Religious Pluralism | Parashat Hashavua-- The Weekly Torah Portion

Are We Happy with Our Portion? Shabbat Balak (Bamidbar [Numbers] 32:2 - 35:9)

17 Tammuz 5758 / 10-11 July 1998

By Rabbi Amy Levin

This week's parasha is one of the most enjoyable to read and to write about -- especially if you enjoy searching for theological and literary levels seething under the surface of a plot!

The plot itself runs parallel to another dramatic progression, this time in Sh'mot (Exodus). In this post-Sinai passage, God and Moshe are isolated on Mount Sinai. In one vital verse (Sh'mot 31:13) God ties in the keeping of the Sabbath with the sanctity of the people Israel. A sanctification that God Himself has bestowed: "I, YHVH, sanctify you (that's "you" in the plural)". The next event in that Parasha (Ki Tisah) is the theological fall of the people Israel with the creation and worship of the Golden Calf. This, so soon after the collective revelation at Sinai!

In our parasha, Balak, we witness a similar progression. After all the trials and tribulations of his prophecy (a fascinating subject in and of itself), Bila'am repeatedly blesses the people Israel (Bamidbar 23:7-10; 23:18-24; 24:3-9; 24:15-24) and immediately afterwards the people defile themselves with the prostitutes of Moab at Ba'al Pe'or and once again bring down God's wrath upon themselves (25:1-9).

Although the sanctification of Israel by God after the revelation at Sinai is clearly a blessing from the irreproachable Source of all Blessing (which makes the Golden Calf episode so difficult to fathom), it might occur to one to question the authenticity of a series of blessings offered by a pagan seer. Bila'am is, after all, clearly not of the people Israel.

But the experience of Bila'am and the Israelite God is -- despite the bad press that Bila'am receives in later sources -- the development of a true and faithful relationship between God and His chosen prophet. From the very first approach of Balak's messengers, Bila'am insists on relying on the word of the Israelite God: "He [Bila'am] said to them: 

'Spend the night here, and I shall reply to you as the Lord may instruct me.' (22:8)" God, then, speaks to Bila'am directly: "Do not go with them. You must not curse that people, for they are blessed. (22:12)"

At each approach of Balak and his messengers, Bila'am remains steadfast in his role as the prophet of the Israelite God. A God who he calls his own even though he is not an Israelite himself: "Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, big or little, contrary to the command of the Lord my God. (22:18)"

Finally, Bila'am attains the highest level of prophecy. His first two pronouncements are described as words that God has put into his mouth: "And the Lord put a word in Bila'am's mouth (23:5; 23:16)". But in the end, Bila'am speaks out of the inspiration he is granted directly from God's spirit: "the spirit of God came upon him (24:2)."

Through a careful reading, there is no basis for the contention that Bila'am's was a false prophecy, and so the fall of Israel at Ba'al Pe'or was the logical consequence of relying on a lie. Bila'am's blessings were true prophecy, flowing directly from God's will. That being the case, there are a number of important points the parasha presents for our contemplation:

First of all, we must recognize that true prophecy of our God's will can be given in equal measure to one who is not a member of our people. Since one of our fundamental principles of faith is that God is the Creator of the universe and all that it contains, it should not surprise us that He communicates with non-Jews.

Theological integrity demands that we claim no exclusivity in our relationship with God. After all, it is just as possible for God to have committed Himself to covenants with other peoples of His creation as it is that He made a covenant with the people Israel. It occurs to me that contending that God only made a covenant with the Jewish people would be tantamount to saying that the entire act of creation ("ma-aseh breishit") was executed in order to make possible the covenant between God and the Jewish people!

It is also worth taking a look at God's role in His relationship with Bila'am. By frustrating Balak's efforts to have Israel cursed, God was fulfilling His part of the covenant. He was the God of Israel at that moment -- protecting His people, blessing them.

But then He was "rewarded" with the appalling stain of Ba'al Peor. What a slap in the face!

Why does the Torah repeat this pattern of sanctification/blessing by God followed by intolerable sin by His covenanted people? Considering how spare the language of the Torah is, the message of this "plot" must warrant our attention. In the face of both of these progressions, I think we need to ask ourselves as a people, and as individuals, if we appreciate the blessings and the sanctity that is ours. If we recognize how rich we are in our covenant with God and if we know how to be "happy in our portion" of God's blessing. Our ancestors, overcome by insecurity and fear, treated that portion too lightly at times. We have the advantages of hindsight and perspective. We need to use these advantages to help us cherish our heritage, our relationships with God, our people and our land.

Shabbat Shalom

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Amy Levin has served as rabbi of the Masorti (Conservative) Family Congregation of Beit Ha-Kerem, Jerusalem, since September 1995. She is one of the first women to study in the rabbinical school of the Masorti/Conservative Seminary of Judaic Studies in Jerusalem. In addition to her congregational work, Amy teaches Talmud at Hebrew Union College's new Liberal Yeshiva -- a program designed to introduce English speakers to the basic texts and concepts of the Jewish tradition. Amy made aliyah in 1981 and is the mother of two wonderful teenagers.