Struggle, bitter enemies, adversity; these are not new phenomenon to the
Jewish People. In our long history, we have faced them all - & we have
persevered.
In this week's Parsha, Israel confronts the Dastardly Duo of Bilaam & Balak.
Chazal point out that if you take the last 2 letters of Bilaam's name - ayin
& mem - and add them to the last 2 letters of Balak's name - lamed & kuf -
you spell out "Amalek," indicating that these two r'shaim were the
continuation of our arch-enemy.
There have always been 3 classic strategies employed by the enemies of Am
Yisrael. The first is direct warfare, trying to wipe us out by force of
arms. Balak, King of Moav, contemplated this approach, but then backed off.
He knew that mighty Pharoah had lost his entire army against Bnei Yisrael, &
most recently Og & Sichon - both powerful kings - had failed in their war
against us.
So he turned to "Plan B:" Using Bilaam to curse the Jews. But while Bilaam
was shrewd, & a gifted orator, his curses were turned to blessings due to
Hashem's will & the overwhelming integrity of the Jewish People.
So finally, Balak employs "Plan C," attempting to seduce Bnei Yisrael into
committing acts of immorality & licentiousness, so that our Divine
"defensive shield" would be de-activated due to our sins. This device almost
succeeds, & results in the death of 176,000 Jews. Yet, in the end, we
overcome this offensive, too, & Balak & Bilaam are slain in battle.
How similar our Parsha is to current events! Our enemies know that they,
too, B"H, cannot defeat our brave IDF. So they try to curse us, try to
hoodwink a gullible world into believing that they are innocent & the Jews
are to blame (and that night is day & black is white!). Yet eventually their
wickedness is seen for what it is by all decent people, & that strategy also
fails. All that remains for them to do is to try to convince weak Jews to
lose faith, to give up & embrace their depraved way of thinking. But, save
for a misguided few, we remain resolute, we do not run, we do not fall for
their sinister seductions. Through it all, we stand tall.
Bilaam said, "U'va'goyim lo yitchashev." The Jews, essentially, "do not
compute" vis a vis the other nations. We defy the norms, we beat the odds,
we skew the graphs. Pharoah, Og, Bilaam, Balak, the Palestinians: They are
all footnotes of history, momentary blips on the screen, who soon vanish
into oblivion. Yet, defying human logic, WE go on - forever.
Am Yisrael Chai!
Jewish People. In our long history, we have faced them all - & we have
persevered.
In this week's Parsha, Israel confronts the Dastardly Duo of Bilaam & Balak.
Chazal point out that if you take the last 2 letters of Bilaam's name - ayin
& mem - and add them to the last 2 letters of Balak's name - lamed & kuf -
you spell out "Amalek," indicating that these two r'shaim were the
continuation of our arch-enemy.
There have always been 3 classic strategies employed by the enemies of Am
Yisrael. The first is direct warfare, trying to wipe us out by force of
arms. Balak, King of Moav, contemplated this approach, but then backed off.
He knew that mighty Pharoah had lost his entire army against Bnei Yisrael, &
most recently Og & Sichon - both powerful kings - had failed in their war
against us.
So he turned to "Plan B:" Using Bilaam to curse the Jews. But while Bilaam
was shrewd, & a gifted orator, his curses were turned to blessings due to
Hashem's will & the overwhelming integrity of the Jewish People.
So finally, Balak employs "Plan C," attempting to seduce Bnei Yisrael into
committing acts of immorality & licentiousness, so that our Divine
"defensive shield" would be de-activated due to our sins. This device almost
succeeds, & results in the death of 176,000 Jews. Yet, in the end, we
overcome this offensive, too, & Balak & Bilaam are slain in battle.
How similar our Parsha is to current events! Our enemies know that they,
too, B"H, cannot defeat our brave IDF. So they try to curse us, try to
hoodwink a gullible world into believing that they are innocent & the Jews
are to blame (and that night is day & black is white!). Yet eventually their
wickedness is seen for what it is by all decent people, & that strategy also
fails. All that remains for them to do is to try to convince weak Jews to
lose faith, to give up & embrace their depraved way of thinking. But, save
for a misguided few, we remain resolute, we do not run, we do not fall for
their sinister seductions. Through it all, we stand tall.
Bilaam said, "U'va'goyim lo yitchashev." The Jews, essentially, "do not
compute" vis a vis the other nations. We defy the norms, we beat the odds,
we skew the graphs. Pharoah, Og, Bilaam, Balak, the Palestinians: They are
all footnotes of history, momentary blips on the screen, who soon vanish
into oblivion. Yet, defying human logic, WE go on - forever.
Am Yisrael Chai!