We are now approaching our rewarding destination. Our parsha opens: “When a woman conceives and gives birth to a male, she shall be impure for a seven-day period . . . On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” In the Gemara Sanhedrin 91b), we learn of an argument that ensued between Antoninus and Rabeinu HaKadosh as to when the yetzer hara invades a person. Is it when the fetus is first formed in its mother’s womb or is it only after the child is born? Rebbe says that it is at the time of conception/formation; Antoninu says that it is at the time of birth. In the end, Rebbe concedes to Antoninus that the yetzer hara only enters a person after it emerges into the world and explains that Antoninus’ viewpoint is supported by the passuk (ibid. 4, 7): “At the entrance, sin crouches.” The passuk is referring to the entrance into the world from the birth canal; there the yetzer hara lies in wait to infect a person.
We have succeeded in shedding light on the fascinating relationship between the three issues mentioned in the opening pesukim of parshas Sazria. Firstly: "אשה כי תזריע וילדה זכר וטמאה שבעת ימים"—alludes to the fact that when a male child is born, it is invaded by the yetzer hara. The yetzer hara has seven names aligning with the seven days of the week, with the potential to corrupt a human being with their tumah. Therefore, on account of this danger posed by the yetzer hara: "וטמאה שבעת ימים"—the baby’s parents must be extremely vigilant to protect him from the negative influence of the yetzer hara.
Notwithstanding, we are familiar with the teaching (Kiddushin 30b): "שלשה שותפין באדם, הקב"ה ואביו ואמו"—there are three partners in the creation of a human being—HKB”H, his father and his mother. Therefore, HKB”H contributed His part, as it were, to save the child from the yetzer hara by giving us the mitzvah of milah to be performed shortly after birth: "וביום השמיני ימול בשר ערלתו". As we have learned, the eighth day represents divine supervision above and beyond the realm of nature. So, on the eighth day, the natural foreskin that a male child is born with is removed. In the merit of the supernatural mitzvah of milah, a Jew possesses the ability to attain the gift and wisdom of the Torah, which is also emblematic of the number eight, since it was given on the fiftieth day after the seven weeks of the Sefirah. With the power of the Torah, a Jew is able to withstand the yetzer hara whose power exists only within the confines of nature. This is the fulfillment of HKB”H’s promise: “My son, I created the yetzer hara, and I have created Torah as its antidote. If you engage in Torah-study, you will not be delivered into its hand.”
