Lech Lecha/Covenant of LOVE

In parsha Lech Lecha, God appears to Avram and tells him to preform the commandment of circumcision, which will form a special covenant of LOVE between them:

 

וְאֶתְּנָ֥ה בְרִיתִ֖י בֵּינִ֣י וּבֵינֶ֑ךָ וְאַרְבֶּ֥ה אוֹתְךָ֖ בִּמְאֹ֥ד מְאֹֽד׃

 

 I will give My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly. (Gen. 17:2)

   

Which RASHI explains that MY COVENANT refers to a covenant of LOVE and a covenant regarding the land. The covenant of land is easy to understand, because that refers to the Holy Land that He gave to the descendants of Avraham. But what about the covenant of LOVE? Where do we see that?

But indeed we can see the covenant of LOVE derived from the text itself, for the next verse says:

 אֲנִ֕י הִנֵּ֥ה בְרִיתִ֖י אִתָּ֑ךְ וְהָיִ֕יתָ לְאַ֖ב הֲמ֥וֹן גּוֹיִֽם׃

 

As for Me, here is My covenant with you; you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 

 

The word father in Hebrew is  אַ֖ב  AV, and that's the AV in AVraham, because the Torah says he will become a multitude of nations. When AVraham performed the commandment of circumcision, he became perfect in the 5 organs of his body: 2 eyes, 2 ears, and the reproductive organ, as we read in RASHI on the verse in (Gen 17:1). This we get from the previous verse:

וַיְהִ֣י אַבְרָ֔ם בֶּן־תִּשְׁעִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה וְתֵ֣שַׁע שָׁנִ֑ים וַיֵּרָ֨א יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶל־אַבְרָ֗ם וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ אֲנִי־אֵ֣ל שַׁדַּ֔י הִתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ לְפָנַ֖י וֶהְיֵ֥ה תָמִֽים׃

 

Now when Avram was ninety years and nine years old YHWH appeared to Avram and said to him:
I am EL Shaddai. Walk in my presence! And be perfect! (Gen 17:1)

 

Which RASHI explains to mean:

BE PERFECT — at present you lack the power of controlling morally five organs, viz., two eyes, two ears and the reproductive organ. Therefore, will I add a letter (i. e. the letter 'ה the numerical value of which is five) to your name (אברם which equals 243) so that the total of the letters of your name (אברהם) will become 248, corresponding to the number of limbs of your body (cf. Nedarim 32b). 

 

This is an example of the principle of action from below causing an action from above, namely: Avram performed the commandment of circumcision, this is action from below, and by doing so, he perfected all 5 organs his body. The Gematria of 5 is letter hey הT .o this, God responded with an action from above, by adding a letter heyה  to Avram's name. So there we have it:

Avram will become become a father AV אב of nations
 

Then he perfects his 5 ה  organs through circumcision, so we add it to the AV and getאהב

 

Then God adds a hey ה to his name, and we add that also, to get האהב.

This spells the word AHAVA in Hebrew, which means LOVE!