פרשת בלק: ברכה, חטא וחסד

מֵאִיגָּרָא רָמָא לְבֵירָא עַמִּיקְתָא, פרשת בלק מובילה אותנו מפסגות של שירה נבואית אל שפל של חטא, חוסר מנהיגות ועונש.

הסיפור מתחיל כאשר בלק מלך מואב נחרד למראה רבבות בני ישראל שעמדו מול גבול ארצו. הוא מבקש לשכור את שירותיו של בלעם כדי להסיר את האיום בקללות. בתחילה בלעם דחה את פנייתו, במצוות אלוהים שהבהיר "לֹא תֵלֵךְ עִמָּהֶם לֹא תָאֹר אֶת־הָעָם כִּי בָרוּךְ הוּא" )במ' כב:יב). אך השליחים לא מדווחים למלך את תשובתו המלאה של בלעם. בלק מצדו מבין, בטעות, שהצעתו לא הייתה נדיבה מספיק ושולח משלחת מכובדת יותר. למרבה ההפתעה, אלוהים כאילו משנה את עמדתו "אִם־לִקְרֹא לְךָ בָּאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים קוּם לֵךְ אִתָּם"

אבל רק לגבי ההליכה, לגבי תוכן האמירות, הוא לא מוותר, שנאמר: "וְאַךְ אֶת־הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר־אֲדַבֵּר אֵלֶיךָ אֹתוֹ תַעֲשֶׂה" )במ' כב:כ).

בלעם מרוצה והולך עם אנשי בלק. כשהסצנה המביכה עם האתון מבהירה לו שאלוהים משתמש בו כדוגמה, בלעם כבר לא יכול להתחרט. בשעת המבחן, לקורבנות הרבים ולשינויי המקום אין השפעה. בלעם מברך:

"מָה אֶקֹּב לֹא קַבֹּה אֵל וּמָה אֶזְעֹם לֹא זָעַם ה'... מִי מָנָה עֲפַר יַעֲקֹב וּמִסְפָּר אֶת־רֹבַע יִשְׂרָאֵל"

ובלק זועם "מֶה עָשִׂיתָ לִי?" )במ' כג:ח, י, יא) שוב ושוב.

בעיני בלק ובלעם המסע נכשל. העם ברוך ונקבע העקרון: "לֹא אִישׁ אֵל וִיכַזֵּב וּבֶן־אָדָם וְיִתְנֶחָם" (במ' כג:יט) או במילים היותר פשוטות של ספר דברים (י:יז): "ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם... לֹא יִקַּח שֹׁחַד."

אך עלינו להיזהר, נאמנות לברית לא מבטל את היושר האלוהי ואת האַחְרָיוּתִיּוּת accountability שלנו, אלא ההפך, כפי שמבהיר הנביא עמוס (ג:ב) "רַק אֶתְכֶם יָדַעְתִּי מִכֹּל מִשְׁפְּחוֹת הָאֲדָמָה עַל־כֵּן אֶפְקֹד עֲלֵיכֶם אֵת כׇּל־עֲוֺנֹתֵיכֶם׃" מתברר שבלק יודע זאת. הוא לא יכול לקלל אבל, כעוס ומתוסכל, הוא כן יכול להכשיל.

לא במקרה אחרי שבלק ובלעם נפרדים והולכים כל אחד לביתו,

"וַיָּחֶל הָעָם לִזְנוֹת אֶל־בְּנוֹת מוֹאָב׃ וַתִּקְרֶאןָ לָעָם לְזִבְחֵי אֱלֹהֵיהֶן וַיֹּאכַל הָעָם וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ לֵאלֹהֵיהֶן׃ וַיִּצָּמֶד יִשְׂרָאֵל לְבַעַל פְּעוֹר וַיִּחַר־אַף ה' בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל׃" )במ' כה:א-ב).

שפל חדש. גם בחטא העגל בני ישראל לא עבדו אלוהים אחרים אלא דמיינו לעצמם שפסל יכול לייצג את ה'. במרידות אחרות הם הביעו חששות ואמונה חלשה או פקפקו במנהיגים אבל לא הגיעו עד כדי זנות עבודת אלילים.

