A message from Rabbi
Eliezer Ben Yehuda
Lakeland Florida

Shabbat Balak

This week’s Torah portion, Balak, includes chapters 22 to 25 of the book of  Bamidbar, Numbers.  The text continues to tell  the story of the Children of Israel in the final stages of its journey to the Promised Land.  Moshe is within sight of the destination God has led him to, and he is trying to avoid unnecessary battles with kin-tribes.  This week's portion tells us of Israel's approach to the land of Moab, which is where Jordan is these days.  Now, according to Scriptures, Moabites are descendants of Lot, nephew of
Abraham.

Moab was ruled by a king named Balak, who had heard about the coming Israelites, and thought that these people were a real threat to his kingdom. Balaam was a “prophet for hire” who served anyone who paid his price, and would invoke blessings upon them or curses upon their enemies.  He had a reputation of being quite successful, maybe because of the fact that he recognized God and had some kind of a relationship with Him.   Balak called for Balaam to come and curse the Israelites so that they would be defeated.  Balaam spoke of Israel,   "How shall I curse, he whom God has not cursed? Or how shall I defy, he whom the Lord has not defied?  For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him; lo, the people shall live alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations."  [Num. 23:8] 

Needless to say, Balak is not satisfied, and he asks Balaam to go elsewhere and try again. Balaam makes another statement, "God is not a man, that he should lie; nor the son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and shall he not do it? or has he spoken, and shall he not make it good?  Behold, I have received a command to bless; and he has blessed; and I cannot reverse it.  He has not seen iniquity in Jacob, nor has he seen perverseness in Israel; the Lord his God is with him, and the trumpet blast of a king is among them.  God brought them out of Egypt; he has as it were the strength of a wild ox.  Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, nor is there any divination against Israel; according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel what God has done.  Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion; he shall not lie down until he eats of the prey, and
drinks the blood of the slain." [Nom. 23:19-24]

The People Israel, supported by God, could have devoured their enemies and all who stood in their way.  But they preferred to avoid war and live in peace with all who would live in peace with them.  It was so in antiquity, and it is so today.  And yet, we have been challenged again and again, throughout our history, by those who say -- 'if God protects you, my scheme to annihilate you
will not work.  So I will attack and savagely mutilate you to prove that God does not protect you!  Your Scriptures say, "you shall be my own treasure among all peoples; for all the earth is mine;  and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation." [Exodus 19:5,6]  Furthermore, your prophet declares, “I will also give you as a light to the nations, that you should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.” [Isaiah 49:6] -- well, let's see if your God will protect you from us...'  And the slaughter begins!
We Jews have accepted a challenge, through the centuries of humiliation and homelessness, to conduct our time-travel in the ways of peace and grace, even in the face of continued persecution and provocation to violence and vengeance.  For two millennia we have accepted our fate -- and we swallowed our pride.  Yet, even the teachings of Judaism, liberal and accepting of other
paths to God, other manners of worship, insist on the need for survival. The Talmud tells us "The Torah has said, if one comes to kill you, be swift to kill him first." [Brakhot 58:1]  How much can we take?  After Hitler there is no more room for martyrdom.
But these days our detractors and our stalkers are becoming more brazen  and more daring.  They declare war upon us and deny us the spoils of our victory when we come up the winners in battle.  False prophets at home tell us that we need to return to our meek and despised image to make peace -- but our enemies laugh behind our backs.   False prophets at home tell us that there is no
more anti-Semitism, and explain away the bellicose calls to holy war and total subjugation that our enemies declare at every public gathering in their realm.

Every step of our surrender of land is called a victory by the other side, and every transgression of agreement by them is called a misunderstood act of a people too long oppressed.  Where will it end?  Will Balak win his goal to curse and banish the seed of Abraham?  Last week saw a meeting of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordan's King Hussein and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, in which the three criticized Israel's new plan regarding Jerusalem, it was reported.  "The leaders assert their absolute rejection of Judaizing Jerusalem," said the communique that they issued at the end of their conference.  Can you
believe it?  The president of Egypt, whose country has enjoyed the fruits of peace with Israel for more that fifteen years now, who got back all of Sinai, who receives from the U.S. a yearly peace offering in the amount of over a billion dollars, and who has done nothing to advance the cause of peace and much to denigrate Israel;  Jordan's king Hussein, who owes his continued existence
to Israeli friendship during the years of his vilification by the entire Arabs world and the hungry wolf avarice of his Arab neighbors who would have devoured him and his country long ago had it not been for Israeli protection; and Arafat, the self proclaimed chief of a gang of thief and cut-throats called the Palestinian Authority, the jackal, the hyena that attacks and devours the remains of other hunters' prey, who enters every village and town given to him by grace and a desire for peace by Israel -- and proclaiming
it as a 'liberated' land from the yet to be vanquished enemy, the 'Jewish entity.'   These three speak of "Judaizing Jerusalem?"
What is Jerusalem if not Jewish?  Who, ever, has committed himself to any city as did we to our capital?  "Im eshkekhekh yerushala'yim tishakakh yemini tidbak leshoni lekhiki im lo ezkerekhi im lo a'ale et yerushala'yim al rosh simkhati --If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember you, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if
I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy."   [Psalms 137:5,6]   There was never a time when we Jews have not loved and yearned for Jerusalem;   the only time we were not among its inhabitants were those dark days when we were slaughtered to extinction in our homeland, and had not yet had sufficient time to raise a new generation to reclaim it.  Certainly within recent
history -- well over a hundred years (!) -- we have been a majority there.  Who but the Jews made Jerusalem the crown jewel of their existence?  Judaizing Jerusalem, indeed!

