From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 11:39
AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas Balak,
5767
You Just Don't Get It
By Rabbi Joshua (incomprehensibly known as The Hoffer)
Hoffman
Bilaam rides on his 'ason,' or she-donkey, preparing to curse
the Jewish people and then sees a sword-bearing angel of God blocking its way,
and veers off the road. Bilaam then strikes it and continues on his way. This
happens a second time, and Bilaam again hits his animal and continues on. The
third time the she-donkey sees the angel, she crouches beneath Bilaam, who again
hits her. God then gives her the ability to speak, and she asks Bilaam why he
hit her three times. Bilaam explains his actions, and the she-donkey
protests that she has always been loyal to him, and he should have realized that
something was wrong, and not taken out his frustrations on her. Suddenly, the
angel of God appears to Bilaam, explains what had happened, and tells him that
had the animal not veered from the road, he would have killed Bilaam and let the
animal stay alive. Bilaam responds that if what he was on his way to do was
wrong, he would go back home. The angel tells him to continue on his way, but to
take care and only say that which is placed in his mouth to say.
Rashi notes that when the
she-donkey asks Bilaam why he hit her three times, she uses the expression
'shalosh regalim,' rather than the more usual 'shalosh peamim.' He cites a
midrash which explains that this was an allusion to the 'shalosh
regalim,' the three pilgrimage festivals of Pesach, Shavuos and Sukkos, which
the Jews observe by coming to the Temple to encounter God's presence, so to
speak, and bring sacrifices to Him. The message to Bilaam was that he would not
be able to uproot this nation which had the merit of observing these three
festivals. We need to understand why it was this specific merit that thwarted
Bilaam's plan. What is unique about this observance that countered Bilaam's
attempt to curse the Jewish people? Rabbi Shimon Schwab z"l, in his Ma'ayan Beis
HaShoeivah, understands the allusion to the shalosh regalim as referring to the
aspect of 'schar halicha,' or the reward one receives for every step he takes on
his way to the Temple to observe the various festivals. This merit stood against
the steps Bilaam took in his attempt to curse the nation. This explanation,
however,does not give us an insight into the essential fault in Bilaam's quest.
I would like to offer an alternative explanation, based on a further comment of
Rabbi Schwab in regard to a different question, that will help us understand
where Bilaam, who, according to the Tanna deBei Eliyahu Rabbah (chapter 25)
possessed greater wisdom than even Moshe Rabbeinu, went wrong.
Rabbi Schwab notes the amazing fact
that Bilaam did not seem to be affected by the phenomenon of his she-donkey
speaking to him.This was, as we learn in Pirkei Avos, one of the miracles that
was incorporated into creation at twilight of the sixth day. Still, Bilaam
reacted by conducting a conversation with the animal, rather than being filled
with awe over witnessing this miracle. Rabbi Schwab suggests that this was due
to the fact that Bilaam was an evil man, a 'rasha,' who only cared
about fulfilling his own desires, and had no room in his life for
for higher things. Bilaam's evil nature is articulated in Avos (5:22), where we
are told that he had an evil eye, a haughty spirit and a greedy soul. Rabbi
Schwab then goes on to say that we, in our own lives, need to be open to the
wonders that we see all around us, and use them as a means of attaining love and
fear of God, as the Rambam teaches in his Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah. He cites Rav
Yerucham Levovitz, the great mashgiach, or spiritual guidance counselor, of the
Mir Yeshiva in pre-WWII Europe, as saying that we should be as filled with awe
over the blessing that we make on a glass of water as we are by the blessing we
make when we hear thunder or see lightning. Rabbi Schwab himself once related
that when he told Rav Yosef Breuer of the awe he felt when he saw the rising of
the sun through the window of an airplane, Rav Beuer responded that he feels
that when he sees daisies. Based on these comments of Rabbi Schwab, I believe we
can better understand the message that Bilaam was given through the allusion to
the three festivals.
Although each of the three festivals commemorates a specific event in the
history of the Jewish nation, each one also marks a certain point in the
agricultural calendar, as the Torah itself points out. Pesach is a time of
planting, Shavuos is a time of early harvest, and Sukkos is a time of gathering
in many crops. Although these agricultural events may be seen, by some, as
everyday parts of life, they should, in fact, fill us with awe over God's
workings in this world. By going to the Temple and communing with God at these
times, we cultivate the sense of awe that we need to have over everyday
phenomena, and, as a result, are able to better appreciate the miracles that God
wrought for us when he took us out of Egypt, as well. Rav Yosef Dov
Soloveitchik, zt"l, explained, in this way, the great joy that was experienced
on Sukkos in connection with the drawing of water for the nesochim offering.
That joy, he said, came out of a sense of wonder over everyday things, which is
necessary in order to reach a higher level of communion with God.
Bilaam did not have an appreciation for the every day wonders of
this world. Rashi cites a midrash which says that Bilaam had carnal relations
with his she-donkey. This wanton, immoral use of the animal which served him so
loyally bespeaks a corruption of the wonders of the universe. Bilaam had no
sense of awe over the every day phenomena of God's creation as manifested in his
she- donkey, and, as a result, he was unable to feel a sense of awe when God
worked a miracle through that very animal, either. The message of the
three regalim was that Bilaam, who lacked a sense of wonder over the everyday
wonders of the world, would not be able to utilize his prophetic potential to
overcome the Jewish nation, which did have that sense of wonder.
Please address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi
Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.
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