הסיבתיות לא מפורשת כאן אבל בפרק לא (טז) נלמד שזו נקמתו של בלעם אשר ייעץ לנשות מואב לפתות את בני ישראל. מילותיו המדויקות לא מופיעים בתורה אבל חז"ל מגלים את ההיגיון שלו: "אֱלֹהֵיהֶם שֶׁל אֵלּוּ שׂוֹנֵא זִימָּה הוּא, וְהֵם מִתְאַוִּים לִכְלֵי פִשְׁתָּן. בּוֹא וְאַשִּׂיאֲךָ עֵצָה: עֲשֵׂה לָהֶן ביתנים בשוק, וְהוֹשֵׁיב בָּהֶן זוֹנוֹת..." (בבלי סנהדרין קו:א). בגרסה אחרו העצה היא להציעה מצרכי מזון כי "אין להם שיאכלו אלא מן בלבד" (אבות דרבי נתן נוסח א א:ד). האם זו היתה פעם ראשנה שאויבינו למדו את חולשותינו והשתמשו בהם נגדנו? בכל מקרה, זו לא היית פעם האחרונה.

עצתו של בלק הצליחה, ה' מביא מגיפה על בני ישראל. אל אף מצוותיו, משה ומנהיגי העם רְפֵי ידיים ולא מגיבים. כאוס משתולל עד שפנחס לוקח רומח בידו והפרשה (תרתי משמע) מסתיים באלימות מדממת וארבע ועשרים אלף מתים.

מזעזע.

אבל לא הכול אבוד. הברית קיימת. בהפטרה הנביא מיכה מראה לנו דרך. אחרי שהוא מזכיר בפירוש את בלק, בלעם והמעשים בשיטים, הנביא מבהיר שוב כי אין רצון ה' בהקרבת קורבנות אלא

"הִגִּיד לְךָ אָדָם מַה־טּוֹב וּמָה־ה' דּוֹרֵשׁ מִמְּךָ כִּי אִם־עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם־אֱלֹהֶיךָ" (מיכה ו:ח).

לא בפולחן אלא במשפט ובחסד אפשר לעורר רחמי האל ולרכך את כעסו.

דברי מיכה בדלתות של
ארון הקודש בקהילת הוד והדר

עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט: לנהל את חיינו הפרטיים והציבוריים לפי כללי ההגינות והצדק שלא נותנים עדיפות לעשיר ובעל הזרוע ומחלקים את המשאבים כך שהצרכים הבסיסים של כולם מסופקים.

אַהֲבַת חֶסֶד: לא רק הרגשה פנימית נעימה אלא גם אהבה פעילה, גמילות חסדים המיטיבה עם הדל ומוחלש בחברה ע"י נתינת סיוע ממשי:

"פָרֹס לָרָעֵב לַחְמֶךָ, וַעֲנִיִּים מְרוּדִים תָּבִיא‎ ‎בָיִת: כִּי-תִרְאֶה עָרֹם וְכִסִּיתוֹ" (ישע' מח:ז; נקרא כהפטרה ביום כיפור)

ודרך נוכחות תומכת עם כל מי שנמצא במצב פגיע: החולה והנפגע, הבודד והאבל.

וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם אֱלֹהֶיךָ: בלי למשוך תשומת לב לעצמנו ומעשינו, כדברי הרב אברהם יהושע השל: "היופי הגדול ביותר צומח במרחק הרב ביותר ממרכז האגו".[1]

מה שנכון במישור הלאומי, נכון גם במישור האישי.
(חתן וכלה), אתם כורתים ברית נשואים ונכנסים לחופה, המסמלת בית אשר פתוח גם לעולם. יהי רצון שתשכילו לבנות ביתכם על יסודות של חסד, אחד כלפי השני וגם כלפי הסובבים אתכם והעולם כולו, כדברי משורר תהילים,

"כִּי־אָמַרְתִּי עוֹלָם חֶסֶד יִבָּנֶה" (תה' פט:ג).

שבת שלום.

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[1] אלוהים מבקש את האדם ע' 319, תרגום עזן מאיר-לוי.

Parashat Balak: Blessing, Disaster and Kindness

Parashat Balak descends from the heights of prophetic poetry to the depths of sin, failed leadership, and punishment.

The story begins when Balak, king of Moab, is horrified at the sight of tens of thousands of Israelites massed along his border. He attempts to hire Balaam’s services to curse them and remove the threat. Balaam initially rejects his request, at the command of God, who clearly states, “Do not go with them. You must not curse that people, for they are blessed.” (Numbers 22:12; translation: RJPS, except as noted). But the messengers do not report Balaam’s complete answer to the king. Balak, for his part, mistakenly thinks that his offer was not generous enough and sends a more respectable delegation. Surprisingly, God seems to change God’s position, “If the men have come to invite you, you may go with them.” But only with regards to the journey. Regarding the content, God stands firm “But whatever I command you, that you shall do” (Num. 22:20).