And meanwhile, two Israel Defense Forces soldiers -- Lt. Amit Asulin from Moshav Bnai-Zion and Sgt. Or Cohen from Jerusalem -- were killed and four other soldiers were injured last Wednesday night in the security zone in southern Lebanon, and the body of Israeli naval commando, Itamar Ilya, who was killed in a failed commando operation last September, was brought back to
an Israel Air Force base in the country's center.  The return of Ilya is part of a deal worked out between Israel, the Hizbullah and the Lebanese government after months of tough negotiations with the mediation of both the French government and the Red Cross's International Committee.  Ilya received a full military service today, during which six naval commando soldiers carried his
casket, which was draped in an Israeli flag.  So the sacrifice continues, evil rears its ugly head, and men test God again and again.  Balaam can't curse, but the enemy never stops trying!  Our enemies should heed the words of Balaam,  "And Balaam said to Balak,
"Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, 'If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own will; what the Lord says, that is what I will say'?   So now, I am going to my people; let me advise you what this people will do to your people in days to come." [Num. 24:12-14]  We must
be faithful to God and firm in our resolve that what He wills is sure to come true.   We must remain strong and united as a people, in Israel and all over the world.   Let us beware of our enemies, let us cooperate with our friends, and the rest we shall put in His hands to bring to fruition.

Amen.

Balak 5762

The text of the Torah reading this morning, from the book of Bamidbar, Numbers, chapter 22, begins with the second verse. Balak, King of Moab, invites Balaam, a "prophet for hire," who is reputed to have the power to bless and curse, to help him by casting evil on the Israelites. Balak’s messengers deliver his proposal to Balaam, who tells them he must consult with The Lord. The text says, "And God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed. And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, Go to your land; for the Lord refuses to give me leave to go with you." [Num. 22:12, 13] Balak sends a second delegation, and Balaam consults God again. God tells Balaam that he may go, "but only that word which I shall say to you, that shall you do." [Num. 22:20] An angel appears on Balaam's path – but he does not see it. His donkey does, though, and refuses to move. Balaam beats it to force it to go on. After being beaten three times, the beast speaks, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times? And Balaam said to the ass, because you have mocked me; I wished there was a sword in my hand, for now would I kill you. And the ass said to Balaam, Am not I your ass, upon which you have ridden ever since I was yours to this day? Was I ever wont to do so to you? And he said, No. Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed down his head, and fell on his face." [Num. 22:28-31] God’s angel rebukes Balaam for beating the ass. Balaam offers to turn back. The angel tells him "Go with the men; but only the word that I shall speak to you, that you shall speak." [Num. 22:35]. So Balaam went on with Balak's men.

Balaam, who desires to subdue Israel with words, cannot even subdue his ass with a stick. Balaam, who is famous for his prophetic sight, cannot see what his donkey sees three times. Balaam, who claims prophetic speech - since the Lord puts words into his mouth - is now matched by his ass. Balaam, who boasts that "his knowledge is from the Most High," has to admit, "I did not know." Balaam, who is the wisest of the wise, is bested by a verbal ex change with the most stupid of beasts. Beyond this, the fact is that Balaam is depicted on a level lower than his ass: more unseeing in his inability to detect the angel, more stupid in being defeated verbally by his ass, and more beastly in trying to subdue it with his stick - whereas it responds with tempered speech. Physical violence from man, moderate speech from the beast! What an upside-down world! We have a tradition in Judaism of completing and complementing the Torah text with a passage from the Prophets that relates to the original text and "clinches" the lesson. This morning's reading is from the prophet Micah, "O my people, what have I done to you? And in what have I wearied you? Answer me! For I brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab planned, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal; that you may know the righteousness of the Lord. With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with one year old calves? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love loving mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" [Micah 6:3-8]

