Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker Tov, welcome back to our parsha perspectives for today. As always, tremendous gratitude to our generous series sponsors for the year, Becky and Avi Katz and family, in memory of David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנש le'iluy nishmas David ben Menachem Manish. I want to remind you, if you'd like to sponsor an individual שיעור shiur or parsha perspectives in honor, in memory, then you could do so easily on our shul website, BRSonline.org/sponsor. Also, if you've not yet joined our one-on-one campaign, you are missing out on phenomenal one-minute דברי תורה divrei Torah every day. A dollar a day of צדקה tzedakah, a minute a day of learning, all in the merit of אסתר טילה בת אריאל צפורה Esther Tila bas Aroel Tzipora, Esti Moskowitz, and all those who are ill. And lastly, we've started a weekly write-up of the parsha perspective שיעור shiur, beautiful write-up of three points of the שיעור shiur, one to be shared at each meal over שבת Shabbos. We're looking for people to sponsor that each week as well. Someone's writing it up for me, and there is a cost to doing so. Not looking to make any money, simply cover our cost. You can do that, and you can sign up for the newsletter to be able to get that write-up conveniently in your inbox and to be able to print it out and bring it to your שבת Shabbos table. You can get that email by taking out your phone. All you have to do is text to the number 22828, 22828. If you text that number, you will sign up for the newsletter with the parsha perspective notes. We have the privilege of reading and learning פרשת בלק parshas Balak, page 856 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. And I want to start even before we get into the פרשה parsha itself. I mentioned to you I recently got a fantastic ספר sefer, אוצר פלאות התורה Otzer Pelaos HaTorah, which is a collection of wonders of the Torah, and indeed, it lives up to its name. The person who published this did a phenomenal job collecting really obscure, fascinating sources based on the פרשה parsha. And here in our פרשת בלק parsha on Balak, it begins with the following: the name of the פרשה parsha, before we even get into the פרשה parsha, let's not even get past the name. The name of the פרשה parsha is בלק Balak. Is בלק Balak a good guy or a bad guy? A hero or a villain? Okay, good. You're all, if you didn't know the answer to that question, I would be very concerned. בלק Balak's a bad guy, he's a villain of Jewish history. He tried to destroy the Jewish people. He failed when he recruited בלעם Bilam, and he continued and was more successful when he understood how to get to the Jewish people, the end of our פרשה parsha, the beginning of next week's פרשה parsha. He's a terrible villain. So how could it be that we have a פרשה parsha that's named for him? After all, the פסוק pasuk says in משלי Mishlei, ושם רשעים ירקב ve'shem reshaim yirkav, and the חז\"ל Chazal in מסכת יומא דף ל\"ח Maseches Yuma daf lamed ches tell us that one should not use the name of a רשע rasha. We don't even engage. We have the habit of saying ימח שמו yimach shemo, may his name be erased, may the name be eradicated. We don't use that name. In fact, he has another section where he wonders that we have a ראשון Rishon, a ראשון Rishon who's quoted by several, whose name was בלעם Bilam, the ר\"י בן בלעם Ri ben Bilam. How could it be someone was named after בלעם Bilam? But here we go back to how could it be that our פרשה parsha is named for בלק Balak? בלק Balak's a רשע rasha. רש\"י Rashi writes there in יומא Yuma, לא יקרא אדם לבנו שם אדם רשע lo yikra adam levno shem adam rasha. Don't name your children after a wicked person. Don't even engage the name. Don't use the name of a wicked person. So how could, how could our פרשה parsha be named for a villain for a wicked person? Now, many have asked this. One of them is Rav Avraham Shapira, the author of the ברכת אברהם Birkas Avraham, and he writes the following. בכל הנ\"ג פרשיות שבתורה Bechol hanun gimmel parshiyos shebaTorah, in all the 53 פרשיות parshiyos of the Torah, does anyone know how many are named after people? 53 פרשיות parshiyos, how many are named for people? Correct. The answer is five. Namely, נח Noach, יתרו Yisro, קרח Korach, בלק Balak, and פנחס Pinchas. Four of them is a great כבוד kavod. נח Noach, יתרו Yisro, פנחס Pinchas, בלק Balak, קרח Korach maybe the בני קרח bnei Korach did תשובה teshuva. But בלק Balak's a רשע rasha, רשע שרצה להכחיד את ישראל rasha she'ratzah l'hachrich es Yisrael, וביקש לעקור את הכל u'bikeish l'akoreis hakol. כשאן מדוע זכה להוד והדר הזה שתיקרא פרשה שלמה שבתורה על שמו Kashan madua zacha l'hod v'hadar hazeh she'tikarei parsha shleima she'baTorah al shemo? חיי שרה Chayei Sarah. Ah, good point. Great, good question. It's חיי שרה Chayei Sarah. It's not named Sarah. It's חיי שרה Chayei Sarah. Okay, good. Good. I see you got you're thinking over there. So, so how could it be named for בלק Balak, who is a רשע rasha? Very interesting question. So the ברכת אברהם Birkas Avraham answers, based on the פרשה parsha itself. The פרשה parsha itself tells us that בשכר ארבעים ושניים קרבנות שהקריב בלק מלך מואב be'schar arba'im u'shnayim korbanos she'hikriv Balak melech Moav, בלק Balak does offer קרבנות korbanos before engaging השם Hashem, before praying, prophecy, even an attempt to curse, sacrifices are offered. And in the merit of the fact that sacrifices were offered, there is an acknowledgement of the presence of the Almighty, a submission to him, at least in the form of sacrifices. In that merit, רש\"י Rashi already quotes the חז\"ל Chazal, it's גמרא סוטה דף מ\"ז Gemara Sotah daf mem zayin, that in the merit of the 42 sacrifices, בלק Balak, the king of מואב Moav offered, who was יצא ממנו yotzei mimenu? We have somebody from מואב Moav, a very prominent woman who was the progenitor of משיח Moshiach. יצא ממנו רות Yotza mimenu Rus, שיצא ממנה שלמה שאמר אלף עולות יעלה שלמה she'yotza mimena Shlomo she'amar eleph olos ya'aleh Shlomo. So מעתה לא קשיא מידי me'atah lo kashya midi. אם בשביל קרבנות זכה בלק שיצא ממנו רות Im bishvil korbanos zacha Balak she'yotza mimenu Rus, if in the merit of those קרבנות korbanos, he in fact became the progenitor of none other than רות Rus, and all those who descend from her, so certainly having a פרשה parsha named for him is less than the distinction and the merit of being the mother of being the father rather of רות Rus and all who descend from her. That's his answer. That's his answer. Rav Meir Prama'shlan, a great רבי Rebbe, has a different answer in his דברי מאיר Divrei Meir. He says it as if a joke. We know a הלכה בידוע halacha b'yadua, we have a tradition that עשו שונא ליעקב Eisav sonei l'Yaakov. Antisemitism is built into the fabric. It's existed since the beginning of the Jewish people. It is the world's oldest form of hatred. הלכה בידוע Halacha b'yadua, חז\"ל Chazal say it that it's a הלכה בידוע halacha b'yadua, it is built into the fabric, the rules of history. בלק בא קיים הלכה זו בתכלית השלימות Balak ba kiyem halacha zu b'tachlis hashleimus. So Rav Meir Prama'shlan says, בלק Balak is what's called an ערליכער גוי ehrlicher goy. He followed his הלכה halacha. And what was his הלכה halacha? עשו שונא ליעקב Eisav sonei l'Yaakov. Since he was an ערליכער גוי ehrlicher goy, we have to do our part, he did his part. We follow our הלכה halacha, he followed his הלכה halacha, the פרשה parsha is named after him. דרך צחות Derech tzchus. It's a joke. Yeah, he means it humorously, he doesn't mean it seriously. But humorously, he at least says, הלכה בידוע Halacha b'yadua, he followed his הלכה halacha as an ערליכער גוי ehrlicher goy. This is just an example of of some of the obscure collections this beautiful ספר sefer has. He has another. ספר עכנק Sefer Achenek points out our פרשה parsha, סדר וירא בלק אין בו מצוה seder Vayar Balak, ein bo mitzvah. We have 613 מצוות mitzvos. Some פרשת קדושים parshas Kedoshim chuck full. And others like our פרשה בלק parsha Balak has no מצוה mitzvah in it. No מצוה mitzvah. Not only ספר עכנק sefer Achenek, the רמב\"ן Ramban, רב סעדיה גאון Rav Saadia Gaon, the מונים מצוות monim mitzvos, those who count and calculate, those who survey Torah in order to extract and find, identify the 613 point out, פרשת בלק Parshas Balak, no מצוה mitzvah. No מצוה mitzvah. Now, anyone know there are other פרשיות parshios that don't have a מצוה mitzvah as well? Which other פרשיות parshios don't