Balaam is please and departs with Balak’s delegation. When the embarrassing scene with the jenny (i.e., female donkey) makes it clear that God is using him as an example, Balaam can no longer turn back. In real time, the many sacrifices and changes of locale have no effect. Balaam blesses: “How can I damn whom God has not damned? How doom when God has not doomed? …. Who can count the dust of Jacob, number the dust-cloud of Israel?”
Balak is furious, “What have you done to me?” (Num.23:8, 10, 11). Repeatedly.

From the perspective of Balak and Balaam, the mission failed. The people were blessed and the principle was established: “God is not human to be capricious, or mortal to have a change of heart”(Num. 23:19) or, in the simpler words of Deuteronomy (10:17): “For the Eternal your God… takes no bribe.” 

But we must be careful, loyalty to the covenant does not nullify divine morality or our accountability. Quite the contrary. The prophet Amos leaves no room for doubt, “You alone have I singled out of all the families of the earth—that is why I will call you to account for all your iniquities” (3:2). 

It turns out that Balaam knows that. He can’t curse Israel but — angry and frustrated — he can make them stumble.

It is no coincidence that after Balak and Balaam part ways that “While Israel was staying at Shittim, the people profaned themselves by whoring with the Moabite women, who invited the people to the sacrifices for their god. The people partook of them and worshiped that god.  Thus Israel attached itself to Baal-peor, and GOD was incensed with Israel.” (Num. 25:1-2).
A new low. Even when they sinned with the golden calf, the Israelites did not worship other gods. Rather, they imagined that a statue could represent their true God. In other rebellions, they expressed fears and weak faith or doubted the leaders, but did not descend to prostitution and idolatry.

The causation is not explicit in this chapter but later, in Numbers 31:16, we learn that Balaam exacted his revenge by advising the women of Moab to seduce the Israelites. His exact words do not appear in the Torah, but Rabbis reveal his logic: “The God of these hates lewdness, and they desire linen good. Let me give you some advice: Set up pavilions in the marketplace, and place prostitutes in them...” (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 106a; my translation). In another version, he advices them offer food because “they have nothing but manna to eat” (Avot de-Rabbi Natan, version A, 1:4; my translation). Was this the first time that our enemies learned our weaknesses and used them against us? It certainly wasn’t the last.

Balak’s advice succeeded and God brings a plague upon the Israelites.

Despite God’s command, Moses and the leaders of the people are weak and unresponsive. Chaos rages until Pinchas takes a spear in his hand and the portion ends with bloody violence and 24,000 dead.

Shocking.

But not all is lost. The covenant remains in force. In the haftara, the prophet Micah shows us the way. After explicitly mentioning Balak, Balaam, and the deeds of Shittim, the prophet clarifies again that God cannot be ameliorated with sacrifices, but rather 

“You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what God requires of you: only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk modestly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

God’s mercy can be aroused and God’s anger softened not with ritual through justice and kindness.

Micah's words on the Torah Ark
of Hod veHadar

Do justice by conducting our personal and public lives according to principles of fairness and justice that do not give preference to the wealthy and powerful, and that distribute resources so that the basic needs of all are met.

Loving goodness is more than a pleasant inner feeling. It calls for active love: aiding the needy and weak in society with concrete assistance, feeding the hungry, providing for the homeless and clothing the naked; and being a supportive presence for people in vulnerable situations: the sick and injured, lonely and bereaved. ‎

Walk modestly with your God, without calling attention to ourselves and our acts, as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote: “The greatest beauty grows at the greatest distance from the ego” (God in Search of Man, p. 404).

What is true on the national level, is also true on the personal level. (Bride and groom), you are entering a covenant of marriage under a chuppah that symbolizes a home that is open to the world. May you be wise enough to build your home on foundations of kindness, to each other,  to those around you, and to the world as whole. As the psalmist wrote, 

“The world is built on kindness” (Ps. 89:3, my translation).

Parashat Hukkat: Miriam’s Well(?)

Hebrew

My name is Miriam.

I am a prophet.

There’s also a well; many wells actually, but they aren’t mine.

Let me explain.

Already at a young age, there were moments when God blessed me with the ability to see things clearly, even in a fog. This was the case when my parents separated following Pharaoh’s decrees. In the midst of the fear and grief that enveloped us, I understood that if my outstanding parents were to demonstrate fortitude and hope by bringing a new life into the world, despite everything, that new person would sow a seed of redemption[1] (honestly, I was hoping for a little sister...).

My mother Yocheved was smart and resourceful. When my brother grew and we could no longer hide him, she set him afloat on the Nile, at a time and in a place where Pharaoh’s daughter could be expected to appear. She also prepared me to take immediate action, with a plan that would return him home.[2] We succeeded, and my brother’s story is famous. I haven't told anyone what happened to me until now.

