Parashat Balak
The PARSHA arrangement of Balak is very simple (there are only two)... and telling. From the beginning of the sedra and all though the Bil'am episode (95 p'sukim), is one long single CLOSED parsha. Parsha S'tuma usually means that the content of the parsha is a continuation of sorts of the previous parsha. And, in fact, we can look at the Balak-Bil'am episode as another battle - one that we were not aware of at the time, and one that was "fought" differently - but a battle, nonetheless. The last portion of sedra - the episode of B'not Moav (9 p'sukim) - is its own parsha, specifically an open one. Parsha P'tucha generally means "new topic". And so it is. [sdt] How come Balak, a sworn enemy of Israel, rates having a sedra named after him? Commentaries suggest that Balak was an "honest enemy" of Israel. His antagonism was based on his fear of Israel; his intentions and actions were clear-cut. We have been plagued by many enemies throughout history who have hidden behind a smile, mask of friendship, or a handshake on the White House lawn only to try to stab us in the back (or worse). Dear uncle-grandfather Lavan, is perhaps the prime model of the "sneaky" enemy. Balak's straight-forward hatred is something we can appreciate. (Interesting that Bil'am is associated with Lavan.) [sdt] Commentaries point out that Moav and Midyan were bitter enemies. Nonetheless, they put their differences aside and united to fight against Israel. This shows the power of anti-Semitism in this world. See what our enemies are ready to do because they hate us so much. But it also must teach us another lesson. That we too must be prepared to set aside that which divides the Jewish People into fragments, so that we can fight our common enemy with greater strength. This is not to suggest that we must ignore, overlook, or forgive these differences. But we have to know when we should put our religious-secular battles "on hold", in order to be united against the enemies of the Jewish People. We must all work together - Ashkenazim & S'faradim, National Religious and Haredi, left and right, religious and secular, to strengthen our position against those who would harm us, take parts of Eretz Yisrael from us, and divide our capital.
(In Pirkei Avot it says that the "mouth of the donkey" was one of 10 special items that G-d created in the instant before He rested from further creation on the first very first Shabbat. One of the lessons from this concept is SOF MA'ASEH B'MACHSHAVA T'CHILA, what happens in the end was in G-d's thought at the beginning.) Balak goes out to greet Bil'am, who tells Balak that he is powerless to act on his own and must say only what G-d "puts in his mouth". (This is the significance of the "mouth of the donkey" - viz. that it is G-d Who grants the gift of speech; one should not be arrogant about his ability to speak well, think lofty thoughts, perceive spiritual concepts.) [SDT] The favored weapon of the nations of the world is the sword. The "weapon" of the Jewish People is "the power of speech" (prayer, divrei Torah, kind words, etc.). Bil'am arrogantly lays "his weapon" aside and attempted to harm the People of Israel with their (our) own weapon. G-d, so to speak, went against Bil'am with his abandoned weapon - the angel's drawn sword. And ultimately, the Torah tells us, Bil'am fell by the sword. - Rashi Here's a thought. From the beginning of Sh'mot when we started to become a nation, throughout the whole Torah, all that occurs happens to us. Parshat Balak (until the last portion) is unique in that we are not really involved. Balak sends for Bil'am; they spend their time looking at us, building altars, bringing sacrifices — we were unaware of what was happening. Parshat Balak is pure prophecy to Moshe.
(All that is done is highly significant - e.g. the Torah records that our 3 Patriarchs offered 7 korbanot at various times. Bil'am hoped to "neutralize" the effect of those sacrifices in G-d's eyes by offering 7 sacrifices of his own.) The Baal HaTurim points out that Iyov also offered seven bulls and seven rams, just as Bil'am did. He says that this was a practice of Bnei No'ach in acknowledgment of the Seven Mitzvot they have. If we are unique among the nations of the world, it is because of the Torah and our commitment to it, not something genetic, nor a mere accident of birth. We must preserve that uniqueness by remaining true to Torah, faithful to HaShem, and distinct from the other nations.
Rashi says that Balak chose Rosh HaPisga as a place from where Bil'am might succeed in cursing the people, because he foresaw that Moshe would die there. Rashi makes the point that Balak knew this about the place but Bil'am did not - that Balak was a more gifted prophet. Further on, Rashi points out that the ministers of Moav were losing confidence in the Bil'am-Balak plan and they left the scene. Earlier, the Torah used the phrase ALL THE MINISTERS OF MOAV. In pasuk 23:17, it only says SAREI MOAV, without KOL, the implication is that some left. With this, BA'ZEH. We are taught that all the prophets of Israel, prophesy with KOH (AMAR HASHEM), except Moshe, who prophesies with ZEH. Bil'am felt that he was on Moshe's level and kept throwing around the ZEH. G-d says to Bil'am, go back to Balak, and thus - KOH - you shall speak. Bil'am subsequently gets the message and switches to KOH when he speaks to Balak.
Targum Onkeles indicates that Bil'am was "reminding" G-d of the Golden Calf, so that He would allow the People to be cursed. However, when he saw the multitude encamped in such a special manner, he was endowed with "Ruach HaKodesh" and he blessed the People of Israel a third time. Balak had "had enough", spoke harshly to Bil'am, and "sent him packing".
Bil'am's final advice, his attempts to curse the People having failed, is to entice the People to idolatry and immoral behavior which will turn G-d Himself against them. This plan works, as 24,000 perish in a plague following the orgiastic worship of Baal Pe'or. Only the bold action of Pinchas b. Elazar b. Aharon HaKohen in defending G-d's honor, stops the devastating plague. [sdt] This final lesson of the sedra must be learned well by us today. What Balak and Bil'am discovered is that if Israel is in G-d's favor, it will be invincible from outside attack. No nation can succeed against Israel, when we are "on good terms" with G-d. If we, however, incur G-d's anger, by being unfaithful to Him, by disregarding Torah and mitzvot, then we are extremely vulnerable to our enemies. And they might not even have to actually fight against us - we can, G-d forbid, destroy ourselves. This was true more than 3000 years ago; it is no less true today. One a certain level, Parshat Balak is extremely simple and straightforward, with an extremely powerful message - because of that simplicity. For 95 p'sukim, we feel the protection of G-d as Balak and Bil'am fail time and again in what almost looks like a comical farce. The Gemara says that Bil'am was in some ways superior to Moshe Rabeinu, that when he was around, G-d Himself was extra vigilant in protecting us. For those 95 p'sukim, we beam with pride at the grudging admiration of a unique nation as expressed by Bil'am. And then comes the last 9 p'sukim of the sedra. Bil'am went back home. So did Balak. No danger anymore. WHAM! We did it to ourselves. G-d protected us from Bil'am by giving him his words. By not letting him speak on his own. And then we turned around and betrayed G-d. 24,000 fatalities. And the toll would have been greater, except for the bold action of Pinchas. The sedra is shouting its message to us. All we have to do is listen to it. Note where the Pinchas episode stops between sedras. Zimri and Kozbi are not identified yet, G-d's reaction comes next week. Just, for now - the plague stopped!
The haftara ends with the famous encapsulation of our responsibilities to G-d: "What does G-d demand of us, ONLY to behave justly, love chesed, and walk modestly (humbly) before G-d." This is the formula for the greatest protection we can have from the Balaks and Bil'ams of the world. [The Balak Homepage]
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