have a מצוה mitzvah? Anyone know? נח Noach, וירא Vayera, חיי שרה Chayei Sarah, תולדות Toldos, ויצא Vayeitzei, וישב Vayeishev, מקץ Mikeitz, ויגש Vayigash, ויחי Vayechi. Okay, all those are in בראשית Bereishis before the Torah is given. שמות Shemos, וארא Va'eira, פקודי Pekudei, במדבר Bamidbar, האזינו Ha'azinu, and וזאת הברכה V'zos HaBracha all are narratives with no מצוה mitzvah. Now, he brings this because he raises the question. The גמרא קידושין Gemara Kiddushin tells us, דף מ' daf mem, גדול תלמוד שמביא לידי מעשה gadol talmud she'meivi lidei ma'aseh. The Torah was given for הוראה hora'ah. The חזקוני Chizkuni points out that the whole idea of Torah is הוראה hora'ah, is teaching, is lesson, lead to action, to legislate, to regulate our behavior. So what's the significance of a פרשה parsha that doesn't have a מצוה mitzvah? Aren't the מצוות mitzvos the whole essence? Aren't they central to why the Torah is given, what the Torah is really all about? So what is the goal of a פרשה parsha that doesn't have a מצוה mitzvah? You could ask this about all those other פרשיות parshiyos as well. But he asks it about פרשת בלק parshas Balak, and the answer is there is much to extract from our פרשה parsha even, even though it doesn't have a formal technical counted מצוה mitzvah. For example, what do we incorporate from our פרשה parsha into our daily living even though it's not formally a מצוה mitzvah? מה טובו אוהליך יעקב Ma Tovu ohalecha Yaakov. The beginning of our דאווענען davening, מה טובו אוהליך יעקב Ma Tovu ohalecha Yaakov. Now it's interesting, he also has in this wonderful ספר sefer, אוצר פלאות התורה Otzer Pelaos HaTorah, that not everybody did, not everybody incorporated it into their דאווענען davening. The מהרש\"ל Maharshal, רב שלמה לוריא Rav Shlomo Luria, began משכנותיך ישראל mishkenosecha Yisrael. מה טובו אוהליך יעקב משכנותיך ישראל Ma Tovu ohalecha Yaakov, mishkenosecha Yisrael. He refused מה טובו Ma Tovu. He didn't begin his דאווענען davening with מה טובו Ma Tovu. He would not incorporate the words of a, the words of a רשע rasha. Very interesting. Although the students of the מהרש\"ל Maharshal clearly do. But we do open up a סידור siddur, our standard סידור siddur, universally מה טובו אוהליך יעקב משכנותיך ישראל Ma Tovu ohalecha Yaakov, mishkenosecha Yisrael. Our opening words come not only from a non-Jew but from a very wicked, a very a a a non-Jew who had a negative intent, who sought the destruction of the, of the Jewish people. So we do incorporate that and many other lessons, which is a good segue into our parsha perspectives for today. What are some of those lessons from our פרשה parsha even if there's no formal מצוה mitzvah that we do incorporate? Many other, look at the size of this ספר sefer. See the thickness of this and this is just במדבר b'midbar. This is great fun stuff. If you like this kind of thing, really, really great stuff. So let's get into it. Page 856 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. וירא בלק בן צפור את כל אשר עשה ישראל לאמורי Vayar Balak ben Tzipor es kol asher asa Yisrael l'Emori. בלק Balak the son of צפור Tzipor saw all the Jewish people had done to אמורי Emori. סיחן Sichon the king of אמורי Emori, when the Jewish people asked to pass through his land, said no. Not only did he say no, he refused the request. He was inhospitable, but וילחם בישראל vayilachem b'Yisrael. He didn't just say no, he went to war with the Jewish people, which turned out to be a really poor decision because the Jewish people wiped the floor with him. We spoke last שבת Shabbos, we didn't continue into עמון Amon, even though we were on a roll because כי עז גבול בני עמון ki az gevul bnei Amon. That boundary, that border was incredibly strong. It was fortified. What gave it its strength? Not a military superiority. Said רש\"י Rashi last week's פרשה parsha, כי עז גבול בני עמון ki az gevul bnei Amon, האסרה אותם של הקדוש ברוך הוא Hasra osam shel HaKadosh Baruch Hu. God said don't go in. If God says don't go in, that is the strongest border or boundary we have. It's a non-negotiable, it's a non-starter. Our attitude towards השם's Hashem's rules, regulations, expectations for us, have to not be that they're suggestions, and they're not points of negotiation. עז גבול Az gevul, they're boundaries. And I mentioned last שבת Shabbos morning, we're living in a time, in a world, increasingly blurred boundaries, disintegration, dissolving of boundaries. No boundaries between countries, no boundaries between people, no boundaries of basic biological definitions. We're seeing the end of boundaries. Whereas the Torah tells us, עז גבול az gevul. עז גבול Az gevul, our boundaries have to be strong and fortified, and what gives them their strength? הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu. If he says jump, we say how high. If he says this is the truth, then we say that's what we believe. עז גבול בני עמון Az gevul bnei Amon. So סיחן Sichon the king of אמורי Emori made this terrible mistake. We spoke at שלוש סעודות Shalosh Seudos last week, I want to do בלק Balak not חקת Chukas, but שלוש סעודות Shalosh Seudos last week, we learned על כן al kein, therefore, המושלים ha'moshlim, who are the המושלים moshlim? The גמרא Gemara learns, those who are מושל בייצר הרע moshel b'yeitzer hara, come, בואו חשבון bo cheshbon. חשבון Cheshbon not the name of a city, but a person has to make a חשבון cheshbon, to be mindful, to be present, conscientious, conscious in all that we do. Make a חשבון cheshbon. Why do we learn that from a wicked evil סיחן Sichon king of אמורי Emori? There was no other פסוק pasuk in the Torah we could have derived the significance, the importance of mindfulness to defeat the יצר הרע yetzer hara from. We quoted at שלוש סעודות Shalosh Seudos last week from the רבי Rebbe of Ger, the שפת אמת Sfas Emes, who gave a beautiful explanation. So here, we're not the only ones who read פרשת חקת parshas Chukas. We're not the only ones who followed the news that סיחן Sichon the king of אמורי Emori not only rejected our request but then went to war and was wiped out. You know who else heard the story? You know who else read the headline? You know who else saw the news? בלק בן צפור Balak ben Tzipor. He saw all that had occurred, all that had happened. He saw everything. And the order of the פסוק pasuk is sort of strange because continue. וירא בלק בן צפור Vayar Balak ben Tzipor saw all that the Jewish people did to אמורי Emori. And who is בלק בן צפור Balak ben Tzipor? ויגר מואב מפני העם מאוד כי רב הוא Vayagar Moav mipnei ha'am me'od ki rav hu. And מואב Moav became very frightened of the people כי רב הוא ki rav hu. What should it say grammatically? Not רב הוא rav hu, it should say כי רבים הם ki rabim heim. כי רב הוא Ki rav hu means he's a רב rav. He's a rabbi. What do you mean כי רב הוא ki rav hu? כי רבים הם Ki rabim heim. The ישמח משה Yismach Moshe points out that this was already forboding, foreshadowing the אחדות achdus, the unity of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. When are we least vulnerable and fragile? When are we at our greatest strength? When are we not susceptible to the attack of a בלק Balak and a בלעם Bilam? כי רב הוא Ki rav hu. When we're unified, when we are united, when we are together, כי רב הוא ki rav hu. ויקץ מואב מפני בני ישראל Vayakatz Moav mipnei Bnei Yisrael. And מואב Moav, מואב Moav was disgusted in the face of the Jewish people. They woke up, they were disgusted, they were ready to confront. ויאמר מואב אל זקני מדין Vayomer Moav el ziknei Midyan, and so on. And then the end of פסוק ד' pasuk daled, ובלק בן צפור מלך למואב בעת ההיא u'Balak ben Tzipor melech l'Moav ba'eis hahi. בלק בן צפור Balak ben Tzipor was the king of מואב Moav in that time. Now, you may never have noticed this, you might have read this פרשה parsha many, many times in your life. Does that seem like it's an order to you? Does that make sense to you? בלק Balak is about to be identified. What is his CV or resume? I don't know who a שדכן shadchan was, and whether they included a picture or not, but what does it say on his resume? He's מלך מואב melech Moav. בלק בן צפור Balak ben Tzipor is מלך למואב melech l'Moav. For references, call בלעם Bilam. For references, call every other wicked person of the time. So he's the king of מואב Moav. Shouldn't that be at the very beginning of the introduction? וירא בלק בן צפור מלך מואב Vayar Balak ben Tzipor melech Moav, all that had happened. First, we see בלק Balak saw what