"Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorite. Moab became very frightened of the people because it was numerous, and Moab was seized with dread in the face of the children of Israel."


Days away from entering the Land of Israel, nation after nation has come against us to fight.



After witnessing the devastation Israel bestowed upon the neighboring nations, Moab was in an uproar. If the Jewish people were able to destroy Moab's allies and mighty protectors, including the giants Sichon and Og, what hope would Moab have against the Jews? In desperation, they turned to the famous Gentile prophet and scorner, Bila'am, to save them.


One question comes to mind. Besides Amalek, who attacked the Jewish people when we first left Egypt? After all, no other nation bothered us for the entire 40 years that we wandered in the desert. And now, just days away from entering the Land of Israel, nation after nation has come against us to fight.


Why, then, did they come out to battle now? The answer is as relevant today as it was yesterday: to stop the redemption process. While we were in the desert, we were not a threat to any nation or to any way of life. But now, with the entrance of the Jewish people into the Land of Israel, and the setting up of a G-dly kingdom in this world, it would ultimately mean the end of their world as they know it. The truth of the chosenness of Israel would emerge, leaving behind their falsehood and lies.


Today, too, as the Jewish people return to their homeland, the nations, and the erev rav who live amongst us, have been trying their utmost to stop the current process. They know, all too well, that the return of the Jews and the rebuilding of their Land will ultimately lead to the complete redemption and the building of our holy Temple. This, of course, will be their end, so they will stop at nothing to try to reverse this process, which, of course, cannot be stopped.


The interesting thing about the action that Balak took was that he did not come against the Jewish people in battle, as the previous nations did, but through the power of the tongue, by hiring the wicked Bila'am. Why?


Balak sent a message to the wise men of Midyan, saying: 'The Jewish leader Moshe grew up amongst you, so how is he so successful?' They told him: 'Moshe's and his followers' powers lie in their mouths. When they cry out to G-d, He fulfills whatever they request of Him. Combat the Jews by the same method. We advise you to summon Bila'am, whose power of speech matches that of Moshe.'


Today, too, the nations that surround us have learned the lesson that to fight us militarily

Through promises of "peace in our time," Israel caves in.

is futile, as the wars of 1948, 1967 and 1973 have proven. How, then, do they come out against us? With the power of the tongue. Through promises of "peace in our time," Israel caves in and is willing to give away parts of our Land, something that the nations were unable to attain through war. All they have to do is to open their mouths and Israel bends over backwards to fulfill the enemies' requests.


Here we see G-d paying us back "measure for measure," for the power of the Jewish people is in our mouths. The Torah teaches us: "The voice is the voice of Jacob," but when we use our voices to put our trust in the nations and cry out for salvation to all the "Washingtons" of the day, then our most feared weapon, "our voice," is given over to our enemies. They, in turn, hold that power over us, as we sadly see today.


We must, then, return to the source of our ultimate blessing - our voice - and thus, as in the past, change the curses and hardships of the Redemption process into blessings.