The Lord speaks to His people, and indeed to all people, and reminds them of the many blessings which He had bestowed upon them. God on High, the Creator and Father of all, is not difficult to reach, nor is He hard to please. For certain, He does not want to be treated as a flesh and blood potentate. You must not try, for you cannot bribe Him. The prophet asks us mockingly what will please The Creator: maybe pomp, "bow myself before God on high?" or the gift of a good roast, "burnt-offerings, With calves of a year old?" or even going to excess, "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, With ten thousands of rivers of oil?" No, indeed. The prophet tells us that there is a formula, and it is a very straightforward and seemingly simple -- though, of course, it is not quite as simple as we may think -- it requires thought and action: "It hath been told thee, O man, what is good, And what the Lord doth require of thee: Only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." We must never forget that there are, my friends, inalienable human rights against outrage and injustice. The prophet says, "Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" It is a rhetorical question, and the answer the prophet wishes to hear is "No, never!" It is a heinous sin for any individual by his action to injure the life, honor and possessions of his fellow man – stranger or homegrown. To do justly one must not only avoid outrage and injustice, one must become proactive. One must seek to redress injustice, and stop outrage. Neither God's grace, nor even the shadow of the cross, "my firstborn for my transgression," will save us from the scourge of piracy, terror and lawlessness. Palestinians' claim on the land that is these days inhabited by Israelis, even if it is supported by proof of purchase, is voided by years of violence and terror. Only when we stand up for the rights of others will others stand up for our rights, and together we shall all be safe. Only when Palestinians recoil from the action of suicide bombers will they receive a hearing in the hearts and minds of God fearing humanity. Look at the formula the prophet teaches:

To do justly means that we behave in a fair and equitable manner under any and all circumstances. We do not sway from the straight path for the rich or for the poor, for the blameless or for the guilty. We must maintain impartiality in thought and act when dealing with our fellow creations of God – even as we want Gad to deal with us. We must act with compassion and pity – or we can never come before Him and ask for compassion and pity upon us. To love mercy means kindness to the lowly, needy and miserable, as shown in all acts of loving-kindness and charity, especially such as go with selfless acts of personal commitment and service. Hermann Cohen has said, ‘In regard to justice, it is sufficient to carry out its behests; but in regard to mercy, the deed alone is insufficient, even when it is the outcome of a clear sense of duty. Love is an essential accompaniment of every deed of mercy.’ The sages of Israel have enlarged and elucidated, saying that we exemplify loving mercy by the bestowal of loving kindnesses - gmilut khasadim - such as clothing the naked, nursing the sick, comforting those that mourn, and burying the dead. In fact, there is a story about the great sage, Rabbi Yokhanan ben Zakkai, who declared to his student Joshua after the destruction of the Temple: ‘We have another means of expiation [of sins normally atoned with a sacrifice on the altar], which is equally efficacious, left us; namely, the bestowal of disinterested deeds of loving kindness upon our fellow-men.’ The Rabbis imbued the generations in Israel with a veritable passion for kindness and pity, and they denied that any one who was devoid of pity could be a true descendant of Abraham. The last part of the formula is "to walk humbly with thy God." This is done, according to the sages, in fellowship and communion with God - not ostentatiously, but with deep inward devotion and noiseless acts of brotherly, selfless love. Rabbi Pinkhas ben Yair said: ‘Holiness leads to humility. Humility leads to the fear of sin; fear of sin leads to saintliness; saintliness leads to the Holy Spirit.’ The insistence on humility distinguishes Jewish from Greek-Hellenist ethics. Sophism introduced a hero wearing a garland and recognized for his achievements. Judaism teaches that the heroic in man is insignificant and perishable, and all his wisdom and virtue are incapable of standing the crucial test, unless they are the fruits of humility. In the Book of Ecclesiastes we read, "Vanity of vanities, said Kohelet, vanity of vanities; all is vanity." Surely, the act of the hero is the most temporary. Humility, however, teaches us to do what needs to be done for its own sake, and not for the praise it might bring us. Thus, the pillars of our faith are accordingly the words of our Prophet Micah this Shabbat: Justice, Mercy and Humility. The Prophet has taught us an eternal truth. We need to feel this truth and its power as we read and review the message. Men - heroes and villains, may come and go - but Micah’s ideal will ring true forever. It is the only way for us to relate to our Maker. It is the only way for us to gain immortality and grace with Him. For the words are Micah's -- but the eternal truth is God's revelation. Justice, Mercy and Humility lead to an acceptance of God's sovereignty through brotherhood, love, and peace.

Amen

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