Khukat – Balak 2000

This week we read in the Torah a double portion, in the book of Bamidbar, 19:1 to 22:2. The name of the two portions are Khukat and Balak. Sometime they are called “Khukat Balak – and that is a wrong that we need to put to rest right away. The sages taught, “Eyn medalgin baTorah – there is no ‘skipping’ in the Torah.” That means that you are not allowed to read some verse, skip some verses, and continue reading in another place in the text. This lesson is clear to understand when you look at this mix of the name of the two portions: Khukat means the ordinance or the law — and Balak is the name of the intractable enemy of the Jews, the king of Moab. “Khukat Balak” would mean “the Law of Balak” – something that we are not interested in and would not deign to learn. It is not in our Torah! The portion of Khukat begins in the nineteenth chapter of Numbers, where we read about the red heifer and the cleansing and expiating qualities of its ashes when it is prepared as a holocaust offering. We continue to read about the incident that prevented Moshe from entering Canaan. God had commanded Moshe: “Take the rod, and gather the assembly together, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their beasts drink...” [Num. 20:8] Moshe “...lifted up his hand, and with his rod he struck the rock twice;” [Num. 20:11] God’s wrath knows no end in this matter, and He is totally unforgiving, as we read, “And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe me to sanctify me in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.” [Num. 20:12]

Now the text changes, and tells us the story of Israel’s approach to the promised land. “And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, Thus said your brother Israel, You know all the adversity that has befallen us; How our fathers went down to Egypt, and we have lived in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians dealt harshly with us, and with our fathers; And when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and has brought us out of Egypt; and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the edge of your border; Let us pass, I pray you, through your country; we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, nor will we drink of the water of the wells; we will go by the king’s high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed your borders. And Edom said to him, You shall not pass by me, lest I come out against you with the sword.” [Num. 20:14-18] There is an interesting similarity in Moshe’s message to Edom, the descendants of Esau, and Jacob’s message to Esau when he came back from Aram of the Two Rivers: “And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall you speak to my lord Esau; Your servant Jacob said thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now; And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and women servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight. And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to your brother Esau, and also he comes to meet you, and four hundred men with him.” [Gen 32:5:7] Esau came to meet his brother in friendship and acceptance, but Edom did not repeat the courtesy. Israel had to avoid Edom, as we read, “Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border; therefore Israel turned away from him. And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came to Mount Hor.” [Num 20:21,22]

Now that the Israelites avoided a confrontation with Edom, we read the the next historical event: “And when king Arad the Canaanite, who lived in the Negev, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atarim; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.” [Num. 21:1] Israel’s enemies interpreted the Jews peaceful passage from the border of Edom for weakness, and so they dared attack our people. the Canaanites were a small and weak people, yet they attacked the Israelite camp, and they drew blood. The Israelites resolved to punish their attackers, and we read, “And the Lord listened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities; and he called the name of the place Hormah.” [Num. 21:3] And again, when approaching the land of the Emorites Moshe tried to avoid war, and asked the Emorites for safe passage. “And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, ‘Let me pass through your land; we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well; but we will go along by the king’s high way, until we are past your borders.’ And Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness; and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. And Israel struck him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon to Jabbok, to the sons of Ammon; for the border of the sons of Ammon was strong. And Israel took all these cities; and Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages.” [Num. 21:21-25]

Generations later the Ammonites would attempt to pick a fight with the Israelites to recover their land, as we read in our Tanakh: “And the king of the Ammonites answered to the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up from Egypt, from Arnon to Jabbok, and to the Jordan; now therefore give back those lands peacefully.” [Judges 11:13] And, of course, the Ammonites did not listen to Jephthah, and war erupted in the land once more.

All of which brings us to this week’s conference in the hills of Maryland, where a new Jephethah, Ehud Barak, has to deal with another Emmonite, or Edomite or Philistine, Yasser Arafat, who has refused to accept the fact that God had fought for Israel, wresting victory from the jaws of certain defeat when the Arab nations refused to allow the Jews a refuge in their ancient homeland, extricating the seed of Abraham from the pincer of enemy attack to show His glory and His faithfulness. Those who forget the measure of the miracle of 1948 should refresh their memory: 650,000 Jews fought off attack and invasion of seven Arab armies at the moment of Israel’s birth. Those who deny that miracle should review the record of 1967, when Arab forces of three nations, armed to the teeth with more that fifty billion (that’s right, billion with a ‘b’!) Dollars worth of the most modern weaponry in the world were struck down by little David, who had been eulogized and given up for dead by a callous world.

Now we are heavy with victory and accomplishment, and our people want to live in peace, and they are willing to pay a price for peace, eating humble pie and retracting our sharp nails, grown and honed in battle for survival, yet viewed as weapons of aggression. We are willing to usher the age of which the prophet spoke: “and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more.” [Isaiah 2:4] Let us only keep in mind that it takes two to beat the swords into ploughshares and learn war no more. Those who do so unilaterally end up in the rubble heap of history, with the meek and the lame and the stupid. Peace is great, but poachers who preach peace and prepare to push our people without pity in perpetuity should not be trusted - even when they wear a mask of peacemakers. Let us remain vigilant, and let us keep our unique Jewish character, trusting in our God and His protection. Etz Kha’yim Hi – it is a tree of life to those who hold steadfast to it. Am Yisrael Kha’y - the People of Israel live!

