Torah Gems - July 11th Parshat Balak

Torah Gems - July 11th

This week's Torah Gems were prepared by

Dr. Bruce Weinstock

Parshat Balak

This week's parshat, Balak, contains two major story lines. The Bulk of the narrative tells of the non-Hebrew prophet Bilaam being called by the King Balak to curse the Children of Israel and how, after much hesitation, he is ultimately forced to beautifully bless them. The second is the concise story of Children of Israel straying to follow foreign practices culminating in a Hebrew man and non-Hebrew woman engaging in the public performance of a sexual pagan ritual and being speared in the midst of the act by the Kohane Pinchas.

Popular themes of study in many Divrei Torah include an examination of Bilaam's struggle in the first story and examination of the propriety of Pinchas's reaction in the second story. Rather than examine Bilaam or Pinchas, lets examine the Children of Israel in these two stories. In the first, what about Israel elicited the blessing rather than the curse? In the second, how could they ONCE AGAIN have strayed from fidelity to G-D?

Numbers 24:5 - "Ma Tovu Ohalecha ya'akov, Mishkinotecha Yisrael" - 'How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel.'
What was so beautiful about the tents and the dwelling places? Rashi comments that in his preparation to curse the Jewish people, Bilaam noted a very deliberate pattern to the social arrangements of the Israel dwelling tents. Despite being closed together, every tent doorway was oriented in such a way that one could not from inside his tent see through the open doorway of his neighbors. This wonderful mix of encouraging community while maintaining family privacy is what Bilaam is describing.

Numbers 25:1-3
'Israel settled in Shittim " Vahel Ha'am Liznot" - And the people began to commit Harlotry, with the daughters of Moab. They invited the people to the feasts of their gods. The people ate and prostrated themselves to their gods. Israel became attached to Baal-Peor, and the wrath of Hashem flared up against Israel.'

Sforno, the Italian philosopher, mathematician, and physician (Approximately 1470-1550 C.E.) stresses that the worship of other gods was a gradual unplanned event. It began with sexual indiscretion when approached by the Daughters of Moab. This led to more open socializing with idol worshippers at enticing meals. What followed was a meaningless mimicking of the social customs of their non-Hebrew friends. However, this led to Israel becoming spiritually attached to and worshipping Baal-Peor. Sforno goes on to explain, that the majority of the Children of Israel did not engage in these practices. However, they also failed to intervene or protest. As a result, the punishment decreed by G-d was to take the leaders of the practices and to hang them before G-d "neged hashamesh"- 'against the sun'. That is to punish them out in the open, in pure daylight, where the entire population will be forced to witness and recognize that these were sins affecting and permitted by the entire community and the punishment requires community participation.


It seems to me that the Rashi and Sforno commentaries have a common theme. The manner in which we arrange and orchestrate our physical lives and interact in our communities both have a profound impact on our spiritual development. Bilaam saw that the arrangement of the physical arrangement of the camp promoted community cohesion while maintaining personal privacy. Recognizing this, (and many commentators say advised by Bilaam) Moab attacked Israel by encouraging public physical pleasures that would gradually erode the inner spiritual strength. Israel's great sin was not only the actual participation in the rituals which were numerically the domain of only a few, Israel's true infidelity was in failing to act as a cohesive community, failing to protest or intervene among their fellow members of the community who were engaged in the practices. Public sins are not only sins that impact the public, but if there is no protest, they are sins that are owned by the public.

Summer is a time when we are all encouraged to be "neged hashemesh" - out in the sun. Weather provides opportunities to build physical changes in our structures and calendars encourage social get togethers that strengthen our community bonds. Whatever we do can be visible and inspiring. Whatever we see that is ugly, we should protest and strive to improve. May we all continue to build our physical and social lives in a way that will force others to say "How beautiful are your tents!"

SHABBAT SHALOM