Judging Jewly- Parshat Balak 2011

Insights and Inspiration
from the 
Holy Land
from 
Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

July 7^th 2011 -Volume I, Issue 33–15^th  5^th of Tamuz 5771

Parshat Balak

Judge Jew-ly

 

Rule #1 I have told students of mine time and time again- Never judge Judaism by the Jews. Sadly enough, the Jewish people, in our long colorful history have had quite a number of our brethren that we kind of wish were maybe of another faith. In recent world history we have Karl Marx, Trotsky. In the States we’ve had Bugsy Siegel, Arnold Rothstein, Meyer Lansky and all the delightful financial criminals all topped off by our good friend Bernie. Israel unfortunately has no shortage of its criminals and really sad stories to read about as well. Unfortunately all too often its government and public figures-(in both countries) that embarrass us. If you peruse Google a little bit you’ll be sure to be enlightened that there are those of course that claim that everyone from Hitler, to Mussolini to World Trade Center Bombers to Yasser Arafat, Torquemada, and even Ahmadinijad are of Jewish descent as well. Nice, Huh? Not that I buy that last list but we certainly, since Biblical times, have had our share of bad apples.

 

But yet, I still maintain that Judaism should not be judged by the Jews. To a large degree since the beginning of Judaism and certainly until today we have never really had much more than a small portion of Jews, and really only during certain small pockets of historical Eras, that have ever been entirely observant of the Torah as it was given and meant to be practiced. All that Biblical hoo haa that I (and the Torah) have been telling you about, of us being a “light unto the Nations” and Hashem’s ambassadors to the world, Although it has certainly been our Divine mandate, in a spiritual way we haven’t done much better of a job fulfilling our mandate than PETA has in convincing Burger King to go vegan. Which then begs the question, why did Hashem choose us in the first place? Why haven’t we been fired yet? Isn’t it time already to call for new elections?

 

The answer to that pivotal question comes from an unlikely non-Jewish villain that we are introduced to in this week’s Torah portion. An answer and an event that certainly non-coincidentally is sandwiched in between the Torah’s two tales of our wilderness sojourn’s traitors; Korach of last week who challenged Moshe and the Levi’s mandate and Zimri who consorted flagrantly with a Midianite woman inciting the Jewish people to sin.  Right in the middle of these stories when you are definitely thinking who was the angel in charge of hiring this nation of recalcitrants, we are told the story of the non-Jewish prophet who was hired to instigate the wrath of God and curse the Jewish people- Bilaam.

 

Now it would seem with all the sins we committed  and the numerous times we have raised the wrath of God since the giving of the Torah over the past 40 years in the wilderness it shouldn’t be such a difficult task. Probably not much more difficult than getting the U.N. to pass a resolution against Israel . Yet, much to Bilaams surprise and consternation the Almighty won’t budge. Instead of curses, blessings come forth.

“How can I curse?- Hashem has not cursed. How can I anger?- Hashem has not angered…”

“Behold it is a Nation that dwells alone and not reckoned among the nations”

 

“He has blessed and I cannot respond. He has perceived no iniquity in Yaakov and saw no perversity in Israel . Hashem his God is with him and the friendship of the King is in him…”

 

And finally “How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwelling places O Israel ...”

 

Rashi points out that Bilaam does not say that we do not have iniquity or sin, rather that Hashem does not perceive it. We are friends with the King. There’s nothing anyone, even ourselves, can ever do to change that. What is the special reason for this tremendous favor? As can be expected, different great Chasidic Rabbis find different but similar messages in the words of Bilaam; words that are lessons and insights to us and an outlook we all should learn to develop.

 

The great Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev suggests that when Hashem looks at His people He sees no iniquity for he looks behind the act and sees the closeness. He understands the motivations and temptations. He even understands the rebellion. So too we, should never judge. We should look behind the acts. Know that the worst of us are still so close and special to God. And if Hashem loves them, we must as well.

 

The Rebbe of Kotzk sees in the words of Balak, the Moabite King who hired Bilaam a poignant lesson as well. It was after the first  failed curses when Balak gives him a new directive.

“Go to another place, where you will see the edges and not see all of them -from there you shall curse them”.

The Rebbe said when one looks at an individual Jew he may see fault- but it is only on the edges. Never as a whole. Never the entire nation and never even the entire Jew. When we stand together as a whole and appreciate the unity we achieve than we are a beautiful canvas with no visible flaws. Hashem sees our national and our individual ‘Big Picture’. We should as well.

 

And finally the words of the great Rebbe of Rimanov. The curse-turned-blessing of Bilaam was that we were a nation alone and therefore not reckoned with the other nations. We behaved unique. We maintain our identity and we bond together in times of crisis no matter where we live, where we have assimilated to and how far we have fallen from our Father and His pathways. The Jew will always be a Jew no matter how much he may try to run from it or how far he may feel he is. That unifying bond is what will always make us special. We cannot judge Judaism by the Jews because Judaism is all of us together. It’s not something that can ever be represented by the one, because until we are all whole there is no true representation of what it should look like. Hashem, our omniscient Father, sees the whole however and it is why we are blessed. The more we try to find it and aspire to achieve that Unity, the greater our blessing will be.

These are all powerful lessons that should touch each and every one of us. If Bilaam- the man who could barely get advice from his donkey could see this, we the children of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov certainly should. Hashem doesn’t want any new elections. He knows the current Nation has all it takes to make it perfect.

 

Have a very good Shabbos.Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

 

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RABBI SCHWARTZ COOL PLACES IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK-

HILLEL AND SHAMMAI’S GRAVE IN MIRON - RIGHT MOST OF US KNOW MIRON TO BE THE BURIAL SITE OF RABBI SHIMON BAR YOCHAI. HOWEVER FOR CLOSE TO A THOUSAND YEARS JEWS WOULD COME TO MIRON TO VISIT THE GRAVES OF THE TWO GREAT SAGES AND THEIR STUDENTS. IN FACT THIS TRADITION PREDATES REB SHIMON BY ALMOST 600 YEARS GOING BACK TO THE 11^TH CENTURY. THER IS FASCINATING TESTIMONY OF A GREAT SPRING THAT WOULD FLOW IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS CAVE (WHICH CAN BE FOUND RIGHT BEHIND THE BUILDING OF RABBI SHIMON BAR YOCHAI) FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO WERE WORTHY AND WHO PRAYED AND DID TESHUVA AT THE SITE.  THERE ARE EVEN WRITINGS FROM THE 13 AND 14^TH CENTURY OF ARABS THAT WOULD COME DAVEN BY THEIR GRAVES. HILLELS CONTEMPRARY SHAMMAI IS BURIED ACROSS THE HILL ON THE OTHER SIDE OF NACHAL MIRON IN WHAT THE ARABS REFER TO AS CHURBAT SHEMA WITH A BEAUIFUL MAUSLEOUM THERE TODAY HIDDEN IN THE WOODS. HOW OR WHY THESE SAGES AWHO LIVED THERE LIVES IN JERUSALEM DURING THE PERIOD BEFORE THE DESTRUCTION CAME TO BE BURIED HERE REMAINS A MYSTERY. BUT IT IS CERTAINLY FITTING THAT THE TWO GREAT MEN WHO FOUNDED THE GREATEST SCHOOLS AND WHO DISPUTED SO MANY DETAILS OF JEWISH LAW BUT AT THE SAME TIME WERE SYMBOLS OF LOVE AND HARMONY BETWEEN ONE ANOTHER- IN THEIR DISPUTES FOR THE SAKE OF HEAVEN- SHOULD BE BURIED SO CLOSE TOGETHER.

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