Parashat Balak

June 25, 2021
15 Tamuz 5781
Parashat Balak
Numbers 22:2 - 25:9

Dear Friends,

In this Torah portion, Balak, the king of Moab, asks Balaam, a prophet, to curse the Israelites after he sees them defeat various nations in battle. Although told not to take up the king’s commission by Divine command, Balaam accepts the commission (after first refusing). On his way to curse the Israelites, Balaam’s donkey sees an angel of God and the donkey refuses to move any further. Balaam hits the donkey. Ultimately, after threatening the donkey with a sword (one Balaam does not have), God speaks through the mouth of the donkey to tell Balaam not to curse the Israelites and the sword bearing angel becomes visible. Instead of cursing the Israelites, Balaam ultimately blesses them.

This Torah portion is strange indeed. We have a foreign prophet who clearly gets messages from the Divine, a king who believes that words have power, a talking donkey (and yes, our minds may go the donkey in Shrek), and a sword wielding messenger from the Divine. This tale comes on the heels of last week’s parasha containing the deaths of both Aaron and Miriam and the famous incident of Moses losing his cool and hitting the rock.

There is something about the juxtaposition of these stories with Balaam’s blessing, which is sung every week -- Mah Tovu. The fantastical nature of a talking donkey and a sword wielding angel, seems like the perfect antidote to the pain contained in last week’s portion.

So it is with us; we go from moments of extreme pain, loss, and anger to the wonder of it all, IF and it is a big IF, we allow ourselves to open our eyes. Of late, I find myself recounting the story of some of the best rabbinic advice I ever received. Finding my much younger self in the narrowest of places in dealing with a difficult situation, he advised me simply to find the humor in the situation. It was a brilliant teaching.

What he meant was to change your vantage point, see the situation with different eyes, open your eyes as far as you can, and get yourself out of the narrow place where you feel stuck and unable to move.

The blessings in this story happen not because of the words themselves but because Balaam's eyes are opened. He is a flawed individual capable of changing direction and of doing something good. We are all flawed and, like Balaam, it is truly amazing what we can see if we open our eyes and what we are capable of doing and becoming once our eyes are open.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Linda Shriner-Cahn