Parashat Balak – 5784

Our parashah for this coming Shabbat, Parashat Balak, gives us much to think about in terms of the impact of our words as they translate into our actions. Parashat Balak is one of only six parshiyot named for an individual. Balak was the King of the Moabites. However, the main player in this parashah is a man named Bilaam, a well-known non-Jewish prophet and sorcerer of his time, whom Balak hired to curse the Israelites and thereby stop them in their pursuit of the promised land. Balak had witnessed the success which B’nai Yisrael had in defeating formidable enemies in the recent past and he was loathe to risk this happening to his Moabite nation.

Bilaam is a believer in God and so he consults Him about whether to accept Balak’s commission. God visits Bilaam in a dream and tells the prophet, “If these men have come to invite you, you may go with them. But whatever I command you, that you shall do” (Num. 22:20).

“Bilaam’s dream is quite convenient”, says Rabbi Bradley Artson, “given that he’s just been offered a fortune to go with the dignitaries, and God – in his dream – allows him to make that choice. Looking carefully at God’s words, what is clear is that God says that you, Bilaam, get to make this call. Go if you want; stay if you want. But when it comes time to speak, please choose to adhere to my wishes. You are free to decide for yourself”. In the words of the Talmud, “A person is led the way he/she wishes to go”. (Makkot 10b)

Bilaam sets out on his journey, then, to the Israelite encampment. Along the way, his donkey, who had been his loyal transportation for years, turned three times from the road at the sight of an angel of God blocking the path, invisible to her master. The prophet, who did not see this angel, responded by striking the donkey with a stick. Finally, the animal spoke to her master and revealed the reason she had turned aside – which had completely eluded Bilaam.

At that point, from the donkey’s mouth, not the prophet’s, the word of God is heard. Bilaam hears from the donkey that even though his commission from the King of Moab is to curse Israel, his mission from God will be to bless them.

And so it goes, it seems. In truth, however, the following quote of Bilaam’s turns out to be a mixed blessing. In the process of blessing the Jewish people, Bilaam uttered words – at the end of the following passage – which have come to describe an unfortunate aspect of the history and the circumstances of our people:

How can I curse whom God has not cursed?

How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?

From the tops of crags I see them,

From the hills I gaze down:

A people that dwells alone,

Not reckoning itself among nations.                 Num. 23:8-9

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, z”l, “Covenant and Conversation: The Curse of Loneliness” describes how he struggled with this definition of Am Yisrael. Our people have indeed been alone – in ancient times and in modern times – persecutions and expulsions punctuated our lives for centuries and centuries. The Shoah, the Holocaust, with its horrific acts of barbarism and inhumanity to our people… and the situation in Israel today – – with so many nations turning their backs on the atrocities that Israel’s citizens were victims of, and even faulting Israel for fighting back…are among the most heinous examples.

Am levadad yishkon – a people who dwells alone. In Rabbi Sacks’ book, Future Tense, he says, “I suddenly saw how dangerous (this) is. If you believe your fate is to be alone, that is almost certainly what will happen. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Why bother to make friends and allies if you know in advance that you will fail?”

To give context and some examples to the occasions where we find the word badad, alone, in the Tanakh, we learn early on that it’s not good for “man to be alone”. That’s when God brought on Eve so that Adam wouldn’t be alone (Gen. 2:18). We also learn that Yitro told his son-in-law Moses that he shouldn’t govern alone and that he should delegate authority. That’s when the elders were appointed. (Exod. 18:17-18). In describing the life of a leper, we read, “he shall live apart; outside the camp shall be his dwelling.” (Lev. 13:46). A fourth example is in the first chapter of the Book of Lamentations which begins: “How alone is the city once thronged with people.” (Lam. 1:1)

What makes Jews different, set apart? According to Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch’s assessment, it is “that Jews are a distinctive people, that is, a group defined by shared memories and collective responsibilities, ‘not reckoned among the nations’. We have survived even in exile and dispersion because “Israel’s strength lies not in nationalism but in building a society based on justice and human dignity. The concept of a nation alone is Bilaam’s curse, not God’s blessing” (S. R. Hirsch Torah Commentary on Num. 23:9)

The only enduring blessing from Bilaam are the following words with which we begin our prayers every morning:

מה טבו אהליך יעקב משכנתיך ישראל

How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel.” (Num. 24:5)

In the words of Rabbi Neal Borovitz,“the account of Bilaam and the donkey, and these powerful words of prophetic praise remind me that the greatest challenge we face, both individually and communally, is to find a way, as the donkey does, to see God’s presence on our path through life, and work to turn the curses and misfortunes of life into opportunities to be a source of blessing to others and to ourselves”.

Nineteen centuries ago, the rabbis chose to include in the haftarah for Parashat Balak a beautiful quote from the Book of Micah. This has offered us a new way in which to view the account of Bilaam and Balak. Unlike Bilaam, Micah doesn’t expect payment for his words but instead teaches us, in chapter 6, verse 8, that what God requires of us, of each of us and of all of us, is “to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God”.

Rabbi Borovitz further believes that “if we would commit ourselves to live by this simple, direct, but profound mitzvah we could create a world where the blessing of Ma Tovu could be sung and heard as a descriptive affirmation of (all) our blessings.”

Furthermore, I think that Rabbi Jack Luxemburg, Rabbi Emeritus, Temple Beth Ami, Rockville, Maryland, said it well when he said, “Sometimes, our words can reveal selfish motivations and callous attitudes, no matter how we attempt to dissemble. However, when our speech is inspired by high ideals and holy purposes we, too, can bring into the world – for us and for all others – blessings worthy of song and praise”.

I would add my personal prayer that the words of Mah Tovu will always serve to define us as a people who takes seriously the privilege of being created b’tzelem elokim, in the image of God.                          

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Rabbi Marge Wise, AJR ’21, is also known as the Journey Rabbi. Her passion is outreach, including teaching prospective Jews by choice and accompanying them on their journey to formal conversion. She teaches in person and on Zoom. Her students reside in five continents!