Every Man Is Prophet At The Mercy Of A Fool (Phil Lesh - "Equinox")

            Our 17, 19, and 21-year-old kids begin their summer camp jobs in Pennsylvania this week. The two younger ones will be counselors and the older one will be a unit head. With the packing completed, the car loaded, we headed out.  Our 17-year-old son asked his two older sisters what some of the challenges might be. Knowing that I had been a camp counselor many, years ago; he thoughtfully included me in the conversation.  So, his sisters spoke of their experiences and some of the challenges they had faced with campers. Finally, I spoke up and said that one of the biggest challenges facing their campers is a condition known as “PC”. No, PC doesn’t only stand for “Politically Correct”, PC also stands for Parentally Challenged. Many of their campers will be Parentally Challenged, this condition will manifest itself by being insecure, a misguided desire to “fit in with the cool kids”, or even suffer from severe “homesickness”.  I reminded them that their job is to teach and to demonstrate to their campers how to find “joy” and “happiness” in something other than all the negative stuff that some parents think will make their kids happy.  I reminded them that they had eight weeks to model a value system where a child need not be jealous of others or insecure with who and what they are. 

          This Shabbat we read from Parsha Balak. Balak was a Moabite King. After watching what B’nai Yisroel had done to the Ammonites, Balak was distressed. He realized that fighting B’nai Yisroel with a regular army was doomed to fail because he realized that God had blessed them. Being a clever king, Balak surmised that the only way to fight B'nai Yisroel was to fight them on a spiritual level. Since God blessed B'nai Yisroel, Balak wanted to find someone to curse them. There lived a prophet, a “Prophet Consultant,” a “hired gun” if you will, named Bilaam. King Balak hired Bilaam to curse B’nai Yisroel. God appears to Bilaam and instructs him to avoid cursing B’nai Yisroel. Bilaam ignores God’s instructions and heads off on his donkey towards B’nai Yisroel’s camp. Along the way, the donkey suddenly stops, and despite Bilaam’s prodding, the donkey refuses.  A sword-wielding “angel” appeared and the donkey continued to refuse Bilaam’s prodding. However, Bilaam, the prophet, the seer cannot see this “angel”.  Finally, Bilaam realizes that a divine force occupies the middle of the road and he must confront it. Bilaam listens and heads toward the camp. Looking down upon the encampment, Bilaam blesses B’nai Yisroel with words that we say upon entering into any synagogue, words that we teach our children at the youngest of ages. Ma Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov Mishkenotecha Yisroel – How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel – Kinchalim Nitayu K’ganot Alei Nahar K’Ahalim Natah Adoshem Ka’Arazim Alei Mayim – stretching out like brooks like gardens by the river, like aloes planted by Hashem, like cedars by the water (Num 24:5-6). Try as he might, Bilaam is unable to curse B'nai Yisroel, rather he blesses them.

          However, more than blessing B'nai Yisroel, Bilaam learned something else. He examined B’nai Yisroel and he reflected upon his own life. Whatever B'nai Yisroel has, he wishes it was bottled for his use. Tamot Nafshi Mot Yi’sharim Ut'hi Achariti Kamohu – May my soul die the death of the upright, and may my end be like this. Bilaam, a once materialistic, prophet for hire, looks out upon a peaceful people’s encampment. Bilaam looks out upon a warm caring community in which boundaries are observed, Derech Eretz is respected (the considerate treatment of one’s fellow man), observance of ritual, and the desire of everyone to live as a holy a life as possible is lived out every day in a million and one little ways. Bilaam looks out upon a nation that has achieved a sense of spiritual completeness, Shalem. This is a community that is at peace with itself, with a sense of purpose and destiny. If an entire nation has achieved this, what individual would not want this? Bilaam realized that this spiritual wholeness is attainable. If Bilaam realizes this, why don’t we?

          The community model that Bilaam sees and wants for himself is still possible today. Obviously, it takes work. Obviously, it takes a group of people with similar values, similar goals, and similar concerns for a community’s most vulnerable including children. Obviously, members of a community need to be "on the same page" in terms of spiritual priorities and a desire to learn. Members of a community need to care about one another, while simultaneously respecting each other’s space and privacy. It takes the parents of “parentally challenged kids” to stop worrying if their children will like them.  It takes parents' understanding that children are not little adults but rather children, children that mimic what we say, what we do, and how we behave towards others.  Gee, I can’t wait to hear how our kids handled “PC” kids and their parents.