happened, and the people were very frightened, and they confronted, they were agitated, they were disgusted. So מואב Moav said to זקני מדין ziknei Midyan, we have to go protect ourselves. Oh, by the way, oh, by the way, the בלק Balak that we mentioned three פסוקים psukim ago, at the beginning, oh, by the way, he's the king of מואב Moav, the people that I was just telling you, were very frightened. Very disjointed, very out of order. What's going on? Says the אלתר מקלם Alter of Kelm, שמחה זיסל זיו Simcha Zissel Ziv, that the answer is in the פסוק pasuk itself. כל הסיבה שבחרו את בלק למלך היה בשום שרכשו את חכמתו Kol hasibah she'bichru es Balak l'melech hayah bishum she'richshu es chachmaso, שיש לו עיניים לראות וראה sheyesh lo einayim liros v'ra'ah. Why was בלק Balak chosen? How did he become king? Because he had the power of sight. He had vision. וירא Vayar, he saw. באמת יש להתאמל על הדבר, מי לרוזות Ba'emes yesh l'hitamel al hadavar, mi l'rozois? But why was that an impressive quality? The fact that he followed the news? The fact that he followed what happened? The fact that he saw that the Jewish people defeated אמורי Emori? Everybody saw that. כמה שכל צריך לקרות Kama seichel do you need to read the news? How much שכל seichel do you need to read the news? The answer is today a lot. To filter out the fake news from the real news, to know which news to turn to, you need a lot. You need a lot. Some of the news that gets delivered in print and otherwise is מוקצה מחמת מיאוס muktzeh machmas mius. It's disgusting and repulsive and should be used to wrap the fish. I'll put it kindly. So you need a little bit. But wonders, wonders the אלתר מקלם Alter of Kelm, וירא בלק vayar Balak, בלק Balak's, oh, he saw. Wow. He reacted, he responded, he followed the news. Oh, so smart, so wise, such a sage. Big deal. He saw the headline. אלא, הגדלות לא היה הידיעה, אלא להחיות את משמעות של מה שרואים Ela, ha'gadlus lo hayah ha'yediah, ela l'hachios es mashma'us shel ma she'ro'im. שכן מה הוא ההבדל בין אדם לבהמה? שניהם רואים את המציאות She'kein ma hu ha'hevdel bein adam l'beheima? Shneihem ro'im es hametzius. אבל גדולת האדם להחשיב ולראות לא רק את הסיבה, גם את המסובב Aval gadlus ha'adam l'hachshiv v'liros lo rak es ha'sibah, gam es ha'mesuvav. It means not just to see literally, an animal and a human being can both observe the same thing. But the human being can draw conclusions, can analyze, can understand, can comprehend, can extract lessons, can predict, can anticipate. במציאות הבריאה רובים אנשים שאינם חיים מה שהם רואים Ba'metzius habriyah rovim anashim she'einam chayim ma she'heim ro'im. וגם אם רואים אילן גדול יוצא מן הארץ, לא יתבוננו מה היא הסיבה שצמח כאן V'gam im ro'im ilan gadol yotzei min ha'aretz, lo yisbonenu mah hi ha'sibah she'tzamach kan. בארץ אין עצים Ba'aretz ein eitzim. אלא החכם יתבונן ורואה וישכיל את טיבי האילנות ולומדים מכך רבות Ela ha'chacham yisbonen v'ro'eh v'yaskil es tivei ha'ilanos v'lomdim mikach rabos. We see things and observe things all the time. Do we see them as human beings or as animals? Are they mere observations? Are we seeing simply superficially with our eyes? Or do we see in a way which moves us and jolts us? Do we see in a way that we see the depth and the profundity? Do we see in a way that moves us to take action, to react, to change? זה מה שמצאו בבלק. כולם ראו את נצחונו של ישראל, ונבהלו ונרדו מהם Zeh ma she'matzu b'Balak. Kulam ra'u es nitzchono shel Yisrael, v'nivhalu v'nirdu mehem. אבל לא יתבוננו ולא ביקשו את סיבת הדברים. בלק בדק את השורשים Aval lo yisbonenu v'lo bikshu es sibas hadvarim. Balak badak es ha'shorashim. מי הוא מנהיגם? מה כוחו? איך גדל? Mi hu manhigam? Ma kocho? Eichen gadal? Everybody else just saw and they recoiled with fear. Wow. Wow, the Jewish people were mighty and strong. They defeated אמורי Emori. Oh boy, we can't touch them, we can't go near them. בלק Balak said, one second, let's study them. Let's study them, let's understand them. Who is their leader? Where did he come from? What makes him tick? What is their worthiness? ואז כשנודע לו שמשה מנהיגם נולד במדין V'az k'she'noda lo she'Moshe manhigam nolad b'Midyan. And what did he find when he looked a little closer? What did he find when he analyzed a little more carefully? What did he find when he didn't simply accept what was on the surface, but he looked beneath the surface at the roots? Where was משה Moshe from? Where was משה Moshe raised, so to say? Not in the palace, but מדין Midyan. הלך לשם ושמה מצא שכוחו בפה, וחיפש אדם שיש לו אותו כוח, עד שמצא את בלעם Halach l'sham v'shama ma'tza she'kocho b'peh, v'chipas adam she'yesh lo oso koach, ad she'matza es Bilam. He said, wow, if the Jewish people's secret sauce, if the Jewish people's leader comes from מדין Midyan, if he's from מדין Midyan, that's where his power derives from, what can offset him? How can I defeat him? Where can I find a loyal adversary for him? Where did בלק Balak go? מדין Midyan. And he found בלעם Bilam. זה מה שאמר, ובלק מלך למואב בעת ההיא. אכן היה בלעם חכם Zeh ma she'amar, u'Balak melech l'Moav ba'eis hahi. Achein hayah Bilam chacham. אלא שהיה חכם לרע, ויצא ממנו אך רוע ושחיתות Ela she'hayah chacham l'ra, v'yatza mimenu ach roa v'shchisus. So that is what he, that is what he saw. The מדרש Midrash tells us on the words וירא בלק vayar Balak, the מדרש Midrash says, נוח להם לרשעים שיהיו סומים Noach la'hem l'rsha'im she'yehiyu sumim. Wicked people, it would have been better if they were blind. They would have been better off if they were blind. שעיניהם מביאות רע לעולם She'eineihem mevi'os ra l'olam, because their eyes are what brings the negativity and the destruction and the evil to this world. שנאמר וירא בלק She'ne'emar vayar Balak, וירא חם vayar Cham. So, what does that mean? That's not what brings the negativity. Where does their wickedness stem from? Their heart and their soul, their brain, not their eyes. So why does the מדרש Midrash attribute the destruction and the wickedness of בלק Balak, of חם Cham, why to their eyes? So Rav Shach zatzal, the Rebbe of Ponevezh says, ראתו של הרשע היא עצם אישיותו ra'aso shel ha'rasha hi etzem ishiyuso. בא חז\"ל ללמדנו עד כמה ראייתו של הרשע מסוכנת לעולם Ba Chazal l'lamdeinu ad kama riyaso shel ha'rasha mesukenes l'olam. על ידי מבטו מושחט צורות בכל דבר, איך יוכל הוא להשתמש בו לרשעותו Al yidei mabato mushchas suros b'chol davar, eich yochal hu l'hishtamesh bo l'rishuso. It's true. It's true. Our goodness, our virtue, or our wickedness, it comes from our heart, comes from our soul, comes from our yearning and our longing and our drive and our temptation. But how it manifests and expresses itself, do we build or destroy? Do we elevate or do we lower? That comes from what we see with our eyes. Think about this war in Ukraine and Russia, which everyone's forgotten. It lasted a month a new cycle, even though people continue to be murdered in cold blood every day, but it fell out of the front page. We moved on, except for the people of Ukraine. But you think of that war which we still should be concerned and focused on. Putin, what was the source of this wicked war? Is it his heart? His brain? Yes, but it's his eyes, his appetite. He saw Ukraine and he wants it. And what does he want next? And the same is true for so many of the challenges that we have. That's what ציצית tzitzis come to atone for. The end of פרשת שלח parshas Shlach, we look at the ציצית tzitzis and it should help us be more mindful of what we look at, because the heart desires what the eye sees. The eye is the source of the appetite. Our eyes open wide. You have a big, never go shopping when you're hungry. You go to the supermarket when you're hungry, you'll buy all the foods you later wish you hadn't brought into your home. Why? What's the problem? It's your appetite, it's your stomach, but it's your eyes that then see and desire and want. וירא בלק Vayar Balak. וירא Vayar, that opening word of our פרשה parsha is so pregnant with meaning. וירא Vayar, that the beginning of the downfall of so much is what we see, what we choose to look at, what we choose to focus on, is the appetite, the insatiable appetite and drive for that which is not ours. And that was true for בלק Balak. בלק Balak should have seen what happened to אמורי Emori and stayed in מואב Moav and done his own business. But instead, וירא vayar, he saw, and that moved him and that drove him. פסוק ז' Pasuk zayin, moving right along. So what does he do? He sends messengers to בלעם בן בעור Bilam ben Be'or, to go