Netvort Balak 5772:    Rise and Shine

By Rabbi Joshua (Insomniaclly known as the Hoffer) Hoffman

The Torah tells us that Bilam arose (va-yakam) in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the officers of Moav who were attempting to get him to curse the Jewish nation (Bamidbar 22:22). The Midrash, cited by Rashi, says that hatred disrupts the usual order of things, and that is why Bilam saddled the donkey himself rather than having his attendant do so. God however, said to Bilam that Avrohom already preceded him, as it says in regard to the akeidah that Avrohom arose early in the morning (va-yashkem), meaning earlier than Bilam arose, and saddled his own donkey (Bereishis, 22:3). We learn from Avrohom that love also disrupts the usual order of things. Simply understood, all of this means that while Bilam arose in the morning to defy God’s will, Avrohom arose even earlier in the morning to comply with God’s will, thereby providing the Jewish nation with the merit to overcome Bilam’s efforts. I believe, however, that there is a more specific connection between Bilam’s intentions and Avraham’s actions at the akeidah.

The Talmud (Sanhedrin 105b) tells us that from Bilam’s blessings we can discern what his real intentions were. Case and point, says the Talmud, is the verse “How goodly are your tents Yaakov, your dwelling places Yisroel” (Bamidbar, 24:5). The Gemara in Bava Basra (60a) says that Bilam was praising the Jewish home which was marked by its modesty in that the entrances of the various tents were not aligned opposite each other. The Talmud in Sanhedrin, however, says that what he really intended to say was that the study halls and synagogues of Israel should cease to exist. God, however, transformed his curse into a blessing. How did this blessing regarding the Jewish home reflect his hidden desire to destroy the study halls and synagogues? Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l explains that Bilam was saying that the Jewish home is so perfect that there is no need for synagogues and study halls. Bilam himself, however, understood that no matter how strong the home is, these institutions are crucial for the spiritual survival of the Jewish nation and that is why he endeavored to destroy them. With this understanding of Bilam’s intentions, we can understand how Avraham’s actions at the akeidah combated the intentions of Bilam.

We have mentioned in the past the explanation of the akeidah offered by my teacher Rav Aharon Soloveitchik zt”l (see his book The Warmth and the Light, on parshas VaYeira, and the article “Small Sacrifices”). The Midrash notes that on the way to the akeidah, Avrohom was always walking together with Yitzchok, but after the akeidah only Avrohom is mentioned as leaving the scene. Where was Yitzchok? The Midrash says that Avrohom sent him to study Torah in the yeshiva. Even though Yitzchok was at that time already thirty seven years old, Avrohom had not yet sent him away from home to study. Rav Aharon zt”l explained that Yitzchok was the son who Avrohom had yearned for until he was a hundred and he found it very difficult to part with him. Moreover, he probably assumed that the best place for Yitzchok to learn Torah was at home. However, there is no substitute for the total environment of the yeshiva and the intensity of the learning that is done there. The purpose of the akeidah, according to the Ramban, was to bring Avraham’s potential, inner strength, into actuality. Rav Aharon explained this to mean that Avrohom needed to convince himself of his own inner strength. Through the akeidah he realized he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice of giving his son back to God. He thereby understood that if he could make that ultimate sacrifice he could make the small daily sacrifice of being separated from his son while he learned in yeshiva as well. Thus, Avraham’s alacrity at the akeidah moved him to realize that even the strongest of Jewish homes needs the additional influence of the yeshiva. In this way he overcame the efforts of Bilam to destroy the institution of yeshiva as well as destroy the institution of the synagogue.

Interestingly, the Gemara in Sanhedrin concludes by saying that all of Bilam’s blessings reverted eventually to curses, with the exception of his intentions to do away with the study halls and synagogues. Rashi explains that these institutions will always exist amongst the Jewish nation. However, I once heard from Rav Irving Grumer, head of the Rabbinical Court of Cleveland, Ohio, an additional explanation. He said that God caused all of the blessings of Bilam to revert to curses, but he left it in our hands to determine whether Bilam’s intentions to nullify the study halls and synagogues will be fulfilled. We will always have study halls and synagogues, Rashi says, but we can turn them into curses if we do not attend them for study and prayer. May we continue to use these institutions properly and merit the rebuilding of the Temple speedily in our days.

We here at Netvort wish everyone in Netvort-land an easy and meaningful fast this coming Sunday.