Thursday, June 19, 2014

Own your Jewish Karma

Parshat Balak
Bamidbar 22:2 – 25:9
7 Tammuz 5774 / July 4-5, 2014

Own your Jewish Karma  
by Zvi Bellin, MHHQ


Holy Blessings Batman!
When Balak, the King of Moav, enlists the desert dwelling prophet Bilaam to curse the Israelite nation, words of  blessing emerge that become timeless as part of our daily prayer. Balaam is summoned to an overlook where he can see the entire Israelite encampment. He intends to curse the people, but has promised that he will only speak the words that God puts into his mouth. Balaam closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, and chants these famous words that have found their way into scripture:

ה  מַה-טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ, יַעֲקֹב; מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ, יִשְׂרָאֵל.
5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwellings, O Israel!
ו  כִּנְחָלִים נִטָּיוּ, כְּגַנֹּת עֲלֵי נָהָר; כַּאֲהָלִים נָטַע יְהוָה, כַּאֲרָזִים עֲלֵי-מָיִם.
6 As valleys stretched out, as gardens by the river-side; as aloes planted of the LORD, as cedars beside the waters;
ז  יִזַּל-מַיִם מִדָּלְיָו, וְזַרְעוֹ בְּמַיִם רַבִּים; וְיָרֹם מֵאֲגַג מַלְכּוֹ, וְתִנַּשֵּׂא מַלְכֻתוֹ.
7 Water shall flow from his branches, and his seed shall be in many waters; and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
ח  אֵל מוֹצִיאוֹ מִמִּצְרַיִם, כְּתוֹעֲפֹת רְאֵם לוֹ; יֹאכַל גּוֹיִם צָרָיו, וְעַצְמֹתֵיהֶם יְגָרֵם--וְחִצָּיו יִמְחָץ.
8 God who brought him forth out of Egypt is for him like the lofty horns of the wild-ox; he shall eat up the nations that are his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces, and pierce them through with his arrows.
ט  כָּרַע שָׁכַב כַּאֲרִי וּכְלָבִיא, מִי יְקִימֶנּוּ; מְבָרְכֶיךָ בָרוּךְ, וְאֹרְרֶיךָ אָרוּר.
9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Blessed be every one that blesses thee, and cursed be every one that curses thee.

Balaam’s prophecy is a timeless blessing that includes us, the current generation of Jewish people. Our pluralistic and progressive homes are tents of Jacob and dwelling places of Israel. And so they are good. What is the goodness that this familiar line (verse 5) of prayer is talking about? Perhaps there are clues to be found in the lesser known continuing lines.

How exciting that verses 6 and 7 contain beautiful images from the natural world! “Gardens by the river side,” and “water shall flow from his branches.” Our generation is engaged in the process of exploring the deep bond between Jewish identity and caring for our planet. True to Balaam’s verses, we are discovering that our homes are good places because we do not see them as completely separate from the world outside of our windows. We know that we need to use natural resources responsibly in order for goodness to continue.  

Verses 8 and 9 are less politically correct and so perhaps, a bit harder to digest. The blessing connects our relationship to a God of war and power. Is that what we need God for? To eat up nations and crush their bones?

I want to suggest that we read the end of the blessing as a progression. We began with the need for a God that destroys our enemies (verse 8), but we head towards a relationship whereby we have the power to bestow blessings and curses because of a connection with God within (verse 9).

Stephanie Nash is an actress and meditation teacher that talks about the resonance between two pitchforks. If you strike one pitchfork at the end of a gymnasium, a second pitchfork at the other end of the room will begin to chime in tune. Human relationships are guided by this phenomenon too. When we watch a movie and witness strong and powerful emotions we begin to experience the same feelings. Might the same be true for the blessings and curses that we put out into the world.

Blessed be every one that blesses thee, and cursed be every one that curses thee.” If we choose to see truth in these words, then it is our responsibility to ensure that we act in ways that people will bless us, so we can all (Jews and non-Jews) benefit from increased blessing in the world.  

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