appeal to him. עם יצא ממצרים Am yotzei m'Mitzrayim, a nation left Egypt, הנה כיסה את עין הארץ hinneh chisa es ein ha'aretz, and now they're proliferated, they're covering the land. ועתה לכה נא ארה לי את העם הזה V'ata l'cha na ara li es ha'am hazeh, go and curse them for me, כי עצום הוא ממני ki atzum hu mimeni, because they're greater than I. אולי אוכל נכה בו וגרשתיו מן הארץ Ulai uchal nakeh bo v'garashtiv min ha'aretz. Maybe we can curse them successfully and drive them from the land. כי ידעתי את אשר תברך מבורך Ki yadati es asher tevarech mevorach, ואשר תאור יואר v'asher ta'or yu'ar. בלעם Bilam, I know you've got a power. You're from the same land as משה Moshe. And we have a tradition that בלעם Bilam in fact was as great a prophet as משה Moshe, lest the nations of the world be able to complain. If we had a leader, if we had someone with that capacity, we would have been the Jewish people too. So השם Hashem says, okay, let's try it. Here's a בלעם Bilam. But instead of reaching that level, they used it for the opposite. So he tells בלעם Bilam, I know whatever you say, if you give a ברכה bracha, there's a ברכה bracha, if you curse, there's a curse. וילכו זקני מואב וזקני מדין וקסמים בידם Vayeilchu ziknei Moav v'ziknei Midyan u'ksamim b'yadam, פסוק ז' pasuk zayin. The elders of מואב Moav went, and the elders of מדין Midyan, and they went with their charm in their hand. ויבואו אל בלעם וידברו אליו דברי בלק Vayavou el Bilam vayedabru eilav divrei Balak. And they come to בלעם Bilam, and they deliver the words of בלק Balak. ויאמר אליהם, לינו פה הלילה, והשיבותי אתכם דבר כאשר ידבר השם אלי Vayomer aleihem, linu po halayla, v'hashivosi eschem davar ka'asher yedaber Hashem eilai. And he says, sleep here tonight, and I'll get back to you. I'll get back to you. וישבו שרי מואב עם בלעם Vayeishvu sarei Moav im Bilam. And they come and with בלעם Bilam. ויבוא אלקים אל בלעם Vayavo Elokim el Bilam, God now visits בלעם Bilam. We've turned the page. ויאמר Vayomer, and God says to בלעם Bilam, מי האנשים האלה עמך mi ha'anashim ha'eileh imach? Where are you going? Who are these people? What's with the entourage? Who are you walking with? Who are these people? Says רש\"י Rashi, להתעותו בא la'hataso ba. רצה לומר יש שם דרכי השם שפוש ונכשל בם Ratzah lomar yesh shem darkei Hashem she'posh v'kashal bam. אמר פעמים שאין הכל גלוי לפניו, אין דעתו שווה עליו, אף אני אראה עת שיוכל לקלל ולא יבין Omar pa'amim she'ein hakol galui l'fanav, ein da'ato shavah alav, af ani ereh eis she'yuchal l'kalel v'lo yavin. So רש\"י Rashi comes along and says, רש\"י Rashi, says רש\"י Rashi, that he came to fool, he came to trick. He came to trick. So how could it be? How could it be? Did בלעם Bilam think he was going to fool God? What an answer did he give? ויאמר בלעם אל האלקים, בלק בן צפור מלך מואב שלח אלי Vayomer Bilam el ha'Elokim, Balak ben Tzipor melech Moav shalach eilai. בלק Balak sent for me. There was a nation that left Egypt, they're covering the land, he wants me to drive them out. So בלק Balak sent for me. So, did בלעם Bilam think he was going to pull the wool over God's eyes? What did he think? What did he think? So the אלתר מקלם Alter of Kelm, second אלתר מקלם Alter of Kelm for today, in a letter to his son, he writes, יסודו של חכמה לא יוכל לשכון בלב רע yesodo shel chachma lo yuchal lishkon b'lev ra, מלא מידות ונטיות רעות. כך יתכן ששוכן את באדם חכמה והוא מדבר כחוסר דעה malei midos v'netiyos ra'os. Kach yitachen she'shochen es badam chachma v'hu medaber k'choser de'ah. He said the following. He said if you have a bad heart, an evil heart, a wicked heart, if your heart's not in the right place, no matter how smart, no matter your IQ, no matter your intellect, you're going to have misguided thinking. You're going to have poor judgment. בלעם Bilam makes the wrong decisions time after time here. And בלעם Bilam so poorly thought he could trick and fool God, the Almighty. And what led בלעם Bilam to all those horrible conclusions and to this ignoble end was not, he was brilliant. How many people have we seen in the world and in our lifetime who have incredible brilliance and charisma and genius? But if their heart's in the wrong place, if it's not pure, if it's not purely motivated, then it doesn't matter where the head is, doesn't matter how good or impressive the head is, if a person has a poor, a corrupt, a misguided heart, that is the, that is the downfall. That is the downfall. So בלעם Bilam answers God and he says, בלק Balak sent for me. Says רש\"י Rashi, אף על פי שאיני חשוב בעיניך, חשוב אני בעיני המלכים Af al pi she'eini choshuv b'einecha, choshuv ani b'einei hamelachim. You know, בלעם Bilam is like a, what we call today, passive-aggressive. He just throws a little zinger in there to God. God says, who are these people? Where are you going? He says, oh, בלק Balak sent for me. I got a job. I got a gig. You know, I make a living by cursing and blessing. He sent some men for me. I got a gig. Oh, and God, I know you don't think much of me, but בלק Balak does. I know that you're not impressed, but בלק Balak is. I know you have no use for me, but I got hired by the king of מואב Moav. That's what בלעם Bilam tells the Almighty. רש\"י Rashi, I'm not making this up, רש\"י Rashi. אף על פי שאיני חשוב בעיניך Af al pi she'eini choshuv b'einecha, even though I may not be impressive in your eyes, חשוב אני בעיני המלכים choshuv ani b'einei hamelachim. בלק Balak's pretty impressed with me. Right, this is like a husband and wife where there's some tension or friction, a little passive-aggressiveness. Okay, you may not come to my שיעור shiur, but there are plenty of others who do. That's hypothetical. So, so, again, what in the world is בלעם Bilam thinking? What is בלעם Bilam thinking? He's telling the infinite, almighty, omnipotent God, you may not be, you, the creator of the universe, the source of all, you may not be impressed, but that lowly, pathetic, a בשר ודם basar v'dam, flesh and blood בלק Balak, he, he is impressed with me. Is God going to be impressed now with that? What is he thinking? What is he thinking? אם לא היינו רואים בספר תורה של אלקים חיים, לא היינו מאמינים. היתכן שיאמר אדם לחבירו Im lo hayinu ro'im b'sefer Torah shel Elokim chayim, lo hayinu ma'aminim... ha'yitachen she'yomar adam l'chavero? Could you imagine a person says to their friend, you may not be so impressed with me, but my cat loves me. You may not have no use for me, but the dog snuggles up with me. At least the dog loves me. What do you think the friend, oh, your dog loves, oh, your cat's impressed? The cat's impressed with you? Maybe I should take another look. בלעם Bilam's telling God, you may not be impressed with me, but בלק Balak is, as if that's going to change השם's Hashem's mind. The omnipotent, infinite השם Hashem. So Rav Eliezer Lopian, the Rebbe of Toras Emes in London, he says the following. We see here the השפעה hashpa'ah of מידות רעות midos ra'os. Again, this is consistent with the last idea we saw a moment ago. No matter how impressive, no matter how brilliant, no matter how charismatic, no matter what your IQ, no matter what your intellect, if you have a bad heart, if you have poor intent, if you're drawn and you have a drive to the wrong thing, it will confuse and cloud all your judgment. You will be so misguided, you're so miscalculated, you'll be able to so irrationally view and justify and defend and have such a negative and and fruitless attitude to all. מוסר השכל What a musar haskel, שברגע שעומדת בפתח של אדם שאלה she'b'rega she'omedes b'pischo shel adam she'eila, יכול להיות קשור למידותיו, כבוד ותאווה yechol l'hiyos kashur l'midosav, kavod v'ta'avah. לא יחשוב בדעת עצמו, ימצא אדם אמיתי, אפילו קטן ממנו במדרגה Lo yachshov b'daas atzmo, yimtza adam amiti, afilu katan mimenu b'madreiga. When there's a question, when we are נוגע בדבר nogeia b'davar, when there's an issue where we have a bias because we have a drive, no matter how smart you think you are, turn to someone else, even if they have a lower IQ, they have less life experience, they're not nearly as smart, because when we are biased, when we're נוגע בדבר nogeia b'davar, we can't think clearly. We will say irrational things, we will come to irrational conclusions, and then we'll double down in our misguided poor outlook, poor judgment. And that's entirely the story you see here. of בלעם Bilam. בלעם Bilam השם Hashem created as משה Moshe's equal. He was just as smart, as great a prophet. How could he come to such foolish