It all started as soon as the Jewish people became a nation and left Egypt as a free people. At first, it was the Philistines, as the Torah teaches us: "It happened when Pharaoh sent out the people of Israel that G-d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, for it was near, for G-d said: 'Perhaps the people will reconsider when they see war and they will return to Egypt.'"
And as the Jewish people continued on their journey and approached the gates of Eretz Israel, to enter after 40 years, the nations did all that they could to stop the Jews from entering the Land and bringing about the redemption process. First, it was brother Esav, from the land of Edom, who came out to stop us from entering though his land. Having no choice, we had to go around Edom, another delay in the process. Still to come, we found that after the death of Aharon, the Cana'anite king of Arad - who Rashi teaches us was none other than our arch-enemy Amalek - came to attack Israel, and we came out victorious.
After this, HaShem made a great miracle for His people, as we read in last week's parsha. About this it will be told in the story of the "Wars of HaShem". The Amorites said: "When Israel will enter into the valley in order to pass through, we will come out of the caves that are in the mountains above them and we will kill them with arrows and stones." HaShem caused the mountains to collide, killing off all of our enemies and having their blood run off into the streams of water below. In this way, He informed the people of this great miracle.
But there was still more to come on our path to enter the Land. Sihon, king of the Amorites, did not permit Israel to pass though his border, and he assembled his entire people and went out against Israel to the wilderness. He arrived at Jahaz and waged war against Israel. And another one bites the dust. And after Sihon, came out good old Og, king of Bashan. As if he learned nothing from the previous attempts to stop the Jewish people, he and his entire people came out to fight Israel at Edrei. And like the others before him, he, too, and his people bit the dust. Am Israel smote him, his sons and all his people, until there were no survivors left of him, and they took possession of his land.
In this week's parsha, it's none other than the prophet Bil'am, the son of Be'or, the great hater of the Jewish people, hired out by Balak, king of Moab, to stop the Jews in their tracks and not let them continue on their journey to the Promised Land. But HaShem, with His great love for His people, changed around the curses aimed at us and made them into blessings - "for blessed are you".
We find from this long line of attempts by the nations, that they - the nations -will stop at nothing to throw us off our course of Redemption. Still, when the dust settled, all of this was of no avail and the Jewish people entered into the Land to conquer it and to go on to build the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
Still, we can ask why. Why do they try to stop us on our journey to perfect the world? The Midrash teaches us that after the Mashiach will be made known to the world, the nations will gather to him and hear his words of wisdom, and they will then take council on how to kill him. Simply put, the nations cannot stand the truth coming out into the world, for this will surely show their own falsehood, and so, in their eyes, the Jewish people, who represent HaShem in this world, must be stopped at any price.
Today, too, we find throughout the entire process of the return of the Jewish people to its Land that the nations have been trying time and time again to stop the redemption process. Whether it was (Amalek) Germany, which wanted to kill us all off before we were able to return home, or the British, who did not let us live and turned their backs on us, until they were thrown out of the land; or whether it is the Esav of America, who continues to force us into suicidal and indefensible borders in their attempts to take away our claim to the Land, or the children of Yishmael, who have never given up their claim to the land.
Or the hardest enemy of them all - the haters of HaShem from within, who have been doing all that they can to weaken our spirit and make us collapse. As we find now that we are faced with the attempt to close down the Hesder yeshivas, the source of so many dedicated army soldiers. But, of course, that is what they would try to do, for what represents the spirit of the love of the Land more than those yeshivot? Still, the eternal nation does not tire from the long journey.
Too bad that all of the above have not learnt the lesson from history, from all the others who have tried to stop the process and failed before them. It will not work, and it will not come to be as they plan, for in the end they will all melt away before G-d's will. For in the words of Bil'am, the donkey lover, they, the people of Israel, are truly blessed.
And as the Jewish people continued on their journey and approached the gates of Eretz Israel, to enter after 40 years, the nations did all that they could to stop the Jews from entering the Land and bringing about the redemption process. First, it was brother Esav, from the land of Edom, who came out to stop us from entering though his land. Having no choice, we had to go around Edom, another delay in the process. Still to come, we found that after the death of Aharon, the Cana'anite king of Arad - who Rashi teaches us was none other than our arch-enemy Amalek - came to attack Israel, and we came out victorious.
After this, HaShem made a great miracle for His people, as we read in last week's parsha. About this it will be told in the story of the "Wars of HaShem". The Amorites said: "When Israel will enter into the valley in order to pass through, we will come out of the caves that are in the mountains above them and we will kill them with arrows and stones." HaShem caused the mountains to collide, killing off all of our enemies and having their blood run off into the streams of water below. In this way, He informed the people of this great miracle.
But there was still more to come on our path to enter the Land. Sihon, king of the Amorites, did not permit Israel to pass though his border, and he assembled his entire people and went out against Israel to the wilderness. He arrived at Jahaz and waged war against Israel. And another one bites the dust. And after Sihon, came out good old Og, king of Bashan. As if he learned nothing from the previous attempts to stop the Jewish people, he and his entire people came out to fight Israel at Edrei. And like the others before him, he, too, and his people bit the dust. Am Israel smote him, his sons and all his people, until there were no survivors left of him, and they took possession of his land.
In this week's parsha, it's none other than the prophet Bil'am, the son of Be'or, the great hater of the Jewish people, hired out by Balak, king of Moab, to stop the Jews in their tracks and not let them continue on their journey to the Promised Land. But HaShem, with His great love for His people, changed around the curses aimed at us and made them into blessings - "for blessed are you".
We find from this long line of attempts by the nations, that they - the nations -will stop at nothing to throw us off our course of Redemption. Still, when the dust settled, all of this was of no avail and the Jewish people entered into the Land to conquer it and to go on to build the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
Still, we can ask why. Why do they try to stop us on our journey to perfect the world? The Midrash teaches us that after the Mashiach will be made known to the world, the nations will gather to him and hear his words of wisdom, and they will then take council on how to kill him. Simply put, the nations cannot stand the truth coming out into the world, for this will surely show their own falsehood, and so, in their eyes, the Jewish people, who represent HaShem in this world, must be stopped at any price.
Today, too, we find throughout the entire process of the return of the Jewish people to its Land that the nations have been trying time and time again to stop the redemption process. Whether it was (Amalek) Germany, which wanted to kill us all off before we were able to return home, or the British, who did not let us live and turned their backs on us, until they were thrown out of the land; or whether it is the Esav of America, who continues to force us into suicidal and indefensible borders in their attempts to take away our claim to the Land, or the children of Yishmael, who have never given up their claim to the land.
Or the hardest enemy of them all - the haters of HaShem from within, who have been doing all that they can to weaken our spirit and make us collapse. As we find now that we are faced with the attempt to close down the Hesder yeshivas, the source of so many dedicated army soldiers. But, of course, that is what they would try to do, for what represents the spirit of the love of the Land more than those yeshivot? Still, the eternal nation does not tire from the long journey.
Too bad that all of the above have not learnt the lesson from history, from all the others who have tried to stop the process and failed before them. It will not work, and it will not come to be as they plan, for in the end they will all melt away before G-d's will. For in the words of Bil'am, the donkey lover, they, the people of Israel, are truly blessed.