of man to be completed. This “missing” action is not for the benefit of God, obviously, because, as mentioned, God could have created the world in a way that does not need further adjustments, but this “missing” gives man the possibility of participating and being a partner in creation, thus giving meaning to his life and being able to be rewarded for his effort and good deeds, something that would have been impossible in a world that was already “perfect”.
However, the Brit It can be viewed from three different perspectives, as if they were three mitzvot: the act of cutting the foreskin, not being uncircumcised, and being circumcised. Each of these perspectives symbolizes a type of service to God, giving the idea of personal work to "correct" oneself a much greater depth.
On one hand, a man must "turn away from evil," that is, abstain from all those things that the Torah forbids, the 365 prohibitive precepts. This is like "not being uncircumcised.".
On the other hand, a man must "do good," that is, in practice observe all those things that the Torah commands, the 248 positive precepts. This is like "being circumcised.".
Finally, the most important component of the three is that all work must be done with effort, symbolized by the act of "cutting the foreskin" (it should be noted that this is the Mitzvah itself, which shows that it is the most important matter).
In other words, this means that serving God should not be easy, nor should one rely on inherited or already acquired abilities, but rather there should always be an extra effort, so as to constantly grow personally. This is one of the great differences between Chabad-style Hasidism and other groups: in Chabad, the Rebbe shows the path in serving God, while in other groups, it is the responsibility of each individual to develop their own path. Hasid to travel that path, overcoming difficulties and growing personally, while in other groups it is the Rebbe who elevates the Hasidim.
The Mitzvah of Brit, Cutting off the foreskin teaches us that each person must work on themselves, by their own means, to correct themselves and the world around them.