conclusions? Not in the text itself, but the entire מדרש Medrash, the subtext of our entire פרשה parsha is exposing בלעם Bilam as a fool over and over and over again. But is that not what we've seen from world leaders and great athletes, from brilliant men and women who you wonder, what, what could they possibly have been telling themselves that led them to act in that way? Didn't they know what they were going to give up, how humiliated they'd become, how they would sabotage their own success? We have to see that no matter how smart or brilliant, the moment that we are connected and נוגע nogea, so easily we can be brought down.So how does בלעם Bilam, so how does השם Hashem react? ויאמר אלקים אל בלעם, לא תלך עמם Vayomer Elokim el Bilam, lo telech imam, don't go. לא תאור את העם, כי ברוך הוא Lo sa'or es ha'am, ki baruch hu. God, the Almighty, the omnipotent is telling you directly. You don't have to decipher, there's no code. You don't have to wait for a sign. He's in direct communication and he says to you directly, don't go. This is not the place for you, it's not where you're meant to be. It's not what you're meant to do. This is a blessed people. Don't curse them. It's not going to work out. ויקם בלעם בבקר Vayakam Bilam ba'boker, so he wakes up, ויאמר שרי בלק vayomer sarei Balak, go home. מאן השם לתתי ללכת עמכם Me'ein Hashem l'sisi laleches imachem, I don't have permission to go. ויקומו שרי מואב ויבאו אל בלק Vayekumu sarei Moav vayavo'u el Balak, they come up and they say בלעם Bilam refused to come. ויסף עוד בלק שלח שרים רבים ונכבדים מאלה Vayosef od Balak shloach sarim rabim v'nichbadim me'eileh. Again, the subtext here is, why did בלעם Bilam send them home? Not because indeed God said no, but he wanted more כבוד kavod. You didn't have a big enough parade, not enough fanfare, you didn't send a large enough entourage. You got me business class or first class, I want a private plane. Not good enough. בלק Balak understood. Why did בלק Balak understand? Why did he understand not what בלעם Bilam was saying with his words, but between his words? Why did he understand? Because he was cut from the same cloth. Because if you derive, if you desire the same honor and glory, if you have the same temptation, then you understand the person who's with whom you have kinship.So he sends more. ויבאו אל בלעם Vayavo'u el Bilam, they come to בלעם Bilam, ויאמרו לו, כה אמר בלק בן צפור, אל נא תמנע מהלך אלי vayomru lo, koh amar Balak ben Tzipor, al na timana meihalach eilai. בלק Balak refused to take no for an answer. There is no expense that's too great. כי כבד אכבדך מאד Ki chaved achabedcha me'od. I'll give you the greatest honor in the world. ויען בלעם Vayaan Bilam and he said, אם יתן לי בלק מלא ביתו כסף וזהב im yiten li Balak melo beiso kesef v'zahav, you can give me everything in the world, I can't go unless God tells me. גדולה עד מאד Gdola ad me'od. Whether it's great or small, I can't go. So בלעם Bilam says immediately to בלק Balak's agents, I can't violate the word of השם Hashem. לא אוכל לעבור את פי השם Lo uchal la'avor es pi Hashem. This פרשה parsha, I point this out every year because I experience this when I read it every year. Maybe you similarly. When you read the words itself, you say, בלעם Bilam doesn't seem like such a terrible guy. Right? He keeps, he keeps hesitating here. He keeps invoking השם Hashem. He keeps saying I can't do it without his permission, his consent. He keeps making it that it's really all about God. But if you read more finely, if you read with a more critical eye, you'll see again, beneath the surface, that בלעם Bilam is not at all loyal to השם Hashem. And here's one example. Third alter of Kelm for the day. He says לא אוכל לעבור את פי השם lo uchal la'avor es pi Hashem. I can't. What should he have said? I won't. I don't want. If השם Hashem doesn't want, I don't want. This is not what's meant for me. This is not what I'm meant to do. If this is not my mission, I'm not doing it not because I can't, I'm not doing it because I don't want. Because I don't want. לא אוכל לעבור את פי השם, הכיר אומנם שמצד המציאות אין יוכל לעשות Lo uchal la'avor es pi Hashem, he'kir umnam she'mi'tzad ha'metzius ein yuchal la'asos. In other words, what he realized was, I can't. I want to dunk the basketball, but I can't. I want to go curse, I want all the honor and glory, I want to be escorted on a private plane, but it's gonna go down. לא אוכל Lo uchal. It we we won't take off. But לא שינה את רצונו סוב lo shinah es r'tzono sov, it didn't change his רצון ratzon. בלעם Bilam is a רשע rasha, not because of what he did, but because what he wanted to do, because of his will, because of his motivation, his desire. He only wanted to go along with God because he thought he had no other choice. לא אוכל Lo uchal. But really our mission in life, משלי פרקי אבות Mishlei Pirkei Avos, is בטל רצונך מפני רצונו batel r'tzoncha mipnei r'tzono. The goal is not only to make our actions compliant and consistent with what השם Hashem asks, but is to make our desires, our wants and our wishes, our ambition and our drive should conform to what השם Hashem wants. It's not that, you know, I desperately wish, I want to live in a country club like a non-Jew, like a non-observant Jew. That's where my heart is. But לא אוכל lo uchal. I'm afraid lightning will strike. What could I do? I've got to do the שבת כשרות Shabbos kashrus thing. I've got to pay for the day school thing. לא אוכל Lo uchal. I can't not. I'll shame my family. Lightning will strike. I'll have no entrance into the world to come. So really my desire, my drive, my will, my wish, my ambition, really my heart is, I want to live like the rest of the world. I hate this life and this lifestyle. I don't want to but לא אוכל lo uchal. Says the alter of Kelm, that's not what it means to be a איד Yid. To be a Jew, an ערליכער איד ehrlicher Yid, is not just to do the right things, but to work, to want the right things. To mold and shape our heart and our soul, to make our drive and our ambition conform with what השם Hashem wants. And so you see that here in the subtext, that when בלעם Bilam rejects בלק Balak and his agents, he doesn't say, listen, I want what God wants. And if God doesn't want this, I don't want this. Instead he says לא אוכל, לא אוכל lo uchal, lo uchal. We should work to fashion our wants, our רצון ratzon. Make our רצון ratzon. Don't ask God to conform his רצון ratzon to yours, conform your רצון ratzon to his. What's at the root of the word רצון ratzon? רץ Ratz. What is the רץ ratz? To run. רצון, רץ Ratzon, ratz because what we're motivated, what we have drive, we run to go do. We run to go do. When you run, what happens? You get there faster. The distance remains the same. From here to there is whatever objective distance. I could walk or I could run. If I run, I get there faster if I walk. When I have רצון ratzon, I'm רץ ratz. The רצון ratzon gets me there faster. When I run after something, I do it with joy and with excitement. When I run after something, I don't even feel as if I'm running because I want to be there already. That's עשה רצונך, בטל רצונך מפני רצונו aseh r'tzoncha, batel r'tzoncha mipnei r'tzono. Our רצון ratzon should conform. So בלעם Bilam says לא אוכל lo uchal. Can't. I want to curse. I want to go with you בלק Balak. The only reason I'm not is לא אוכל lo uchal. It should have been לא רוצה lo rotzeh, I don't want to because I want my רצון ratzon to conform to his. פרק כב, פסוק כא Perek chaf beis, pasuk chaf aleph. ויקם בלעם בבקר ויחבש את אתונו Vayakam Bilam ba'boker vayachavosh es asono. Eventually, he beats השם Hashem down, he asks over and over until השם Hashem says, okay, look, what can I tell you? If this is what you want, go. ויקם בלעם בבקר Vayakam Bilam ba'boker, בלעם Bilam wakes up in the morning, ויחבש את אתונו vayachavosh es asono, and he saddles his donkey, וילך עם שרי מואב vayelech im sarei Moav, and he now goes with the שרי מואב sarei Moav. What do we see from here? He wakes up, the Torah goes out of its way to tell us that he wakes up early in the morning. Should be reminiscent. He's not the first to wake up early to saddle the donkey. זאג רש\"י Zog Rashi, ויחבש את אתונו vayachavosh es asono, he saddles the donkey, מכאן שהשנאה מקלקלת את השורה, שחבש הוא בעצמו mikan she'ha'sinah me'kalkeles es ha'shurah, she'chavash hu b'atzmo. חבש הוא בעצמו Chavash hu b'atzmo. You see the power of hatred. Because בלעם Bilam is a person of כבוד kavod. He's a כבוד kavod