Midrasch zu Bereschit 17:11

This is the animal that you shall eat: This is what the verse stated (Psalms 40:9), "To do Your will, my God, have I desired; and your Torah is in my innards." Happy is Israel, as He gave a commandment for each and every one [of their] limbs, as there are two hundred and forty-eight limbs in a man. And therefore we say every day, "Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the World, who has created man with wisdom, and created in him many holes and many channels." The numerical equivalent of many channels (chalulim, chalulim) is two hundred and forty-eight - that is like the tally of limbs in a man. In the head, do not round the corner of your heads" (Leviticus 19:27). On the flesh, "A gash for a soul you shall not place into your flesh" (Leviticus 19:28). And also the commandment of circumcision, as it is stated (Genesis 17:11), "And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin." And further that He sealed his name, which is Sha-dai, into the Children of Israel - the shin in the noses, the dalet in the hand and the yod in the circumcision. The shin in the noses, so that they not accept nor derive benefit from that which is stolen; the dalet in the hand, so that the give and take (buying and selling) of a man be with propriety and not with theft; and the yod in the circumcision, so that a man not sin, etc."

When the Holy One, blessed be He, told Abraham: Walk before Me, and be thou wholehearted (Gen. 17:1), Abraham began to wonder. He said to himself: “Surely, until now I have been whole in body, but if I circumcise myself I shall be incomplete. There are five prepuces, four in a man and one on a tree. The prepuce of the ear, as it is written: Behold, their ear is uncircumcised (Jer. 6:10); the prepuce of the heart, as it is written: Remove the obduracy of your heart (Deut. 10:16); the prepuce of the tongue, as it is said: Of uncircumcised lips (Exod. 6:12); the prepuce of the flesh, as it is written in this verse: Ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin (Gen. 17:1). If I should circumcise any one of these prepuces, my organs will be incomplete.” The Holy One, blessed be He, asked him: “Why do you believe that you are whole? In fact you lack five limbs. Before you were circumcised, your name was Abram: The alef in your name is one, the bet two, the resh two hundred, and the mem forty, and that totals two hundred and forty-three. However, Man’s limbs total two hundred and forty-eight. Circumcise yourself and you will be whole.” After he was circumcised, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Him: No longer is your name Abram; henceforth it will be Abraham (ibid., v. 5). He added a heh, which equals five, to his name, making a total of two hundred forty-eight, corresponding to the number of limbs in the human body. Hence Scripture says: Be thou whole.

Rabbi Ẓe'era || said: There are five kinds of 'Orlah (things uncircumcised) in the world: four with reference to man, and one concerning trees. Whence do we know this concerning the four (terms) applying to man? (Namely,) the uncircumcision of the ear, the uncircumcision of the lips, the uncircumcision of the heart, and the uncircumcision of the flesh. Whence do we know of the uncircumcision of the ear? Because it is said, "Behold, their ear is uncircumcised" (Jer. 6:10). Whence do we know of the uncircumcision of the lips? Because it is said, "For I am of uncircumcised lips" (Ex. 6:12). Whence do we know of the uncircumcision of the heart? Because it is said, "Circumcise the foreskin of your heart" (Deut. 10:16); and (the text) says, "For all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart" (Jer. 9:26). Whence do we know of the uncircumcision of the flesh? Because it is said, "And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin" (Gen. 17:14). And "all the nations are uncircumcised" in all the four cases, and "all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart." The uncircumcision of the heart does not suffer Israel to do the will of their Creator. And in the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will take away from Israel the uncircumcision of the heart, and they will not harden their stubborn (heart) any more before their Creator, as it is said, "And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh" (Ezek. 36:26); and it is said, "And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin" (Gen. 17:11). Whence do we know concerning the one ('Orlah) for trees? Because it is said, "And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as their uncircumcision: three years shall they be as uncircumcised unto you" (Lev. 19:23).

(5) R' Yishmael and R' Akiva: R' Yishmael says, Avraham was a High Priest, as it says (Ps. 110:4), "The LORD has sworn and will not relent, 'You are a priest forever, etc.'" and it says elsewhere (Gen. 17:11), "You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin." From where should he be circumcised? If he is circumcised from the ear, he is not fit to offer sacrifices. From the mouth, he is not fit to offer sacrifices. From the heart, he is not fit to offer sacrifices. Where should he be circumcised so that he will be fit to offer sacrifices? You must say it is the foreskin of the body. R' Akiva says, there are four foreskins. Foreskin is said with regard to the ear (Jer. 6:10): "Their ears are blocked." Foreskin is said with regard to the mouth (Exod. 6:12): "me, a man of impeded lips." Foreskin is said with regard to the heart (Jer. 9:25): "but all the House of Israel are uncircumcised of heart." Foreskin is said with regard to the body (Gen. 17:14): "male who is uncircumcised [one who is uncircumcised in his maleness]." It was said to him, (Gen. 17:1): "Walk in My ways and be blameless/whole." If he is circumcised from the ear, he is not whole; from the mouth, he is not whole; from the heart, he is not whole. From where should he be circumcised so that he will be whole? You must say it is the foreskin of the body. Scripture says (Gen. 17:11-12), "[You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you.] And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at the age of eight days." If he is circumcised from the ear, he cannot hear; from the mouth, he cannot speak; from the heart, he cannot think. From where should he be circumcised so that he can think? This is the foreskin of the body. R' Tanhuma said, tis Scripture makes sense (Gen. 17:14): "male who is uncircumcised [one who is uncircumcised in his maleness]." And does there exist one who is uncircumcised in femaleness? Rather, from the place where it is recognized whether male or female -- from there we circumcise him.