Peace,
Rav Yitz 

Red and White, Blue Suede Shoes I'm Uncle Sam, How Do You Do? (Robert Hunter / Jerry Garcia - U.S. Blues)

It truly has been a cultural awakening for my son as Canadians celebrated Canada Day and America celebrated Independence Day. Last Sunday we spent a couple of hours at our neighbor’s pool. Our neighbor had some guests over as well whom we met for the first time. As we were talking they realized that we were American. As my son came out of the water, one of the women began asking him questions. Soon the questions left the general polite questions of “What is your name? “How old are you?’ “What is your favorite subject?” and veered into six year old boy’s impression of Canada, the United States and some of the differences. One woman asked my son “Do you like living in Canada?” My son responded yes. Then she asked him if he saw any differences between America and Canada. Our six year old pointed out that in “America we celebrate Independence Day with watching baseball and fireworks. Canada celebrates Canada Day with fireworks and Hockey news. Canada is nice but I like baseball better.” Of course, I agreed. Nothing beats celebrating the 4^th of July than going to a baseball game during the day and fireworks at night. While the calendar suggest that summer is just a couple of weeks old, the season for the “Boys of Summer” heads towards the halfway mark of the season. For baseball fans this means that the trade deadline is approaching. Teams have the opportunity to upgrade talent or discard expensive and or unproductive players. In a sense the fan can either have a renewed sense of hope or despair will not begin to replace the hope that existed way back in the spring. There is something fascinating in watching players switch teams in the middle of a season. There is something fascinating about an older player traded from a bad team to a playoff contender. Frequently, a player that is coveted and available in a trade, while having performed at a high level with the former team, joins the new team and is a complete bust. Sometimes the exact opposite is the case. A player performing at a low level is traded and begins playing wonderfully with the new team. A change of environment seems to have an enormous effect upon these professionals.

This Shabbat is we read Parsha Balak. In the Parsha we read an interesting narrative that is filled with suspense, humor, intrigue, an apparent “midseason trade” and even a happy ending. It is interesting to note that throughout the Parsha, the focus is upon the outside world as it relates to the Bnai Yisroel. That is to say, Balak, the king of Moav and the tribe of Midian are the subjects of the Parsha. Bnai Yisroel hovers as the main reason for why the narrative is pertinent; however for once, Bnai Yisroel is not doing something wrong, they are not recipients of God’s anger. Instead they placidly and temporarily settled on the plains of Moav waiting to enter into Eretz Canaan. Not until the end of the Parsha and only after the narrative of Balak and Bilaam concluded, does the Torah return to a narrative style with Bnai Yisroel as the subject of poor behavior and God’s anger.

Bilaam, a soothsayer is hired by Balak to curse Bnai Yisroel. By cursing Bnai Yisroel, Balak believed that this was the only way to defeat Bnai Yisroel since they had successfully waged war on all the indigenous tribes thus far. The donkey that Bilaam rides upon on his way to cursing Bnai Yisroel refuses to respond to Bilaam, Bilaam grows angrier and angrier. The donkey is able to see an Angel of God in the road and Bilaam the soothsayer cannot. So a humorous conversation between Donkey and Soothsayer occurs (this is the funny part). Bilaam eventually realizes that he is unable to curse Bnai Yisroel. Finally when he is looking from the hills down upon Bnai Yisroel and sees a peaceful, God-fearing community he utters praise instead of curses. Imagine Balak’s anger and frustration? He hires Bilaam to curse B’nai Yisroel, and instead he blesses Bnai Yisroel! Vayomer Balak El Bilaam Meh Asita Li Lakov Oyvai L’Kachticha V’Hinei Beirachta Vareich – Balak said to Bilaam, “What have you done to me! To curse my enemy have I brought you – but behold, you have even blessed!” (Num. 23:11)

Balak’s frustration is something we can all understand. He believed that Bilaam, a powerful soothsayer/prophet was capable of communing with God and deriving the appropriate sign in order to curse Bnai Yisroel. Bilaam’s response is quite revealing: Halo Eit Asher Yasim HaShem B’Fi Oto Eshmor L’Daber! Is it not so that whatever Hashem puts in my mouth, that I must take heed to speak! Essentially Bilaam explains that he can only say what God would have said. Clearly With his plans stymied, Balak leaves Bilaam in great frustration. If Balak could have traded Bilaam for another soothsayer, he probably would have. As awful a person as Balak is, and as mercenary a person Bilaam is, we can learn a lot from the exchange of both men. Balak hired the soothsayer to do a job for which Bilaam was renowned for doing. Bilaam did not live up to his reputation. Had Balak issued a curse himself, even if it failed, at least he would have felt empowered. Remember, Balak is afraid. He knows of Bnai Yisroel’s reputation. He doesn’t stand a chance in a conventional confrontation. If Balak had been educated and was knowledgeable in the arts of “curse issuing”, then Balak’s frustration would have been directed at God and himself.

How often do we blame others for our shortcoming and our ignorance? How often do we feel uncomfortable in shul, sitting in prayer, neither understanding neither what we are saying nor why we are saying it? How often do we read the Parsha and not realize how these words and its message connect to our soul? How often do wait to be inspired by the words of a Rabbi or the notes sung by the Shaliach Tzibbur? The fact of the matter is that we need to turn inwards, towards our soul. There in our own soul we will find holiness. There in our own soul will we derive the impetus to ask questions, to learn, and to make Judaism more meaningful. Rather than trading for another player –looking outwards; teams decide to stick with the personnel that they have and commit to playing better, commit to exerting greater effort, working harder. They look inward and renew the sense of commitment and purpose.

Peace,

Rav Yitz