Комментарий о цитате к Берешит 17:3

מי יעלה לנו השמימה , “who would ascend heaven for us?” The acronym of these words is מילה from which we find a hint here that only people who have been circumcised have a chance to attain a true appreciation of the unique nature of Hashem. Only the Jewish people who wear the sign of the covenant on their very bodies have a chance to attain such a spiritual level. We also find that even prophets cannot prophesy while in a standing position unless they had been circumcised. As long as Avraham had not been circumcised he always fell down when G’d spoke to him [other than in a dream when he was prostate anyway. Ed.] Compare Genesis 17,3: “he fell on his face.” This was prior to his circumcision. On the other hand, after he had been circumcised and recovered from the effects, and prayed on behalf of the righteous people in Sodom, the Torah speaks of him as עודנו עומד לפני ה', “still standing in the presence of the Lord.” (Genesis 18,22 compare Tanchuma Lech Lecha 20). Bileam, by contrast, prophesied only when in a prone position as we know from Numbers 24,4. Moses also alluded to the inability of the Jewish people in his time to attain a true appreciation of the holy name of G’d. This is why he said to G’d: “if the people will ask me what is His name (the G’d in whose name you claim to speak), what shall I tell them?” He may have meant that the few Israelites who were circumcised at that time would ask such a question.