Sunday, June 16, 2013
Parshat Balak
Bamidbar 22:2 – 25:9
14 Tammuz 5773 / June 21-22, 2013
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.
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5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwellings, O Israel!
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ו כִּנְחָלִים נִטָּיוּ, כְּגַנֹּת עֲלֵי נָהָר; כַּאֲהָלִים נָטַע יְהוָה, כַּאֲרָזִים עֲלֵי-מָיִם.
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6 As valleys stretched out, as gardens by the river-side; as aloes planted of the LORD, as cedars beside the waters;
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ז יִזַּל-מַיִם מִדָּלְיָו, וְזַרְעוֹ בְּמַיִם רַבִּים; וְיָרֹם מֵאֲגַג מַלְכּוֹ, וְתִנַּשֵּׂא מַלְכֻתוֹ.
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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.
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ח אֵל מוֹצִיאוֹ מִמִּצְרַיִם, כְּתוֹעֲפֹת רְאֵם לוֹ; יֹאכַל גּוֹיִם צָרָיו, וְעַצְמֹתֵיהֶם יְגָרֵם--וְחִצָּיו יִמְחָץ.
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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.
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ט כָּרַע שָׁכַב כַּאֲרִי וּכְלָבִיא, מִי יְקִימֶנּוּ; מְבָרְכֶיךָ בָרוּךְ, וְאֹרְרֶיךָ אָרוּר.
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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.
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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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