Midras Keluaran 6:30: Midrash Tanchuma, Vayikra Rabbah & Bereshit Rabbah

(Deut. 1:1:) “These are the words that Moses spoke….” Israel said, “Yesterday you said (in Exod. 4:10), ‘I am not a man of words.’ And now you are speaking so much?” Rabbi Isaac said, “If you are impeded in your speech, recite the Torah and you will be healed, [as] Moshe already studied all of the Torah.” (Deut. 1:1, cont.:) “Through the wilderness, in the Arabah near Suph.” This text is related (to Is. 35:6), “Then the lame shall leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall shout for joy.” Come and see. When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses (in Exod. 3:10), “I will send you unto Pharaoh,” Moses said to Him, “You are doing me an injustice.²Gk.: bia. (Exod. 4:10), ‘I am not a man of words.’” He said to Him, “Seventy languages are spoken in Pharaoh's palace.³Palterin. Gk.: praitorion; Lat. praetorium. Thus if a man comes from another place, they speak with him in his own language. When I go on Your mission, they will examine me, asking whether I am a representative of the Omnipresent. Then it will be revealed to them that I do not know how to converse with them. Will they not laugh at me, saying, ‘Look at the agent of the One who created the world and all its languages! Does he not know how to listen and reply?’ See here, something is wrong!⁴Gk.: bia. (Exod. 4:10:) ‘I am not a man of words,’ (Exod. 6:12) ‘For I have uncircumcised lips (i.e., a speech impediment).’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “But look at the first Adam. Since no creature taught him, where did he [come to] know seventy languages? It is so stated (in Gen. 2:20), ‘And he gave names to (them).’ ‘A name for every beast’ is not written here but rather ‘names’ (in the plural, i.e., a name for each and every beast in seventy languages). And you say, (Exod. 4:10) ‘I am not a man of words.’” At the end of forty years [from] when Israel left Egypt, [Moses] began to elucidate the Torah in seventy languages, as stated (in Deut. 1:5), “he elucidated this Torah.” The mouth that said (in Exod. 4:10), “I am not a man of words,” [then] said (in Deut. 1:1), “These are the words.” The prophet [thus] cries out and says (in Is. 35:6), “Then the lame shall leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall shout for joy.” Why? (Ibid., cont.:) “Because waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” It is therefore stated (in Deut. 1:1), “These are the words.”