While I was hiding among the reeds, the water enchanted me. I returned to the banks the Nile many times. I gazed at the water, both in the river, and when rose and overflowed its banks. I learned how water flows, how it is absorbed into the soil, and how the ground appears after it retreats. Deep inside, I knew that one day this information would be important. Another aspect of prophecy.

Years passed. The seed of redemption sprouted. We left Egypt. After crossing through the sea, facing the reeds, I rose up singing and swept all the women after me with timbrels and dancing.

We rose up and came crashing down. There was no potable water at Marah. Or at Rephidim. We weren’t in Egypt. There’s no Nile in the desert, and we didn’t know how to find water in the wilderness. At Marah, my brother sweetened the water with a trick he had learned years earlier, on his way to Midian. At Rephidim, God arranged for water to flow from a rock. Miracles and wonders. Real ones. But inadequate to provide for the needs of an entire nation for a one-and-a-half or two years (according to the original plan) in an arid region.

A well in the Sinai desert
(Thomasccnawiki via Wikimedia Commons)

I left the camp, surveyed the area, and examined the terrain. I took a pointed stick, tested the ground, dug some holes and found water.

As a token of gratitude, the people wanted to name the well after me. I was flattered, but I also wanted them to learn from me. My wisdom and knowledge stemmed, in part, from prophecy, but also from careful observation, patience, and effort. I couldn’t find any apprentices.

Our time in the desert was extended beyond expectations. Far beyond expectations. I’ve grown old. My vision has deteriorated. My legs have weakened. I worry that I do not have long to live. We arrived in Kadesh yesterday. I am no longer able to leave the camp, survey the terrain and identify the location of the spring. What will happen? I’m afraid; not of death, but for the people.

“For their sakes, do not withhold water…..”[3] “Into God’s hands, I place my soul.”[4]

“Miriam died there and was buried there and the community was without water” (Num. 20:1-2)

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[1] Babylonian Talmud Sotah 12a

[2] For details of Yocheved’s perspective see “The Heritage of Yocheved.”

[3] Prayer for rain said on Shmini Atzeret,

[4] Adon Olam hymn

Parashat Tzav–Shabbat HaGadol: Matza and Leavened Bread in the Temple

Hebrew

Among the details of the sacrifices prescribed in Parashat Tzav there is point of connection point with the upcoming Passover holiday: matza.

The instructions related to the minha offering, which consists primarily of semolina flour, state: “What is left of it shall be eaten by Aaron and his sons; it shall be eaten as unleavened cakes, in the sacred precinct; they shall eat it in the enclosure of the Tent of Meeting. It shall not be baked with leaven; I have given it as their portion from My offerings by fire; it is most holy, like the purgation offering and the reparation offering” (Leviticus 6:9-10). The prohibition of leaven applies to all sacrifices except for two cases in which it is explicitly stated that leavened bread must be brought: on Shavuot (Lev. 23:17) and thanksgiving offerings (Lev 7:12-15). Even in these cases, the leavened bread was brought to the Temple but not placed on the altar.

Why is leavened bread unsuitable of being offered on the altar? First of all, I categorically reject the line of thought that compares leaven, “the residue of dough” to the evil inclination. The origin of this idea is apparently in the fact that until yeast was marketed as a separate product, in approximately 1870, all bread was sourdough bread that was leavened by a starter, a piece of dough saved from the previous batch. But that dough is not dirty, rather it is a prime medium for growing one of the wonders of nature: natural yeast.[1] If you add it (or its cousin, industrial yeast) to a mixture of flour and water (and preferably salt), you can produce a wide variety of breads. This requires knowledge, experience, talent and time. You can also add creativity and love.

Matza is the opposite. Baking halachic matza for Passover is subject to many limitations and conditions, but in principle, baking unleavened bread is a quick and simple process. Compared to baking leavened bread, it can also be seen as a process that was cut-off in the middle.[2]

And that’s exactly the point.

Most offerings are meant to express the person’s dependence on God. In relationship to God, every person is always a “work in progress.” Therefore, it is appropriate for the offering to be somehow incomplete. This is even more true of Passover, which takes us back to the beginning of our journey as a people. The newborn people is consumes the simplest bread, just as we feed infants semolina porridge.[3]

How are the Shavuot and thanksgiving offerings different?

