Listen to article on: SoundCloud☁ (Parasha
Balak)
Watch on: YouTube☁ (Parasha
Balak)
“Seeing Israel thrive… is close to miraculous,” said American President Joe Biden during his trip to Israel this past week. He was almost right. But the success of the modern State of Israel in spite of every single threat and obstacle for the last 74 years, is not close to miraculous, it is miraculous. We all know Who makes miracles happen but somehow we find it so hard to give credit where credit is due. Instead, we pat ourselves on the shoulder and conveniently convince ourselves that our own ingenuity and persistence are the reasons we succeed. As for G-d, well, He helps those who help themselves. This somewhat faulty mindset is common for nations and individuals. But the State of Israel is not like any other country nor are the Jewish people like anyone else. We know because G-d told us. And so again, Biden almost got it right when he said that Israel is a nation that will never dwell alone as long as there’s the United States. As the expression goes, “close but no cigar.” Israel and the Jewish people will never be alone because the G-d of Israel lives among them. (Article continue below)
A nation constantly under attack,
it’s no wonder that Israel relies heavily on the United States and feels
eversafer because of that friendship as well as its great army, the Iron beam,
the Iron Dome and Israel’s new peace and trade agreements with one-time
enemies. All wonderful things which appear to be going in a positive
trajectory, with a caveat, they best not replace the one fundamental that
preserves a chosen people and its promised Land, G-d and His Torah. Beware of overconfidence
and misplaced trust.
Despite our great successes, in
honesty, we must acknowledge in all our worldly affairs we believe one hand
washes the other. We work at our relationships to squeeze out the best results
for ourselves. Yet when it comes to our relationship with G-d, we are ready to
collect with both hands and serve with neither. What right do we
have to the Land of Israel altogether if not for the holy Torah? But the Torah
is not just an eternal land deed, it is the holy word of Hashem teaching us how
to live our lives, i.e., keeping Shabbat, observing kosher laws, giving
charity, etc. Therein we also learn time and again the one on Whom we can rely
and must rely on: “I shall raise my eyes to the mountains, from
where will my help come? My help is from the L-rd, the Maker of heaven and
earth. He will not allow your foot to falter; Your Guardian will not slumber.”
(Psalms 121:1-3)
Interestingly President Biden cited this
week’s parashah in his speech, Balak. Sad that
the prez knows which Torah section we are reading when most Jew’s don’t. But
that aside, he quotes Bilaam’s words calling us “the people that dwell alone.” That
is a blessing not a curse. We are a people destined to stand out, yet we try so
hard to fit in by trying to emulate the ways of the world in regards to
culture, entertainment, food and fashion. Our job as Jews and a nation is to remain pure and
distinct in order to illuminate the world with divine light in our every
day-to-day actions. Yet, we seek
security, strength and fraternity in ephemeral crutches instead of serving and
relying on the Almighty: “Behold the Guardian of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep…The Lord
will guard your going out and your coming in from now and to eternity.”
In this week’s Torah
reading we see how King Balak sought out Bilaam to curse the Jewish people. But
Bilaam was unable to curse them. Why? Because the Jewish nation was behaving
properly. “How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O
Israel.” The Israelites left no void or crevice for curses to sneak in
like an open wound accommodating infection. They were impervious to any
harm because they didn’t open the door to Satan by sinning. As such,
those who cursed them would be cursed, and the haters would drown in the deep
end of their own hate. I will never forget the complaint of a disappointed
Hamas member years ago who said, “Their G-d changes the paths of our rockets in
mid-air.”
Kabbalists teach that
each act we do creates an angel--either one that serves as our advocate or as our
prosecutor, depending on our deed or misdeed. And so, the question is:
What kind of army of angels are you building for yourself and our nation, good
ones or bad ones? Are you building spiritual Iron Domes by keeping the
commandments or stoking civil war and assisting a nation to turn against
itself? When threat comes your way, will your own army deservingly
stab you in the back or will it stand as a loyal protector for you, your family
and our people, and escort us safely from strength to strength?
Shabbat
Shalom
No comments:
Post a Comment