- On the verse “G-d revealed himself to Avraham in the land of Mamreh.” Rashi explains that Mamreh merited this since he advised Avraham to go through with the commandment of milah, circumcision. One has to wonder why Avraham needed to seek his advice, the explanation is as follows...
- A big part of the rectifications that Avrahom was doing involved converting as many people as he could to a Jewish version of a singular G-d.
- At that time the men of the earth would worship the separate forces and angeles. This increased the power of the Sitra Acher.
- Until this point it was rather easy to attain converts. Although they had to give up the easy methods of getting energy form the Sitra Acher, the rules they had to accept were few and moralistic. One just had to commit himself to the seven laws of the descendants of Noach.
- Now, in order to identify with the side of Kedusha one would have to circumcise himself. This greatly weakens a person unless he is receiving all his energy purely from the side of Holiness. If a person is not ready for this and still is partly impure he is greatly weakened.
- Avraham feared this would discourage potential converts, he therefore asked Mamreh for his opinion since he fell into that category.
- Meaning, Avraham was willing to sacrifice the hi levels he could reach through circumcision, so as not to bring this into effect.
- However, even this possible consideration Avraham completely rectified during the sacrifice of Yitzchak. The Satan appeared to him trying to talk him out of keeping G-d’s commandment. One of his arguments was that he was contradicting his own previous protests to the then common practice of human sacrifice. Avraham then replied that although he would be looked at as a hypocrite and many people would further themselves from him, he was still willing to follow G-d blindly.

(Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilnah / collection Kol Eliyahu, Vyerah)