Parashat Balak

summary

The narrative of the final years in the wilderness is interrupted by a novella contained in Parashat Balak (Numbers 22:2 - 25:9). It takes its title from Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab. Afraid that the Israelites will attack his nation, Balak sends messengers to invite Balaam ben Beor, a well-known pagan seer, to come and curse the Israelites.

At first, God forbids Balaam to grant Balak's requests. Then the seer is sent but told that he must say only what God commands. On the way, Balaam's donkey sees an angel standing before her and refuses to go forward. Balaam beats her. After the donkey protests that she is being mistreated, Balaam himself sees the angel. Fearful, he asks if he should return home but the angel tells him to continue warning once again that he should only say what God commands.

On three occasions, King Balak asks Balaam to curse the Israelites but each time the seer blesses them. Furious, Balak tells Balaam to return home. In parting, the seer predicts that Israel will soon "smash the brow of Moab".

Later, when the Israelites camp in Shittim, some of them have sex with Moabite women and offer sacrifices to the Moabites' god. As a result, they are punished with a plague. When Pinchas, son of Eleazar the priest, witnesses an Israelite entering a tent with a Moabite woman, he takes a spear and kills both of them. His action ends the plague after 24,000 Israelites have died.

I do urge you to read the novella contained in this week's parasha. It contains some beautiful poetry and of course, a wonderful story. The modern biblical commentator, Jacob Milgrom, suggests that each one of Balaam's poems relates to the people of Israel's future. Indeed, they all contain anxiety for the future and fear for the unknown dangers that lay ahead.

As we learn more and more about last week's terrorist attacks, at times we will find that our reaction is like that of Pinchas, wanting to stop a situation by violent means. As we learn in next week's parasha and its interpretations, the portion is named after Pinchas and he is, on a number of levels, seen to be rewarded for his actions.

There are times when a violent response is considered the only way forward. Judaism does not support martyrdom and supports one killing in order to save one's own life. However, these are not times or events that fit easily into either category. It seems to me that we can only leave decisions on aggressive actions to those we empower to use it. Our task is that of rodef shalom - pursuing peace. If we have never before engaged in interfaith dialogue, then perhaps now is a time to begin. Dialogue should not be the sole domain of the liberal. If we have strong views it is important that we communicate them as well as thoughts of well-being and far better in that format than elsewhere.

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