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Why would Hashem (ה׳) threaten to kill Moshe's uncircumcised son on the way to Egypt when the child bore no responsibility? The Baal HaTurim's principle that milah is essential for closeness to Hashem reveals that a father's uncircumcised child creates a deficiency in the father's own milah status. Just as an uncircumcised child prevents one from eating Korban Pesach (פסח), it would have prevented Moshe from receiving prophecy—making the mission to redeem Israel impossible.
This shiur addresses a troubling question from the episode where Hashem (ה׳) sought to kill someone ("vayevakesh hamiso") when Moshe was returning to Egypt with an uncircumcised son. A machlokes Tannaim debates whether Hashem intended to kill Moshe or the child. While it makes sense that Moshe could be punished for failing to perform the bris milah, why would the innocent child deserve death? The Baal HaTurim on Parshas Nitzavim provides the key insight. On the pasuk "Ki hamitzvah hazos asher anochi metzavcha hayom lo nifles hi mimcha velo rechokas hi" (this mitzvah (מצוה) is not too distant from you), which Rashi (רש"י) interprets as referring to Torah (תורה), the Baal HaTurim notes that the words "mi ya'aleh lanu hashamayim" (who will go up for us to Heaven) begin with the letters mem, yud, lamed, hei—spelling "milah." From this, the Baal HaTurim derives a fundamental principle: a person who does not have milah cannot achieve closeness to Hashem.
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Parshas Nitzavim 30:11-14
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Why didn't Noach daven for his generation while Avrohom advocated for Sedom? Noach viewed each person as an independent island responsible only for their own teshuvah. Avrohom understood that all humanity is interconnected through shared perspective and values, making prayer for others both possible and necessary.