These are moments when a person experiences, even if only for a limited time, a completed process. In the Torah, Shavuot marks the beginning of the season in which the farmers of the Land of Israel brought Bikkurim, first fruits, to the Temple. In the ripe fruit, human labor brings the potential of creation to fruition; therefore, it is appropriate for offering to include leavened bread, which combines ingredients from nature with human knowledge and effort.

The thanksgiving offering was also brought to mark the end of a process, one in which a person was rescued from a life-threatening situation. The thanksgiving sacrifice includes three types of bread: matzah, unleavened flatbread, and a loaf of fully risen bread. Together, they symbolize the journey from fear and despair to rescue and life. On this journey, it can be said that God has helped a person fully realize the potential of their efforts.

From this perspective, the first fruits and thanksgiving offering reflect each other. Both are intended to express the gratitude a person feels when a process has been successfully completed. Therefore, it is appropriate that they include leavened bread.

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[1] See also Shoshana Michael Zucker, “The Wonder of Bread Baking”

[2] This idea is developed at greater length by Rabbi Yoel Bin-Nun in Hebrew, with an abridged English version  

[3] For the relationship between feeding simple food to infants and the initial break with Egyptian culture, see Shoshana Michael Zucker, “Parashat Tetzaveh 5781: A Basket of Matzah.”

Parashat Ki Tisa: From Moses' Diary

Hebrew

I haven’t written for a few weeks because I’ve been insanely busy.

Consumed by situations more complex than I could have imagined.

When I was herding Jethro’s flock and stopped to see the burning bush that was not consumed, and heard a voice speaking from within the fire – a voice that could not be ignored – demanding that I go to Pharaoh in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, I was incredulous. How could I stand up to Pharaoh? How could slaves escape Egypt? Nothing like that had ever been done. The task was difficult but clear: I represented God and the Israelites, the good ones. We faced off against wicked Pharaoh. Both sides were stubborn. It took some time and Divine power was needed to tip the scale, but good won out and we left. After God saved us in the terrifying moment at the Reed Sea, I was sure that everything would now go smoothly until we reached the Promised Land. I was wrong.

The scene Moses
preferred not
to recount*

What happened? The Holy Blessed One summoned me to his “office” (if it may be said) to receive a protocol of everything that happened, plus all the laws and instructions, so that they would not be forgotten. That seemed reasonable. I entrusted Aaron and Hur with responsibility for minding the camp, without specifying when I would return. I had no idea how long it would take, not to mention that in the eyes of Heaven, a thousand years are like a single day.[2]
Time flew, the people lost patience, lost faith, and...
No, I don't want to repeat the details. You can read them in the protocol. 

Our water and food ran out. The miraculous solutions God provided were insufficient to remove slavery from the minds and hearts of the people. I began to realize that there was a long way to go. I hoped that the impressive revelation at Mount Sinai, the detailed laws for an orderly life once we reach the land, and the grand team-building project,[1] constructing the Tabernacle, would smooth the path. Again, I was disappointed.

I found myself caught between God, who was furious with jealousy, and God’s own people. In God’s wrath, God even threatened to destroy the people because they are so stiff-necked and stubborn. Suddenly, I discovered how much I loved them, despite all their shortcomings. I could not handle hearing those threats. So, "I grabbed the Holy Blessed One, as a person grabs a friend by the garment would, and said: Sovereign of the Universe, I will not let You be until You forgive and pardon them.”[3] God did indeed calm down, and repented of the evil that God had planned to do to the people (Exodus 32:14). A long process began, not only punishment and repentance on the part of the people, but also a new formulation of God’s attributes. The jealousy and demanding punishment highlighted at Sinai (20:5) were now replaced with mercy, graciousness and long-suffering forgiveness (34:6). Contrary to God’s initial understanding, God now forgave the people specifically because of their stiff-necked stubbornness (34:9).[4]

Tomorrow, I will continue my work judging the people. I hope that I will be able to follow God’s example, and implement a fair judging process that understands what has brought the person to this point, without eliminating accountability. Woe to a society that ignores accountability, and woe to a society whose judges do not see the unique person in front of them.

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[1] Thank you to Sally Ben-Moshe for that formulation, in the Hod veHadar parasha class.

[2] Psalm 90:4. Thanks to my study partner Reb Joni Brenner for pointing out the relevance of the gap between heavenly and earthly time in this situation. 

[3]  Bavli Berakhot 32a with slight changes.

[4] As pointed out by Rabbi Ronald Price, in Divrei Halev: Thoughts of Rabbi Professor David Weiss Halivni on the Weekly Torah Portion; cf. Rabbi Shai Held, “Before and After the Flood: Or it All Depends on How You Look” in The Heart of Torah, vol. 1.

*Philip  De Vere, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons