Camp has started. Our 18 year old began her staff week late last week. My wife left for camp on Sunday and I dropped off our son this past Tuesday. A friend of mine, a self-identified Orthodox Jew and avid supporter of Israel, and I chatted for a few moments at the camp before I left. He mentioned that he has participated in the recent protests out the offices of the OU. I asked why he was protesting. He explained that he felt that the OU had sold their soul to a corrupt administration in order to for support for Israel. He explained that the OU should be a little more judicious in their praise of leaders and that support and praise must be based upon something more than just support for Israel. He went on to say that in the long run, he worried that support from divisive leaders, is bad for Israel and bad for the Jews. He worried that Israel has become a partisan issue. We spoke for a few more minutes and he explained that many in his community share a similar perspective. While support for Israel (the message) matters, so does the messenger.
This Shabbat we read from Parsha Balak. Balak was a King of Moab. He heard of Bnai Yisroel’s most recent victory against the Amorites and he understood that fighting Bnai Yisroel would mean certain defeat. Balak decided that invoking God and cursing Bnai Yisroel would be a better way of defeating Bnai Yisroel. So Balak hired a prophet named Balaam to curse Bnai Yisroel. Balak paid a large sum for Balaam’s curse. However try as he might, Balaam was unable to curse Bnai Yisroel. Since Balaam's donkey wouldn't even move, Balaam could not even get close enough to issue a curse. Finally, when Balaam actually drew near enough, made the necessary offerings and then tried to curse Bnai Yisroel, only Brachot (blessings) came out of his mouth. The Parsha concludes with Bnai Yisroel encamped on the Eastern side of the Jordan River on the plains of Moab and Balak thinking of another way to weaken Bnai Yisroel. He had the Moabite women to seduce the men of Bnai Yisroel. Once seduced, the men would start engaging in idolatry and the result was God grew angry with Bnai Yisroel and indeed, they were punished with a horrible plague. Only Pinchas’s (Aharon's grandson) vigilance stopped the plague.
Two questions we taught our children to ask are questions that the Jewish people have always asked. Is it good for the Jews? Is it good for Israel? The Talmudic Rabbis have great difficulty in answering these age-old question regarding Bilaam, the Prophet for hire that was supposed to curse Israel but blessed Israel instead. Some of the Midrashim (Rabbinic comments) compare Bilaam to Abraham Moses and Jacob as a non-Jewish alternative (Sifre, Zot HaBracha section 16). However in the Targum Yonatan in the Jerusalem Talmud and Rashi’s comment in Sanhedrin 105a refers to a tradition of comparing Bilaam to Laban. According to the Midrash in Breishit Rabbah God spoke to both Laban and Bilaam in the evening. Both Laban and Bilaam misuse their words. Laban hoodwinked and tricked Jacob into working for him as an indentured servant form nearly two decades. The Passover Hagaddah tells us that Laban wanted to uproot everything simply by keeping Jacob near him rather than leaving and becoming independent. Had Jacob and the children (Laban’s grandchildren) remained with Laban, then Israel would have been subsumed by Laban’s tribe. Bilaam also wants to destroy Israel. He tries to curse B’nai Yisroel on numerous occasions only to utter an incredibly beautiful blessing: Mah Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov (How Goodly Are Your Tents O’ Jacob…) However it is also Bilaam who noticing the morality and the purity of B’nai Yisroel’s camp (Rashi’s comment in Num.24:5); called on King Balak to send the Moabite and Midianite daughters to seduce the men of Israel both sexually and religiously: VaTikrena L’Am L’Zivchei Eloheihen VaYochal Ha’Am VaYishtachu L’Eloheihen - They (the daughters of Moab and Midian) invited the people (B’nai Yisroel) to the feasts of their gods; the people ate and prostrated themselves to their (the Moabite and Midianite Gods). Israel was threatened both physically and spiritually, first with food and drink, and then by worshipping Baal Peor. By creating and initiating this plan designed to get the Jews to assimilate, some Rabbinic Sages consider Bilaam to be even more evil and more dangerous than Laban.
I wished my friend a good summer hoping he enjoyed his work at the camp and looked forward to seeing him when I pick up our kids. I drove off wondering about the conversation with my Orthodox Jewish friend, I wondered about his community. I wondered if supporting Israel is enough or do I need to also worry about all those messengers, the type of people that support Israel. When I returned, I sent my friend an email asking him what message did the protesters want to convey. My friend responded by telling me that those who protest outside the OU offices, those who participate in the Protest Mincha outside the OU offices are reminding Jewish Leadership that it in this complex, politicized era, we need to pay attention to the messenger as well as the message then evaluate whether the messenger is good for Israel and the Jews. I was re-assured that like the Sages, we need to continue asking the same questions.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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