Two very important and from Nechemya 9,8 were established to say in Pesukai D'zimrah relating to the davener the greatness of Avraham Avinu and Hashem's chesed. They are recited after ויברך דוד את ה' as follows:

אתה הוא האלקים אשר בחרתי באברם והוצאת מאור כשדים ושמת שמו אברהם. ומצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך וכרות עמו הברית לתת לו ארץ הכנעני וכול'

Unaware to many mispallelim, the way most Siddurim print these two pessukim are incorrect. In reality, the first passuk ends with the words ושמת שמו אברהם . The second passuk commences with ומצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך וכרות עמו הברית . Yet in most Siddurim the words וכרות עמו הברית begins a new passuk or a new paragraph. The Baal Tefillah also emphasizes this alteration from the passuk by also ending with ומצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך and the tzibbur begins anew וכרות עמו הברית . How did this colossal error fall into our Siddurim?

The Torah Temimah in his sefer Baruch S'hamar on tefillah answers that there is another old custom that is performed in many Kehillos when there is a Bris to take place, the Baal Tefillah stops right before וכרות עמו הברית and is replaced by a Chazzan who sings the pessukim that has to do with Bris Milah in honor of the Baalei Simcha. The first passuk is וכרות עמו הברית. Even though this word of Bris seemingly is referring to give the land of Eretz Yisrael to Avraham's children, Chazal also interpret it with a direct reference to Bris Milah, and the word וכרות means to cut off the foreskin. Avraham who was at the age of 99 was afraid of performing this act at his age so Hashem placed His hand on Avraham's and together they cut off the orlah, skin. This is alluded to in the passuk וכרות עמו that Hashem cut with him and not לו to him. After he finishes the pessukim, the regular Baal Tefillah returns and continues from where the Chazzan left off.

If one will ask how can they split the passuk in half. The answer to this question is that because of the occasion of a Bris Milah and singing to Hashem, it was allowed to happen. As the generations passed, people forgot the original takanah that the splitting of a passuk was established for an actual event celebrating a Bris Milah. That is why today we have Siddurim that present this passuk not as one with its entirety but rather with its split starting with וכרות. ע"כ

I have seen over the years this minhag at a Bris with a few differences. They did not stop at וכרות עמו הברית but rather continued to say passuk by passuk through the אז ישיר as well. Also it was not the chazzan who took over the Baal Tefilah but the Mohel. We can explain this אז ישיר inclusion in the extended וכרות עמו הברית by understanding the shir that is sung at a Bris Milah which is יום ליבשה נהפכו מצולים שירה חדשה שבחו גאולים. What is the connection between Kerias Yam Suf and Bris Milah? The Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim writes that the reason for Bris Milah is because it lessens the drive for immoral sensuous lusts which are derived from the element of water within a person. That is why Yosef's victory over his desires while being seduced by the wife of Potifar merited him with the ability to divide the waters of Yam Suf as Chazal tell us in the passuk הים ראה וינוס שראה ארונו של יוסף שרץ החוצה. Removing the waters of Yam Suf from covering the earth into two standing walls, is like removing the ערלה from the organ of the Bris and revealing what is underneath.

Another relationship that Milah has with the Splitting of the Yam Suf is that it begins with the word אז gematriah 8 a number which symbolizes above nature such as the 8 days of Chanukah and the 8 days of Milah when we permanently change the natural form of the human body.

Let us take another look at this passuk in the understanding that וכרות עמו הברית means the mitzvah of Milah. What then is the connection to conquering the Seven Nations dwelling in Eretz Cannan? We can answer this with the explanation of Milah given by the Sefer Hachinuch. Two foreskins exist, one on the reproductive organ and the other that covers the heart. The passuk says ומלתם את ערלת לבבכם ומל ה' אלקיך לבבך one must circumcise his heart. By circumcising the physical foreskin over one's organ he will become inspired to also circumcise the orlah on his heart.

In the heart lie the middos which one must perfect. The sefarim write that the Seven Nations that were dwelling in Eretz Yisrael, correspond to the Seven Middos in one's heart. By removing the ערלה of the reproductive organ and the one on your heart you will foster and nurture good Middos which will guarantee Yisrael the ability to conquer the Seven Nations in Eretz Israel, fulfilling וכרות עמו הברית לתת להם ארץ הכנעני וכול.

The Two Thousand years of Torah began with Avraham Avinu as Chazal say that the gematriah of אברהם is 248 which corresponds to the 248 Positive Mitzvos. The study of Torah aids one to discipline his yetzer harah and remove the foreskin over one's heart transforming a Yid into a servant of Hashem with good middos. Note that two times ערלה, one, the removal of the outer orlah and secondly the removal of the inner one over your heart, add up to תורה with the word itself.

Let us suggest another interpretation why minhag Yisrael is to split the passuk and begin with וכרות עמו הברית. First of all the word וכרות breaks away from the previous verbs which are in the form of the past tense בחרת הוצאתו שמת מצאת. The Yaavetz writes that the word וכרות initiates a separation by being written in the paol" form which denotes ongoing activity such as זכור את יום השבת "be remembering" as Rashi explains (Shmos 20,8). If וכרות was consistent with the flow of the previous thought, it would have been written in the form of the past וכרת . Why then did the passuk change form?

Secondly, ומצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך, why is the term מצאת (found) used here? Also the word לפניך is superfluous? The Sfas Emes תרנ"ג addresses the lashon of מצאת.

ובאברהם נתקיים מי הקדמני ואשלם. כי באמת בני ישראל הקב"ה נתן להם זה הדרך בכח הברית מילה כמ"ש מי יעלה לנו השמימה. ובכח זה כתיב ביוסף וינס ויצא החוצה. אבל אברהם אע"ה קודם המילה לא הי' נמצא דרך בגוף איך להעלות אותו מן התלבשות הטבע רק מרוב אמונה שבו וז"ש ומצאת את לבבו. שב' לבבות הם יצ"ט ויצה"ר. וכדי לאהוב ה' בשני לבבות נתן לנו הקב"ה ברית מילה שהוא למול ערלת הלב של היצה"ר בכח הברית. אבל אברהם אע"ה בב' לבבות האמין בו ית' והוא מציאה גדולה שמצא הקב"ה בעולם וכן דרשו חז"ל בפ' לבבתני באחד כו' שהוא על אאע"ה כו'. ובזכות זו כרת עמו הברית ונתן לו ולזרעו עצה איך למול ערלת הלב כנ"ל:

Hashem commanded Avraham with the mitzvah of Bris Milah with the purpose that it would influence him to circumcise the foreskin on his heart which includes the yetzer harah (לבבו hinting to two parts of the heart). However Hashem found that Avraham even before the actual Bris Milah, was already holding by the goal himself through emunah. Avraham's spiritual madraigah was Hashem's biggest "find" in the world ע"כ. This is really the difference between Avraham and Noach. Noach was called a tzadik את האלקים התהלך נח Noach walked with Hashem for he needed Hashem's help to direct him. Avraham earned the title of חסיד beyond the call to duty. He reached the levels of piety and righteousness on his own before he was tested by Hashem prior to even Hashem's first communication with him.

This is presented in the passuk והוצאת מאור כשדים which is referring to the episode where he was thrown into a fiery furnace for his refusal to accept other deities instead of Hashem. Concerning Avraham Rashi says ibid התהלך לפני go before Me. Avraham preceded Hashem in reaching shelaimus as a true chossid would do.

This is hinted in our passuk ,ומצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך conveying that Avraham's heart was totally dedicated and faithful נאמןto the service of Hashem before he was asked to go through tests.

The passuk ומצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך continues with וכרות עמו הברית לתת לו ארץ כנען. This connection can be viewed as a condition of the Bris, that it must be preceded with the piety level of לבבו נאמן לפניך the madraiga of chosid. As we mentioned above וכרות is in the form of constant activity and not a one shot deal forever. It could be seen as a Bris between Yisrael and Hashem and Eretz Yisrael, one to be reviewed over and over again to see if Yisrael are still holding by the same level of Avraham.

A similar situation was with Yaakov when he received the berachos from Yitzchak dressed in Aisav's clothing. The reason being that the berachos will be bestowed on Yisrael only when they act like Yaakov by his dress and speech. If they will speak like Aisav and dress like him they will not merit the berachos anymore. This was the reason why Yaakov feigned to be Aisav in order to ensure that even in the future if Yisrael are deficient in ruchniyus they should nevertheless be able to receive the berachos. The same compliance could apply to our Bris and Eretz Yisrael because it too is conditional. Therefore the lashon of וכרות in the poel form breaks away from the ומצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך so there can never be a kitrug against our Bris with Hashem and Eretz Yisrael due to our failure to fulfill the condition. It is therefore that the minhag of Yisrael came about that this passuk of וכרות is tantamount to a new beginning.

One might ask what right do we have to split up the passuk this way when it simply means that a condition does exist as it directly precedes ?וכרות עמו הברית The answer to this is in one word ומצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך which includes all the future generations of Yisrael סידור חלקת יהושע)). That Avraham accomplished that each Yid has a precious spark that remains pure and never becomes adulterated, and that it longs to have a chossid relationship with Hashem and not just tzaddik one. Therefore that condition is never broken. Not every Yid is aware of his incredible possession of such a deep and intimate relationship, but Hashem knows. Therefore on the surface the passuk is split just as the Yam split its waters into two parts to ward off any kitrug that could come about. There was a kitrug at Kerias Yam Suf that we are just as bad as the Mitzrim and why should they drown and Yisrael be saved. However we were saved as we sang ואנוהו which is word composed of two אני והוא me and Hashem are one entity (Shabbos 132b Rashi). A Yid never loses his attachment to Hashem. Splitting the passuk is parallel to splitting of the Yam Suf and Milah a supernatural act of revealing what is underneath the surface. Only on the outside we must separate the passuk but in the inside it is not necessary for the condition is always fulfilled.