seeker. So normally, he doesn't carry his own bags. He doesn't saddle his own donkey. Are you kidding? He doesn't drive himself to the airport. He doesn't check himself in. Are you kidding me? He doesn't put his own things in the overhead. And yet, here he wakes up early in the morning. His servants and his slaves, his stewards, they're all fast asleep. And he's busy packing his luggage, loading the car, driving himself to the airport. Why? Because השנאה מקלקלת את הדבר ha'sinah me'kalkeles es ha'davar. Because you see, hatred is so powerful, it'll push someone to do things they would never normally do. אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא Amar HaKadosh Baruch Hu, so the רבונו של עולם Rebono Shel Olam looks down on him and he says, כבר קדמך אברהם אבינו, שנאמר וישכם אברהם בבקר ויחבוש את חמורו Kvar kadamcha Avraham Avinu, she'ne'emar vayashkem Avraham ba'boker vayachavosh es chamoro. You think you're the ever the first one to wake up early in the morning because you're running, you're running to go do something? You love to hate, you love to curse, you're so eager to destroy. You think you're the first to wake up early? You think you're the first to wake up early because you're so excited? My mother could tell you the story better. What grade was I in when I was the שבת אבא Shabbos Abba? Nursery school. She likes to tell the story. I was the שבת אבא Shabbos Abba. So you know, before you go to sleep, you're so excited. It's finally your turn to be the שבת אבא Shabbos Abba. You lay out your special clothing, you're going to be the שבת אבא Shabbos Abba, you wear your שבת Shabbos clothing to school the next day. So I woke her up, and I said, נו Nu, let's go, nursery, I'm ready. I was so excited that Friday morning, and she looked at the clock and it was 3 a.m. I was all excited. So it's gonna be the שבת אבא Shabbos Abba, so I put on my שבת Shabbos clothing and I woke her at 3:00 a.m. I thought it was time to go. Why? So I was excited to be the שבת אבא Shabbos Abba. בלעם Bilam was excited to destroy the Jewish people. So השם Hashem says you're the first one to wake up at 3:00 in the morning? אברהם Avraham was the שבת אבא Shabbos Abba. אברהם Avraham woke up because השם Hashem said the עקידה Akeida, he ran to go do the עקידה Akeida. So I don't understand. הזכות הגדולה שאברהם אבינו הפקיר את רחמיו ועקדת יצחק בנו על גב המזבח, הוא זכות גדולה אין ערוך מהשכמה וחבישת החמור Ha'zechus ha'gedola she'Avraham Avinu hifkir es rachamav v'Akeidas Yitzchak beno al gav ha'mizbeach. Hu zechus gedola ein aroch mei'hashkama v'chavishas ha'chamor. You want to evoke אברהם Avraham's alacrity and zeal, you want to evoke אברהם Avraham's obedience and compliance, you want to evoke אברהם Avraham's faithful loyalty, unquestioning, so talk about the fact that אברהם Avraham woke up to go do the עקידה Akeida. What are you talking about? אברהם Avraham also packed his luggage. אברהם Avraham also loaded the trunk. אברהם Avraham also drove himself. אברהם Avraham went to go do the עקידה Akeida. That's the much, much, much more impressive thing. Asks רב אהרן לייב שטיינמן זצ\"ל Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman zatzal in his איילת השחר Ayeles HaShachar, עקידת יצחק Akeidas Yitzchak is much greater than he loaded the donkey. So when you're going to try to respond to בלעם Bilam, you don't tell בלעם Bilam you think you're the first one to go try to run to do something? אברהם Avraham ran to do the most impossible test of all time, to offer his son. Instead of that you say, אברהם Avraham also ran to do something. You know what he did? He loaded his own donkey. That's impressive? That's impressive? Answers רב שטיינמן Rav Shteinman, עקידת יצחק Akeidas Yitzchak was a ציווי השם tzivui Hashem. The way he woke up and the way he ran to do it, that was extra. אברהם Avraham's impressiveness was not what was asked of him. Of course, that's super impressive given what was asked, but it was asked explicitly. It's what we're not asked explicitly, but we volunteer to do, that's what's really impressive. So that was תוספת tosefes. לא היה חסר מאומה במצוה עצמה Lo haya chaser me'uma b'mitzva atzmah. The מצוה mitzva would have been perfect. If someone else drove the donkey, if someone else loaded the car, if someone else woke him up, if they slept in a little bit and went to the late מנין minyan before עקידת יצחק Akeidas Yitzchak, עקידת יצחק Akeidas Yitzchak would have been equally as impressive. What אברהם Avraham's greatness was was not only listening to השם Hashem with the עקידה Akeida, but the way he did it. The way he did it. Okay, you clean for פסח Pesach, but you do it with a smile, with joy, with excitement? Or do you do it with a קרעכץ krechtz, with a moan, with misery? You could do the right thing, but if you do it in a miserable way, אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu didn't only do the right thing, he did it the right way. And that's what השם Hashem is telling בלעם Bilam. That my loyal אברהם Avraham would do the עקידה Akeida because I asked. That's a דבר פשוט davar pashut. Of course אברהם Avraham did. But not only did he do the עקידה Akeida, look at the way he did it. Look at the unquestioning, faithful, with no, with no hesitation, with joy, with excitement, waking up early, the way that he, the way that he did it, the way that he did it.Rav Yechezkel Levenstein, the משגיח mashgiach, also notes, the מדרש Medrash says, ויקם בלעם בבקר vayakam Bilam ba'boker, he goes. Sorry, before we get to this next... קאצק Kotsk. I saw a great קאצקער Kotsker. We'll get to the next פסוק pasuk. Listen to this קאצקער Kotsker. Was worth you coming today just for this קאצקער Kotsker. Just for this קאצקער Kotsker. אמת ואמונה Emes v'Emunah, a collection of the קאצקער Kotsker's teachings. ויקם בלעם בבקר ויחבש את אתונו Vayakam Bilam ba'boker vayachavosh es asono. רש\"י Rashi says, שנאה מקלקלת השורה sinah mekalkeles ha'shurah. You see the power of hate, it gets people to do things they normally would never do, that he himself saddled his own donkey. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu said, you think you're impressing me? אברהם Avraham saddled his own donkey. Wonders the קאצקער Kotsker, מה צורך לדמות להרחיק מעשה אברהם אבינו שהיה לשם מצוות השם נגד מעשה בלעם הרשע ma tzorech l'damos l'harchik ma'aseh Avraham Avinu she'haya l'shem mitzvas Hashem neged ma'aseh Bilam ha'rasha. What does השם Hashem have to even feel he has to make a comparison? Why does השם Hashem have to even invoke אברהם Avraham and what he did? What's the point? What's the point? ונראה לפרש הדמיון V'nireh l'faresh ha'dimyon. Says the קאצקער Kotsker, let me explain to you the comparison. כי מעשה הרשע היה לעקור אומה ישראלית בפיו Ki ma'aseh ha'rasha hayah l'akor ummah Yisraelis b'piv. What was בלעם Bilam's end game? What was his goal? What did he go to set out to do? To destroy the Jewish people. And on that, הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu says, כבר קדמך אברהם אבינו Kvar kadamcha Avraham Avinu. אברהם Avraham was already willing to go destroy the Jewish people. כי אילו היתה נגמרת הזריזות של אברהם אבינו כדעתו, היה גם נעקר האומה הישראלית Ki ilu hayesa nigmeres ha'zrizus shel Avraham Avinu k'daato, hayah gam ne'ekar ha'ummah ha'Yisraelis. You know, we know the way the story of the עקידה Akeida ends. We know that אברהם Avraham raises his hand, the ax, the sword, the knife, and the מלאך malach says, stop! Don't do it. And אברהם Avraham exhales, and יצחק Yitzchak exhales. And he puts the knife down and he sees the ram. We know the way the story ends. And we exhale. But אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu didn't in real time. When he woke up that morning to go do the unthinkable, when he woke up that morning to go do the unthinkable. Unthinkable. And I think this is an interpretation of the עקידה Akeida, this is not our פרשה parsha. I I alluded to it recently in another context and I'd like to elaborate on it, figure out the opportunity. But we're living in a time of multiple identities. Intersectionality, identity, identity crisis, identity priorities. We have multiple identities. We have a professional identity, a personal identity, a gender, an orientation, a religion, an ethnicity, a culture. We have all kinds of identity, a parent, a child, a spouse. These are all different layers and components of identity. And what אידישקייט Yiddishkeit is asking us ultimately, and the story of the עקידה Akeida ultimately is, that