Musar zu Bereschit 18:1

וירא אליו ה' באלוני ממרא. Since it had been Mamre who had advised Abraham on the matter of his circumcision, he is mentioned here, and G–d appeared to Abraham on his land. Many people ask how it was possible that Abraham should have consulted with this man about such a question. None of the answers that I have seen have satisfied me. I consider it blasphemous for someone to suggest that Abraham made the performance of the commandment subject to Mamre's advice. All Abraham could have done was to consult with Mamre on how to perform this commandment, since he had also been commanded to circumcise Ishmael and all the members of his household. There was always the chance that members of Abraham's household would refuse to undergo the operation. We have proof of this from Ishmael's boast that he had not refused. Abraham therefore consulted how best to convince all parties concerned to comply with G–d's command.

This may be the reason why when Abraham is reported as "sitting" in 18,1 the word Yoshev sitting is spelled defective without the letter ו. [maybe the letter ו symbolizes upright posture. Ed.] This indicates that he tried to rise. At that point G–d told him that he would be a symbol for his descendants, for G–d Himself would rise as a member of a collegiate of judges. How does the subject of "judges" enter the picture here? The meaning is that at that point G–d revealed to Abraham that the attribute of Justice was extended over Sodom. The reason Abraham was informed of this, now that he was circumcised, is that justice is something that can only be administered by people who have been circumcised, as we know from Exodus 21,1: ואלה המשפטים אשר תשים לפניהם, "These are the judgments you are to place before them. "The words "before them" are to exclude Gentiles who have not been circumcised, as we learn from Gittin 88. Being uncircumcised is not only a matter of the foreskin, but the same concept also applies to one's thinking processes. This is why we have ערלי לב, people whose hearts have remained "uncircumcised" (Ezekiel 44,7). All the Gentiles fall into that category; they therefore cannot be entrusted to administer the laws of the Torah. The Torah calls the judges א-להים, the same letters as in מילה, (allowing for the addition of the letter א for G–d), and that is also the name of G–d which represents the מרכבה. This is the meaning of Genesis 17,22: ויעל א-להים מעל אברהם, "G–d "rose" from Abraham." Judges have to be סמוכים, i.e. close to G–d, a condition that cannot be attained until after circumcision. [Nowadays סמוכים means ordained. Ed.] The letter א that the word מילה falls short of being equal to the word א-להים alludes to the fact that man, even when at his spiritually highest plateau, still remains one little bit below the spiritual level of G–d, as we know from Psalms 8,6: ותחסרהו מעט מא-להים, "You have made him a little less than divine. The same is true of the 50 levels of intelligence and insight. The most any man, (Moses), was granted was 49 levels of such knowledge and insight. Our sages in Rosh Hashanah 21b have derived this from reading the word מעט in Psalms 8,6 as מט, i.e. 49.