Walking humbly

Balak

Numbers 22:2 - 25:9

Précis: Balak, the King of Moab, is fearful because of the success of the Israelites in war against other peoples. He hires a local magician named Balaam to place a curse upon the Israelites. Balaam begins the journey riding upon his ass, which refuses to proceed and actually talks to Balaam, protesting Balaam’s foul treatment of the poor beast. Balaam sees an angel and refuses to complete Balak’s mission. Balak reiterates his command to Balaam to curse the Israelites, but instead Balaam pronounces a blessing, frustrating Balak. The parasha ends with an interesting narrative episode: Pinchas, the grandson of Aaron, sees an Israelite having sexual relations with a Midianite woman (a violation of a commandment not to fraternize with the local population), and he slays both of them and, in the process, staves off a plague that had been threatening the Israelites.

            While the vast majority of my weekly musings on the parasha have been aimed at the Torah reading, this week I wanted to look at a verse in the haftarah.

            The final verse of this week's haftarah reading from the prophet Micah (6:8), provides an insight into the story of Balaam and his donkey. Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut offers a poignant translation of this well-known verse: "Mortals/People have told you what is good, but what does the Eternal seek from you? Only this: to do justly, and love mercy, and walk humbly with your God."

            In this Torah portion, the mortals Balak and Balaam demonstrate what they think is “good,” namely: to fear alien people (in this case, the Israelites); to take up arms against them; to curse them; to use violence against an innocent animal; to punish those who disagree with them; to allow anger to rage out of control; not to listen to advice or information; and to use a God-given talent (blessing and cursing) in the service of murder.

            What does this story suggest that God seeks of people? The answer seems the opposite of nearly every tendency they (we?) have. By means of this story, God would have us love the “other;” resist the urge to take up arms; understand and accept that others may disagree with us; keep our anger under control; listen to the wisdom of others; and use our talents for good.

            This is a very tall order, and we will certainly fall short of these lofty goals because we live in a world which can and does take advantage of such efforts. But that is not an excuse to keep from trying.

The dangers of gossip

Dear Friends and Family: While I announced my retirement last week, and said the weekly d'var would be more occasional, it turns out that I'm ready this week. Some habits are hard to break. It's likely that there will be a hiatus for the next 2 or 3 weeks. Shabbat Shalom

B’haalot’cha

Numbers 8:1 - 12:16

Précis: The parasha begins with a description of the making of the seven-branched menorah, a (the?) central Jewish symbol. Next, the Levites are given specific directions for their duties. The parasha returns to narrative with a recounting of a second Passover celebration (required because some of the Israelites had been ritually impure when the first anniversary of Passover was celebrated). Next comes a discussion of the making of silver trumpets. The cloud of God’s Presence lifts, and the march of the People through the wilderness from Sinai begins, led by the Ark of the Covenant. The people begin to murmur, this time about a lack of meat. God provides, but the People are struck with a plague. This time, even Miriam and Aaron seem to have complaints about Moses, cast in terms of their critique about his “Cushite woman.” Moses is stressed by the demands of leadership.

Num. 12:1-2 “And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses about the Cushite wife whom he had taken, because he had taken a Cushite wife. And they said, ‘Has Adonai only spoken through Moses? Has not Adonai also spoken through us?’”

            We find in this parasha a fairly unusual occurrence: God imposes punishment immediately upon Miriam (a prophet in her own right!) following her criticism of her brother Moses. (Interestingly, Aaron does not seem to be on the receiving end of God’s wrath, but that is a d’var for another occasion.) God seems angry with both of them for gossiping about Moses, or perhaps because they are voicing a complaint also made by Korah about the uniqueness of Moses’ leadership and authority. As punishment, Miriam's skin turns leprous. Aaron seeks the intervention of Moses, who makes one of the few prayers reported in the Five Books: "O God, pray heal her." Miriam is healed.

            Traditional commentators state that Miriam’s punishment was the result of gossip (lashon hara). The Sages believe that this sin is perhaps one of the most vicious to be committed, and demand that gossip be avoided, even if true. (There may be exceptions if a person has a legitimate need to know about the matter, for the safety of others.)

            A well-known Chassidic tale highlights this traditional aversion to lashon hara. A man had the habit of bad-mouthing his rabbi. One day, the man approached the rabbi, having recognized his sins and begging for forgiveness. The rabbi told the man to take a feather pillow out into the field on a particularly windy day, beat it, and release all of the feathers. The man complied with the rabbi’s request, and returned to him. The rabbi then insisted that he return to the field and collect all of the wind-tossed feathers. When the man protested about the impossibility of the new task, the rabbi responded by telling him that the task was just as impossible as it would be to repair the damage to the rabbi’s reputation caused by words of gossip, which spread like feathers in the windy field.

            We can learn from this episode an important lesson. All of us come into possession of knowledge about others which, if spread about, would cause terrible harm. We can act as appropriate models by refusing to engage in conversations with anyone which contain gossip.