the identity as an עבד השם eved Hashem has to supersede, has to be the top identity of any other, even of a parent. Now ultimately השם Hashem doesn't want to put us in that conflict. But השם Hashem says to אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu, setting the precedent for all time, that your identity, your core identity, your most central identity must always be as an עבד השם eved Hashem. What it means to have a relationship with me, what it means to be a religious personality, is the other identities, some which will fit neatly and conveniently and comfortably and others which will be in conflict and tension, you need to sometimes be willing to suppress or push further down the list one identity from another.But coming back to the story. So we know the way it ends, but אברהם Avraham has to live it in real time. And when אברהם Avraham wakes up that morning, and he thinks he's going to fulfill this most impossible test, that השם Hashem says slaughter your son, does he delay, does he hesitate? Does he slash his own tires so he has a flat tire? Does he run out of gas intentionally so he can't get there? Does he forget the keys, lose the combination? No, he wakes up and with zeal and alacrity and enthusiasm, he runs to fulfill the will of השם Hashem, even though the will of השם Hashem was to destroy all that he had been building, even though the will of השם Hashem, as he understood it at the time, was to destroy his continuity, for his life and legacy to come to an abrupt end. שאמר השם יתברך כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע Sh'amar Hashem Yisborach, ki b'Yitzchak yikarei l'cha zara. ומך אברהם אבינו שקט בם הסדרותו למצות ורצון השם U'mach Avraham Avinu sheket b'im hisdayruso l'mitzvos v'ratzon Hashem, ובשביל שהיה נקר על ידי זה האומה הישראלית לא נגמר המעשה כי לא היה דעת השם לשחטו u'bishvil she'haya nekar al yedei zeh ha'ummah ha'Yisraelis, lo nigmar ha'ma'aseh, ki lo hayah daas Hashem l'shachto. מכל שכן אותה רשע שברצונך לעקור שלא כרצון השם יתברך בודאי לא יכון ולא יגמר מעשה הרשע Mikol sheken osah rasha she'b'ratzoncha la'akor shelo k'ratzon Hashem Yisborach, v'vadai lo yikon v'lo yigmar ma'aseh ha'rasha. This קאצקער Kotsker is an entire reinterpretation of this רש\"י Rashi. We've all learned this רש\"י Rashi our whole lives. That's why I said this קאצקער Kotsker was worth coming for today. We've all learned it our entire life. That namely, what? בלעם Bilam, you think you're impressing me, you woke up? Your hatred drives you to do what you normally don't do. You woke up early and you packed the car yourself? אברהם Avraham already did that. And we oh, it's cute, אברהם Avraham woke up and packed the car, בלעם Bilam woke up and packed the car. קאצקער Kotsker says it's much deeper. You woke up with such zeal as an enemy. אברהם Avraham woke up as a loyal faithful servant towards that same end, and he he didn't have any less of the same zeal and enthusiasm. That's what it means to be loyal to me. That's what it means to make your רצון ratzon conform to mine. That's what it means is to not only go through the motions of the action of what I command, but for you to make your will conform to my will means that אברהם Avraham, even though it was going to be the same result of what you're trying to do, and he is on the other end of it, he had the same enthusiasm you had because he made his will conform to mine. Is that a קאצקער Kotsker? What a קאצקער Kotsker. What a קאצקער Kotsker. Beautiful. Let's keep going. ויקם בלעם בבקר וילך עם שרי מואב Vayakam Billam ba'boker vayelech im sarei Moav. פסוק כא Pasuk chaf aleph. בלעם Bilam wakes up in the morning, he goes with the officers of מואב Moav. God gets very angry. כל הולך בזה זה מלאך השם Kol holech b'zeh zeh malach Hashem, so God sends an angel to stand and block the way, לשטנו l'satano. Says the מדרש Medrash, who is this מלאך malach? The מלאך של רחמים היה malach she'rachamim hayah. Was this a wicked, evil, negative angel? מדרש Medrash says no. This was a compassionate and kind and a loving angel. והיה רוצה למנעו מלחטא שלא יחטא ויאבד V'hayah rotze l'maneo milchto. Shelo yachta v'yovad. What made him an angel of compassion and kindness? Why was he blocking the way? Because he was trying to help בלעם Bilam. He was trying to get בלעם Bilam to pivot. He was trying to get him to redirect, to redirect. Says רב יחזקאל לעווינשטיין Rav Yechezkel Levenstein, the משגיח mashgiach of יחזקאל Yechezkel, he writes, you see from here השם Hashem's boundless and endless kindness, generosity, magnanimity. Even בלעם הרשע Bilam ha'rasha, השם Hashem should have given up on him. But even to a בלעם הרשע Bilam ha'rasha he sends an angel of רחמים rachamim to give him another chance, to reconsider, to read the writing on the wall, to read the room and decide to go about it a different way, to change location, to change location. I said in the one minute, if you subscribe to the one and one campaign, I said yesterday, Sunday, recently, ספורנו Sforno points out in a moment we'll read that you know, בלעם Bilam hits the donkey and then he sees the angel, and he says to the angel, חטאתי Chatosi, I sinned. I sinned. חטאתי Chatosi. So the ספורנו Sforno wonders, חטאתי Chatosi, what חטא cheit did you do? You didn't see the angel. Why does he react and tell the angel, חטאתי Chatosi? חטאתי Chatosi. Go to, where is this? When the angel finally appears to בלעם Bilam, he turns to the angel and he says חטאתי Chatosi. I sinned. So, sorry I didn't see you, I sinned. So the ספורנו Sforno wonders, where's the sin? He didn't see him. He was invisible. He only then became visible. So why was it considered to be a sin? So the ספורנו Sforno says something remarkable. He says sometimes we fail to see what's right in front of us because we're not looking, because we're not reading, we're not trying to understand which doors השם Hashem is opening and which doors he's closing, all for our good. It is a חטא cheit. It's a terrible mistake to not read and to not watch, to not look, to not try to understand. People live life, this is really the theme of our Living with אמונה Emunah Wednesday mornings. Sometimes the door closes and we wonder where is השם Hashem and why השם Hashem. And only with the benefit of time do we understand that he closed that door for our own, our own good, our well-being. Maybe if we would have gotten that job, maybe if we would have married that person, maybe if we would have been able to buy that house, we don't know how negative that would have been. And when he closed that door, that's the angel, the מלאך של רחמים malach of rachamim. What feels like the שטן Satan, what sometimes feels like it's an angel of destruction or an angel of death, it's an angel of negativity, is a מלאך של רחמים malach of rachamim. השם Hashem, I don't know why you're closing this door. השם Hashem, I don't know why you've made this a dead end, but I know that it's for a good reason. I know that it's out of רחמים rachamim. I know that it's for me. And when we don't see that and understand that, and we don't live that, חטאתי Chatosi, it's a חטא cheit. It's a mistake. It's a mistake to not accept and read when a door closes and look for the door that opens. He is the ultimate navigation system. He is the ultimate Waze. And he redirects us and reroutes us and he gets us to where we're meant to be on the best route. It's not always the most direct route, but it's the best route for us. So stop trying to defeat and go around, you'll get stuck in traffic or behind an accident or pulled over by a cop, by a policeman. Listen to how השם Hashem is speaking to us through which doors he opens and through which ones he chooses to close. פרק כב פסוק כח Perek chaf beis, pasuk chaf ches. Turn the page. The story continues. ויפתח השם את פי האתון Vayiftach Hashem es pi ha'ason, now this donkey speaks, ויאמר לבלעם, מה עשיתי לך כי הכיתני זה שלש רגלים vayomer l'Bilam, mah asisi lecha ki hekisani zeh shalosh regalim? What have I ever do to you that you're hitting me three times? Right, the donkey sees the angel and stops, it's a very narrow passageway, בלעם Bilam's leg is caught, he kicks, hits the donkey. The donkey finally after the third time now speaks. And the donkey says, what I ever do to you? By the way, the sefer, my new favorite sefer, R'Otzar Pelos HaTorah wonders, what language did the donkey speak in? Did the donkey literally speak? The רמב\"ם Rambam writes, no. This was a dream. This was a prophecy. We're not meant to understand it literally. Prophetically, בלעם Bilam had an experience, a dream, as if the donkey was speaking. Meaning a message was communicated, transmitted to him, as if it came from the donkey, but the donkey didn't speak. Others write, no, we're meant to understand it quite literally. He spoke. It's one of the miracles of nature. This mouth of the donkey is one of the things that was created during בין השמשות bein hashmashos, during the six days of creation, during creation itself. So if you understand he literally spoke, what language? What language? What language did he speak? What do you think? The רמ\"א Rama, by the way, in his sefer Torah U'la, the רמ\"א Rama we פוסק pasken like, writes the donkey spoke literally. So what language did he speak? So the מושב זקנים בעלי התוספות Moshav Zekenim Ba'alei HaTosfos writes in ספר בראשית Sefer Bereishis, ויהי כל הארץ שפה אחת Vayehi kol ha'aretz safah achas. We know that before the rebellion of the Tower of Babel, the world universally spoke one language. The punishment for the מגדל בבל Migdal Bavel was the United Nations, the UN. We continue to suffer that punishment till today. 