Khukat-Balak 5762

This week's Torah portion once again is a double portion, parashat Khukat-Balak, which includes chapters 19 to 25 of the book of Bamidbar, Numbers. It is interesting to note that in Israel they read Khukat last week, and they read Balak this week - and next week we will be united in reading the same portion. ANYHOW, The portion begins with the account of the red heifer, the holocaust sacrifice done in the Tabernacle and the Temple, the ashes of which were used to purify the high priest who made atonement for Israel.
The second part of the portion deals with the king of Moab, which is where Jordan is these days, Balak, who had heard about the coming Israelites, and knew that these people were a real threat to his kingdom. He called for Balaam, a "prophet for hire" who would go with anyone who paid his price, to come and curse the Israelites because he knew of the mighty victories that they had scored, "This nation is too powerful for us alone, so if you would, come and curse this nation for us. Then, we may be able to defeat them and drive them from the area. I know that whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed." What Balak failed to realize was that the Lord God, Master of the Universe, had already promised to, "Bless those who bless thee, and curse those who curse thee" -- to Abraham and his seed!
Balaam should have stayed home, for God had told him that He personally blessed and protected they Israelites. However, Balak insisted, and Balaam was tempted by the offer of reward and fame - and he proceeded. However, again and again he failed to curse the seed of Abraham. He asked Balak to take him to a place where he can overlook the Israelite camp, and there he proclaimed, "Ma tovu ohalekha ya'akov, mishkenotekha yisra'el" - Most often we read these words as the "tents and tabernacles" being the habitations of the people. So the Hebrew translates to "How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, and your tabernacles, O Israel! Like winding brooks, like gardens by the river's side, as aloes which the Lord has planted, and like cedar trees beside the waters." But the Hebrew "ohalekha" also can be a reference to "ohel Moed" -- the Tabernacle, the place that Moshe built at the command of the Lord in the desert for the Israelites to worship in, and "mishkan" is related to "shekhina" -- God's presence. Thus, Balaam's words can be read to mean "How goodly are your shrines, O Jacob, and the presence of your God, O Israel!" That gives us a clue to what was unique and different about the Israelites. They had Torah, they had a monotheistic faith, they restricted their ritual to one place -- first the Tabernacle, later the Temple in Jerusalem. And they proclaimed the universality of their God and of His teaching. They celebrated the Shabbat, but they extended the blessing of the Shabbat to all who lived with them; they performed acts of loving kindness to Israelite and gentile alike.
And so it is to this day. If Israel wants to be "chuckhole hago'yim" -- as all the nations, than they shall lose their "chosen-ness" and their unique character. If we choose to remain the people who were blessed by Balaam in spite of himself, we must maintain our connectedness with our history and our heritage. It is a balancing act that is not easy -- but it is what makes us unique. We must realize that we dare not, ever, relinquish our distinguishing dedication to the principles of our Torah. We value Torah above all else in the world, because Torah is the Revealed teaching of the God of creation. Torah teaches us the sanctity of life and the equanimity of our God. He has chosen us to be His messengers of his Fatherhood - and the brotherhood of human-kind.
This message is not as simple as one might think at first glance. It is not a license to raise oneself above others, as "God's favorite." Quite the contrary - it is a challenge and an obligation to be worthy of His love and His protection by extending our love and our protection over His creation. The Torah reading for this Shabbat is augmented and made more meaningful by the Haftarah - the words of the prophet Micah, where we learn, "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? It has been told you, O man, what is good; and what the Lord does require of you - only to do "Mishpat" - justice, and to love "Khessed" loving mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." [Micah 6:5-8]
So it is that the lesson of this week must be understood and made a part of our foundation of faith. Do good, rather than preaching good. Engage in society rather than philosophize about it. Make a commitment of your time rather than of the fruit of your labor. Gift giving is good - and the eternal lamp must be filled with oil to burn - but the lamp will burn for nothing in the sanctuary is empty, and all the adornments of the Torah will not amount to anything if the people are so burdened with their troubles and travail to be able to come and celebrate in love and peace their own connectivity to God. Therefore, "Mishpat" is the justice of God, His sentence - not the word of a judge of flesh and blood. "Kessed" is a list of activities that are done for social justice, such as feeding the hungry, educating the young, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and burying the dead.
Above and beyond all else, one needs to know how to interact with others in such a way as to be an influence for good and not a show-off. "Walking humbly with God" is an act of supreme balance and beauty akin to the wire-walker in the circus. Except it is ten times more difficult, and a hundred times more rewarding to the one who knows how to perform the deed. The most wonderful thing is that it is within each and everyone's ability to achieve. And when we learn to do it - and when we do it all together, we will transform the world!
May that day arrive soon in our times.
Amen.
Shabbat shalom.