Aner and Eshkol Lacked Emunah in the Sages, Which is Why Hashem Revealed Himself at Mamre - The Daily Chizuk from Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

"The Midrash says that Aner and Eshkol told Abraham that the whole world is waiting to redeem the blood. There are 2.6 billion redeemers looking to redeem your blood, to eliminate you, and if you circumcise yourself, you won't be able to move. This is what is written; I cannot change it."

"'And it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain' (Genesis 34:25). They take two young boys (And the two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi), one aged 13 and the other 13.5, and they slaughter 24,000 people. What? This is impossible to understand at all! 24,000 people whom Simeon and Levi slaughtered from house to house; no one could resist (because they were on the third day of their circumcision), no one could do anything."

"So it is written, 'And it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain.' Simeon and Levi killed 24,000 people, and it says it was the third day after the circumcision—the third day (when the pain of the circumcision reaches its peak)—and then one can slaughter an entire nation; they cannot move from bed. And you, Abraham, an old man of 90, will perform a Bris Milah? You will have hemorrhages; this isn't an 8-day-old child. A scientific study was done on an 8-day-old child and they found that the blood clots within a millisecond. Anyone who sees a Bris Milah sees that within a millisecond the child stops crying, the blood has already clotted. But you are an old man of 90, of 99—you will have hemorrhages, you will die from hemorrhages."

"All this, the Midrash Tanchuma says, Aner and Eshkol told Abraham: 'Everyone will come to kill us and you will have hemorrhages.' Later, indeed, when Abraham ran toward the guests (the angels), it is written that the blood dripped. So Aner and Eshkol told Abraham under no circumstances to circumcise, because they were told, 'Know that if even one person dies, we will slaughter all of you.' This was the first Bris Milah in the world; until then there was no Bris Milah. People were born circumcised—Noah was born circumcised—but to perform a Bris Milah? There was no such thing! At that time, the world had already existed for 2,048 years and they hadn't circumcised at all. Suddenly, they are slaughtering small children, cutting them, and with them adults, old men aged 90, aged 100, who will have hemorrhages—everyone will die! Under no circumstances will we let this happen."

"Eshkol and Aner told Abraham, 'Go to some cave to perform the circumcision in secret, travel to Shechem, but do not perform the Bris in Hebron, because here they announced they would kill everyone.' They said that if one person dies from the circumcision, they will kill everyone; not one will remain alive. Aner also said to him, 'This is pikuach nefesh (a life-threatening situation); you cannot perform the Bris in public (b'farhesya). Hide in some cave, hide underground, perform the Bris quietly.'"

"Mamre came and said to him—'You shall perform the Bris in public (b'farhesya). Perform the Bris Milah in front of a stage with screens on all sides, and everyone will see that a Bris Milah is being performed here for a hundred thousand people.' Abraham was circumcised and a stream of blood came out. The Sifsei Chachamim (a classic Torah commentary) says that in the end, they did die. This is what the Sifsei Chachamim says; I don't know where he takes it from, why does he suddenly write this?"

"'Here, bring the Mikraot Gedolot (Rabbinic Bible) for Parshas Bereishis,' the Rav shlit"a turns to the attendant. 'There it is written that in the end they died—yes, they died, they died literally. It is not simple at all; it's not simple to perform a Bris Milah. In New York, three died. They wanted to cancel Bris Milah in New York because exactly in one year three died. Perhaps they were weak and therefore they died? Perhaps they were sick, the Mohels (circumcisers) perhaps were... perhaps there were underlying conditions?'"

"We must study and know the commentary of the Sifsei Chachamim. It is written in the Sifsei Chachamim in Parshas Vayeira right at the beginning—this is a massive Sifsei, larger than the entire commentary of Rashi, larger than the whole portion itself. It says 'and two died.' Who died? And there is a Midrash Aggadah (homiletic teaching) brought by the Sifsei Chachamim: 'Know that at the moment Abraham circumcised Aner and Eshkol, they immediately died; the first two died.' The prosecutor's office arrived and put handcuffs on Abraham—'Come on, straight to prison, two are already dead, it's over, two are dead.'"

"Abraham, you started to circumcise and already people are dying! It's not just circumcising people; they also died at age 100. They were 100 years old like Abraham our Father—immediately hemorrhages, immediately they died. A scandal! Master of the World, the destruction of the world! And then Mamre comes and says—'Now circumcise me!' It turned out that Aner and Eshkol actually disagreed with Abraham; they were against Abraham. They were not people of Emunah (faith). Aner and Eshkol told Abraham not to circumcise; they told him, 'Do it in private, travel to Shechem, travel to Halhul and perform the Bris there.'"

"Aner and Eshkol were against Abraham; they only circumcised because of social pressure. This is called social pressure, so they immediately died. There was an uproar in all of Hebron—'Abraham is a murderer, people are dying, an arch-murderer has already slaughtered two!' Therefore, Hashem revealed Himself to Abraham specifically at Mamre's [place]."

"The Torah portion comes, we study the Sifsei Chachamim, we study the Heichal HaBerachah (a Chassidic commentary). There is what to do, there is what to study all night, all night."