Next Shabbat at the latest, we’ll be dealing with the Parashah of Balak.
An entire parashah is named after Balak, Balaam’s antagonist, which is precisely why we should take a closer look at him. The story is very complicated and constantly has new twists and turns. I’ve given a lot of thought to the fact that while there are plans to curse Israel, it’s up to all of us to pay attention with open eyes and ears, with our given senses, to what Hashem tells us, sometimes through a person who doesn’t initially belong to the people of Israel. It’s important to identify Balak as a Moabite king who fears the Jewish people and fantasizes about all sorts of dangers that supposedly emanate from them… Therefore, he commissions Balaam to curse them. However, Balaam refuses, first of all, to allow himself to be taken over by the Moabites and curse them.
G-d speaks to Balaam, so he’s a prophet. He says, „You will not go with them.“ And he obeys. „You will not curse it, for blessed is it.“ And Balaam obeys, albeit only after several attempts, even if this initially brings apparent disadvantages.
The lesson we can draw from the entire Parasha Balak is that no power in the world can oppose Hashem’s plans and must submit to them sooner or later. No one in this world can escape Hashem, His goals, and His vision.
The donkey is also an important metaphor. Balaam travels with her, and it is she who alone can recognize G-d’s messengers and respond accordingly. G-d Himself opened the donkey’s mouth (a popular saying in Israel) and spoke to Balaam. Thus, it is G-d alone who provides the miraculous communication and understanding. It is G-d Himself who enters into dialogue through the donkey, whom Balaam had treated badly. Balaam himself is repeatedly instructed by G-d’s messengers how he should behave. Gradually, he recognizes this more and more clearly, and it culminates in the realization and the statement to the messenger:
„I have sinned; I did not know that you were standing in the way against me.“
This is a very important sentence, for it contains, on the one hand, the admission that he has acted contrary to the divine order and, on the other, that he says he did not know. Knowledge is the prerequisite for acting responsibly before G-d.
Shavua Tov!
Words and Passion 