Rav Huna bar Kapara said: Abraham our patriarch sat and expounded: Orla is stated regarding a tree and orla is stated regarding man.¹⁹The foreskin, which is removed during a circumcision, is also called orla. Just as orla that is stated regarding the tree is in the place where it produces fruit, so orla that is stated regarding man is in the place where he produces offspring. Rabbi Ḥanin ben Pazi said: Did Abraham already know a fortiori inferences and verbal analogies? Rather, He hinted it to him: “I will establish My covenant between Me and you [and will multiply you exceedingly]” (Genesis 17:2), [implying that it is in] the place from which he procreates.
Rabbi Yishmael taught: The Holy One blessed be He sought to have the priesthood emerge from Shem, as it is stated: “Malkitzedek king of Shalem [brought out bread and wine and he was a priest of God, the Most High]” (Genesis 14:18). When he gave precedence to the blessing of Abraham over the blessing of the Omnipresent,²⁰“And he blessed him and said: Blessed be Abram…and blessed be God, the most High…” (Genesis 14:19–20). Abraham said to him: ‘Does one give precedence to blessing the servant over blessing the master?’ The Holy One blessed be He removed it from him and gave it to Abraham, as it is stated: “The utterance of the Lord to my master” (Psalms 110:1) and it is written thereafter: “The Lord has taken an oath, and He will not renounce it; you are a priest forever by My decree [divrati], like Malkitzedek” (Psalms 110:4); due to the speech [diburo] of Malkitzedek. That is what is written: “Blessed is Abram to God, the Most High, master of heaven and earth” (Genesis 14:19).
Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Yishmael says: Abraham was a High Priest; that is what is written: “The Lord has taken an oath, and He will not renounce it; you are a priest forever”; and it is written: “You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin” (Genesis 17:11). From where would he circumcise? If he would circumcise from the ear, he would remain ineligible to sacrifice. If he would circumcise from the heart, he would remain ineligible to sacrifice. If he would circumcise from the mouth, he would remain ineligible to sacrifice. From where would he circumcise and be eligible to sacrifice? One must say this is a mitzva of [the tip of] the body.²¹It must be that it is the foreskin that is removed, after which the individual remains unblemished.
Rabbi Akiva says: There are four instances of orla. Orla is stated regarding the ear: “Their ear is obstructed [arela]” (Jeremiah 6:10); orla regarding the mouth, as it is stated: “I am one of obstructed lips [aral sefatayim]” (Exodus 6:30); it is stated regarding the heart, as it is stated: “The entire house of Israel is of uncircumcised heart [arlei lev]” (Jeremiah 9:25). And it is written: “Walk before Me and be perfect” (Genesis 17:1). Where should he circumcise? If he would circumcise from the ear he would not be perfect. If he would circumcise from the mouth he would not be perfect. Where could he circumcise and be perfect? One must say this is the male organ.
Nagda said: It is written: “And one who is eight days old [shall be circumcised]” (Genesis 17:12). From where should he be circumcised? If from the ear, he will not be able to hear. If from the mouth, he will not be able to speak. If from the heart, he will not be able to think. From where could he be circumcised and be able to hear, speak, and think? One must say this is the male organ. Rabbi Tanḥuma said: Nagda’s [reasoning] is the most logical.
“An uncircumcised male who will not circumcise [the flesh of his foreskin]” (Genesis 17:14); Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak, and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak, and they taught it in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Ḥalafta: “An uncircumcised male” – is there an uncircumcised female? Rather, at the place that one sees him and knows whether he is male or female, that is where one circumcises him.

Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Yishmael says: Abraham was a High Priest, as it is stated: “The Lord has taken an oath and will not renounce it: You are a priest forever…” (Psalms 110:4),²⁴This Psalm is often expounded as a reference to Abraham. and it is stated elsewhere: “You shall circumcise the flesh of your orla” (Genesis 17:11). [Abraham wondered,] from where should he become circumcised? If he would become circumcised from the ear,²⁵Cutting off a piece of flesh near the ear. he would be unfit to perform sacrifices; if from the mouth, he would be unfit to perform sacrifices; if from the heart, he would be unfit to perform sacrifices. From where could he become circumcised and still be fit to sacrifice? You must say, it is the orla of the body.²⁶The foreskin.
Rabbi Akiva says: There are four kinds of orla [in the Scriptures]. Orla is stated regarding the ear: “Behold their ear is blocked [orla]” (Jeremiah 6:10). Orla is stated regarding the mouth: “I am a man of obstructed [aral] lips” (Exodus 6:30). Orla is stated regarding the heart: “The entire house of Israel is uncircumcised of heart [arelei lev]” (Jeremiah 9:25). And orla is stated regarding the body: “An uncircumcised [arel] male” (Genesis 17:14). It was said to him: “Walk before Me, and be faultless.” If he would become circumcised from the ear, he would not be faultless; if from the mouth, he would not be faultless; if from the heart, he would not be faultless. From where could he become circumcised and be faultless? You must say, it is from the orla of the body.
Mikra²⁷The name of a rabbi. In manuscripts: Nakra or Nagda. said: [It is written:] “One who is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations” (Genesis 17:12). If he would become circumcised from the ear, he would not be able to hear; if from the mouth, he would not be able to speak; if from the heart, he would not be able to think. From where could he become circumcised and still be able to think [and speak and hear]? This is the orla of the body.
Rabbi Tanḥuma said: It is a logical inference from this verse: “An uncircumcised male” (Genesis 17:14). Is there such a thing as an uncircumcised female? It is, rather, [to teach you that] from the place where it is recognizable whether a person is male or female, it is there that one circumcises him.