Anti-Semitism and people propagating their hate for Jews is quite an old phenomenon. In fact this form of hatred has actually existed for thousands of years including in an episode that is recounted in this week’s Torah portion.
The Torah describes the dramatic story of the prophet Bilam from the Midiaanite nation, who attempted unsuccessfully to spiritually curse the Jewish people. Bilam’s cursing services had been commissioned by Balak who was the king of the neighboring kingdom of Moab who feared the Jews and their vast numbers. Balak was afraid after seeing them vanquish several powerful nations who had attacked them, and worried that the Jews would easily overpower his nation, despite knowing that the Jews were not planning a war with him.
The Torah describes how Bilam who had his own venomous hate for the Jews, sought to find some spiritual flaws and faults within the Jews with which he could build his curses on and perhaps invoke G-d’s anger. He tried bringing sacrifices in three different locations overlooking the Jewish camp on three different occasions and each time he sought out a fault or flaw with which he could begin his curse. Yet despite his intense hate and burning desire to curse the Jews, as a prophet he had no control on what prophecy he was allowed to convey, and instead of cursing the Jews, he ends up conveying some of the greatest blessings and compliments about the Jews.
Bilam ends up praising them for the way they live, for their modesty, for their respecting the privacy of each other and many other positive traits. In addition to his literal praises, he also blesses them in a parable format, in which he says many statements that have a deeper meaning than what they appear on the surface. Among the second set of blessings, he describes efforts such as his being doomed to failure, being that the Jews emanate from such powerful mountains and rocks, meaning Abraham and Sarah and the other Patriarchs and Matriarchs. Bilam acknowledged that the strength of the Jews to ward off negative influences and hateful people, doesn’t just depend on their own strength, but is rather a result of generations of determination and hard work by our ancestors who did everything they could to help build a Jewish people committed to G-d.
Later Bilam shares another praise of the Jews when he describes them as “young lion cubs who wake up ready for action and don’t retire to sleep until they have consumed their prey”. The commentaries explain that the meaning of this verse is not just about physical strength, but rather it is a description of the determination that Jews have when they wake up in the morning and right away seek to have a day of meaning, Mitzvot and great accomplishments, and then later on, they don’t retire in the evening until they have spiritually accomplished what they need to for that day in their sphere of influence and in the world around them.
The story is a truly dramatic story with an abundant amount of lessons and teachings and the scenario of the hatred and seeking destruction of the Jews is something which seems to constantly occur. However outside of the hatred and anti-Semitism piece of this story, perhaps we can look to one or two of the compliments and blessings that he was forced to say and take away some life lessons. What was it that he saw that made him realize that he couldn’t curse and instead he must bless them. What are those values that had such a profound impact even on someone who was perhaps one of our biggest detractors, that made him bless instead of curse?
A Tip from Bilam on leading a Meaningful & Productive Day
Perhaps one idea we can take away can be based on his analogy of Jews being like lions who wake up in the morning with a ferocious strength and end their day by consuming their prey. This kind of determination and sense of purpose to accomplish good things and Mitzvot right from the beginning of the day, and also not retiring in the evening until they recite the Shema and make sure that they have accomplished what they need to for the days, are ideas which can have a profound meaning and impact on the goals and objectives by which we seek to live each and every day.
Starting off your day right is a very important piece of your day and it can in a certain sense help shape the course of your day. Likewise closure to the day is an important part of closing out the day and preparing for the next day. Judaism has both of these ideals built in to the lifestyle we live, as we start off the day right when we wake up with the one line prayer of Modeh Aniwhich reminds us of our sense of purpose and mission for the day, and end off with the prayer of the Shema before we go to sleep which is also a time for some closure and reflection on the day that passed.
Bilam, recognized among other things, that this feature of the Jewish people is something that makes them succeed and be less prone to failure and being overcome by adversaries.
In today’s busy world, perhaps it would be a great thing to consider and appreciate a short reflection and prayer in the morning and another one of closure in the evening. Such actions and reflections will only take just a few minutes but perhaps they can go a long way in setting us up for a meaningful and productive day in which we keep our goals, purpose, and objectives at the center of our drive forward.
Thank you Bilam for sharing this tip with us!
Good Shabbos
Yisroel