Covenant-Contract

Abraham was commanded by G-d to circumcise himself, his sons, and all males in his household. He is told that it will be "a sign between Me and your seed". This is called in the Torah a "Brit", a covenant, a sign between Abraham's house and G-d of a very special relationship. It is the visible sign that a special contract of a unique relationship exists between Abraham's house, and the Eternal.
According to rabbinic tradition, Abraham, being a prophet, knew and observed all the commandments of G-d before they were revealed. This raises the question of why wasn't he ALREADY circumcised before he received a command from G-d to do so? The answer usually given is "Gadol hametzuveh..." greater is the merit of one who has been commanded to do something, thus fulfilling G-d's Will, than one who does the same act as a private devotion. Most of the mitzvot (commandments) were given to Moses centuries later. Abraham perceived them by prophecy, and did them. But he knew that this precious commandment of circumcision-Brit, was destined to be given to him by G-d himself, therefore he waited.
Once, I attended a Brit ceremony, afterwards I got on a bus in order to go to work. A neighbor who had also attended the Brit, a good pious Jew, but not a scholar, asked me if I knew the reason why Abraham had not circumcised himself earlier. I gave the above explanation. He said "I never heard that. But here's another explanation.A Brit is a covenant; a contract. There is no such thing as a one sided contract!" The words hit me like a ton of bricks. Of course! That was it! A contract must be two sided! The covenant expressed through circumcision means not only that I have chosen G-d, but that G-d has chosen me! That I love G-d is wonderful, but how much more wonderful that He loves me back! Since hearing this explanation, some twenty five years ago,  I have repeated it to many people.All who heard it were deeply moved.
There was recently in the news an item about a woman (in England) who married...herself. She even kissed her image in a mirror at the end of the "wedding" ceremony. Most people who saw this item saw it not as romantic, but bizarre.Weddings are about the celebration of two people who love each other, thereby finding happiness and fulfillment. A one-sided wedding is a joke. Similarly, when coming to Torah, we must be aware that we are entering a very special relationship with G-d. When we do a mitzvah, we are essentially expressing our love and commitment to G-d. But the even more important realization is that through the mitzvah, G-d is expressing his covenant-his love and commitment, to us.