Halacha Shiur
The Rov will be giving a shiur in Hilchos Tefilla on Shabbos afternoon at 5:30. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend.
Mazel Tov to Mr. and Mrs.Shlomo Rosenstein upon the birth of a baby boy! The shalom zachor will be at the Rosenstein home, 3609 Bancroft Rd. (on the deck) at 9:30 pm. The bris will be in shul on Sunday morning, shacharis at 8:30 and bris at 9:10. We wish them much nachas!
We would like to welcome our newest member to the kehilla:
Rabbi and Mrs. Shlomo Bergman
We are so glad that you have decided to join our shul!
At the request of the yeshiva, we ask that everyone please take their personal belongings home with them this week.
Have a wonderful Shabbos!
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Dvar Torah
A Light Unto The Nations
In Parshas Balak, Balak and Bila’am decided to attack the Jewish nation. After their attempts to curse the Jewish nation failed, they convinced the nation of Midyan to stoop to an unprecedented low and use their women to entice the Jewish males to sin. Their scheme worked on a small fraction of the Jewish nation, and as punishment, 24,000 Jews perished. In this week’s Parshah, the Jewish nation is instructed by Hashem to exact retribution and destroy the nation of Midyan (Balak's people; as per Rashi 22:4). The Jewish nation succeeded in doing so, and killed Bila’am as well. The Torah states that our instruction to attack Midyan was purely a retaliation for what they did to us (31:2; See Rashi). Indeed, had they not attacked us, we never would have battled them. Rather, we would have simply traveled peacefully through their land. Clearly, Balak and Bila’am’s scheme backfired in the worst possible way.
The author of the Shem MiShmuel, R’ Shmuel Bornsztain, points out that Balak and Bila’am were wise men. In fact, Bila’am was the greatest gentile prophet in history. What caused them to make the rash decision to attack Hashem’s chosen people; the very nation that Hashem had rescued from Egypt through open miracles? Hadn’t they heard what Hashem had done to the Egyptians? Didn’t they realize that Hashem would severely punish them as well? Furthermore, the Gemara states that Bila’am’s strategy to curse the Jews, was to do so at a specific time when Hashem would be more likely to be convinced to allow the Jewish nation to be harmed (Avodah Zarah 4a-4b; Berachos 7a. Also, see Balak 23:27, and Rashi 22:20). Despite this, Hashem still refused to listen to him. What hope did Bila'am really feel that he had in successfully cursing the Jewish nation? Didn’t he realize that he would not be able to convince Hashem to allow the Jewish nation to be harmed, no matter what strategy he concocted? Lastly, what caused Balak and Bila’am, as well as the nation of Midyan, to attack the Jewish nation in the first place? They were at no risk of harm! All the Jews intended on doing was to peacefully pass through their land. Didn’t these wise men realize that the Jewish nation had no intention whatsoever to attack them? Had they just remained on the sidelines, and let the Jewish nation peacefully pass by, they would have survived as a nation. What caused them to make the foolish decision to attack?
In his infamous book, Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler, may his name rot forever and ever, explained why he hated the Jewish nation. What he wrote is quite surprising. Instead of accusing the Jewish people of things that are common for anti-Semites to blame on the Jews, he explained as follows: the Jew is a representative of G-d. A Jew represents the notion that every human being can push themselves to live their lives to perfection and live a holy life filled with morals and withholding from villainous and base desires. A Jew is a reminder that one should focus on giving charity, taking care of others, and not to devote one’s life to selfish indulgence and narcissism. Hitler explained that THIS was the very reason why he wanted to destroy them. For without the Jew, the world would no longer be weighed down by a conscience and would be free to follow their sinful desires without feeling any pangs of guilt whatsoever.
The Shem MiShmuel explains that THIS was what Bila’am and Balak were concerned about as well. They were fine with the Jews serving Hashem in the desert. They were content with them being un-relatable nomads who “oddly" devoted themselves to something greater than their own selfish desires, and in a style that seemed extremely difficult to follow. However, what they could not handle was when they became aware that the Jewish nation was headed to Eretz Yisroel, and was going to henceforth demonstrate, en masse, that one can live an uplifted life even within the confines of regular society and normal life. They didn’t feel comfortable with the idea that the Jewish nation would demonstrate that one can, and should, be just as spiritual with mundane matters like money (being honest in business, taking care of the poor, making chessed organizations), social interactions (not speaking ill of others), etc. , as they are in their temples and houses of prayer. They were fine with the concept that spirituality can only be pursued if you separate yourself as much as possible from physicality. However, they did not like the reminder that one can be equally holy by uplifting physicality, through living normal lives within the instructions of the Torah. Simply put, they didn’t like the idea of a conscience moving towards the mainland. This is what prompted them to attack, by whatever means necessary.
Furthermore, they understood that the Jewish nation’s positive example would cast a bad light on their nations in the eyes of Hashem. Until this point, the Jewish nation only proved that one could live spiritually if they live in a secluded desert, away from all physicality. That, they could handle. However, if the Jewish nation would settle into a permanent land and still live uplifted lives, following every word of G-d and even carrying out their “mundane” activities for the sake of Hashem, that was something that they understood would make them look bad. Therefore, they tried to stop the Jews from entering Eretz Yisroel. Balak and Bila'am did not intend to convince Hashem to destroy the Jewish nation; that would obviously be impossible. Rather, they hoped to convince Hashem to keep the Jewish nation in the desert, (in the elevated status that they had acquired in the desert), and never bring them into regular society. Hashem disagreed, and responded that His nation could reach even GREATER heights by following His will through the course of normal life, and so, Balak and Bila’am were punished severely. (See Shem MiShmuel on Parshas Balak, Shnas Tuf’Reish’Ayin, and Tuf’Reish’Ayin’Bais)
Living Inspired
Sometimes, one’s role is best understood through the eyes of his enemy, which is certainly the case in this regard. The purpose of a Jew is to truly be a light unto the nations; To demonstrate that one can and should live a holy, meaningful and exalted life even within what looks like regular and mundane life. Indeed, every Jew does so on a regular basis. Let’s illustrate with the following:
One says a Bracha on the Torah one time daily, in the morning prayers. The Sages ask why this is so? When it comes to all other brachos, like on food for example, one must make a new bracha each and every time that he eats. Why is the blessing on Torah different? Why when it comes specifically to this blessing, does it work all day long, despite the many breaks one takes from learning Torah?
The Divrei Chamudois explains that, in truth, a Jew never really takes a break from Torah. You see, every second of his day, he is busying himself with it. To paraphrase his words - Every moment a man wears a yamuka or tzitzis, or a girl dresses modestly, he and she are adhering to the Torah. Every time you watch your language, hold back your temper, and don’t sin, you are fulfilling the Torah. A Jew, by definition, can and usually does keep the Torah and serve his Creator every single second of his day (Brachos, first Perek, Ois Ayin Vuv; regarding Rosh Ois Yud Gimmel).
How lucky we are to be Hashem’s chosen people, and to have the opportunity to serve Hashem with every single moment of our lives. May we all merit to be a light unto the nations, successfully uplift every single action that we do by adhering to the Torah, and be the proper example for the world that Hashem intends for us to be.
Gut Shabbos
Rabbi Moishy Pruzansky