70 languages, 70 cultures, 70 sets of laws, and the miscommunication because of that. So the מושב זקנים בעלי התוספות Moshav Zekenim, the Ba'alei HaTosfos says based on this, ויאמר הנחש vayomer ha'nachash, when the snake spoke to חוה Chava, what language did it, same question could be asked, by the way. Did the snake speak literally or figuratively, metaphorically? Same debate. But for those who understand the snake spoke literally, what language? So the דעת זקנים בעלי התוספות Daas Zekenim, Ba'alei HaTosfos says, Hebrew. Because the שפה אחת safah achas, the singular language the whole world spoke before the dispersement was לשון הקודש Lashon HaKodesh. עברית Ivrit. Hebrew. Hebrew. That was the punishment of the נחש nachash, had to go to Ivrit class the rest of his life. Just joking to every Ivrit teacher I ever had. Just joking, just joking. So he spoke Hebrew. So based on that, he says in his sefer, that there are those who say, when was this אתון ason, when was this donkey created? We just mentioned, בין השמשות bein hashmashos of creation, ערב שבת בין השמשות Erev Shabbos bein hashmashos of creation. So before מגדל בבל Migdal Bavel. So if that's when he was created, before the story of מגדל בבל Migdal Bavel, what language did he speak to בלעם Bilam in? Hebrew. That's the דעת זקנים בעלי התוספות Daas Zekenim, Ba'alei HaTosfos. The donkey spoke Hebrew. Hebrew. Literally the posuk we have. Why do you keep hitting me three times? He spoke Hebrew. Rabbi Yonasan Eibschutz in his תפארת יהונתן Tiferes Yonasan disagrees, and he says he spoke the colloquial language. He spoke whatever was the vernacular of the time. Whatever language he spoke in מדין Midyan. Midyanese. That's what he spoke, because that's what בלעם Bilam spoke and that was the familiar language of the time. He has evidence to that. He has a whole essay about this. That's what I told you, these kinds of obscure questions you'd never ask or you'd never think anyone wrote about, things like what language did the donkey speak? He writes about. Very, very interesting. That's what he wrote about. It's interesting. I've pointed out before that there's I find a tremendous irony. The rationalists, who always take the Torah quite literally and who are offended by דרש drush and מדרש medrash and דרשות drashos of rabbis, and they say you have to stick with the פשוטו של מקרא pshuto shel mikra, stick with the little translation, they all jump to say, of course this donkey didn't speak. It's just metaphoric. And the people who always are דרש'נ darshaning and דרש drush and מדרש medrash, and they're דרש'נ darshaning up the whole Torah, when it comes to this פסוק pasuk, you have to take it literally. It says he spoke, of course he spoke. So a fantastic irony when it comes to this פסוק pasuk. So the ספורנו Sforno points out, ויפתח השם את פי האתון vayiftach Hashem es pi ha'ason, God opened the mouth of the donkey, נתן בה כח לדבר nasan bah koach l'daber, He gave the power to speak just like, just like what would you finish the sentence? Just like the snake spoke, just like some other wicked person spoke? How does the ספורנו Sforno finish? נתן בה כח לדבר, השם שפתי תפתח Nasan bah koach l'daber, Hashem sfasi tiftach. Just like the beginning of the עמידה Amida. כי מהשם מענה לשון, גם לבלתי מוכן Ki mei'Hashem ma'aneh lashon, gam l'vilti muchan. השם Hashem gives you the power to speak even when you're not ready to speak. Strange. Strange end to the sentence, right? Says ר' ירוחם לבוביץ Rav Yerucham Levovitz. Says ר' ירוחם Rav Yerucham, you know what you see from here? Sometimes you take your three steps forward to daven. We're about to hit the עמידה Amida in סידר סניפץ Siddur Snippets. If you've not yet joined סידר סניפץ Siddur Snippets, now is the perfect time. You can have a more meaningful davening the rest of your life for six minutes a day. Six minutes a day, סידר סניפץ Siddur Snippets delivered right to your WhatsApp, or you can listen on any podcast player, six minutes a day. We're up to מי כמוך Mi Chamocha, we're about to hit the עמידה Amida. And there's a lot to say in השם שפתי תפתח Hashem sfasi tiftach. I love השם שפתי תפתח Hashem sfasi tiftach. There's a lot to say. The introduction to the עמידה Amida. So this ר' ירוחם Rav Yerucham, I'm giving you a little forshpeiz. I'm giving you a little bit a taste of סידר סניפץ Siddur Snippets. ר' ירוחם Rav Yerucham says sometimes you take the three steps forward and you say, השם Hashem, I'm tired, I'm exhausted, I can't concentrate, I have nothing to say. Or I've been so rebellious, I've been so distanced, I've been so absentee, I have not followed what you wanted, I don't even know where to start. I don't know what to say. Or השם Hashem, I'm so angry at you. I'm so upset at what you've done to me or people I love, I can't speak to you. Sometimes you find yourself with that siddur in your hands, you've taken those three steps forward, but you're at a loss for words. But don't worry. Keep going. Because just like השם Hashem put the words in the mouth of the donkey, he'll put the words in your mouth too. Not in a disparaging, negative way that you're just a lowly donkey, but הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu has the ability and power to put the words in the mouth of those who feel they have nothing to say. A donkey doesn't speak. A donkey can't speak. And even when we feel like I can't speak, I have nothing to say, הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu will put the words in our mouth. Not only in our conversation with him, there's someone you have to have a difficult conversation with. You have to confront, you have to deliver news to, and you don't know what you're going to say. השם שפתי תפתח Hashem sfasi tiftach. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu will put the words, he'll move our lips, ופי יגיד תהלתך ufi yagid tehilasecha. He'll give us the words. He'll move our lips. Rav Yerucham says you see from this far now that even in the moment that we feel like a donkey, unable and incapable of speaking, have faith, keep going because Hashem will put those words in our mouth.Give me a couple more minutes, I got a few fantastic things left to say. I've got many, many things that we're not going to say, but a few fantastic things left to say. Left to say. The Kotsker also. Rashi says, why שלוש רגלים Shalosh Regalim? ויפתח פי האתון Vayiftach pi ha'ason. The donkey speaks, finally he speaks, and what does the donkey say? נו Nu? What did you hit me three times for? And Rashi says on שלוש רגלים Shalosh Regalim, what does Rashi say? רמז לו, אתה מבקש לעקור אומה החוגגת שלוש רגלים בשנה Remez lo, atah mevakesh la'akor uma hachogeges shalosh regalim bashanah. You're trying to destroy a nation who's going to observe the שלוש רגלים Shalosh Regalim. That's what the donkey was alluding to. Why did you hit me three times? Three רגלים regalim means three times, but using that language of רגלים regalim means why are you hitting me? Why are you trying to go destroy the nation who will observe the three רגלים regalim? Why did the donkey engage, employ that מצוה mitzva? Why not, why are you going to destroy the people who are going to keep שבת Shabbos? Who are going to keep כשר kosher? Come up with some other מצוה mitzva. Why specifically the מצוה mitzva of שלוש רגלים Shalosh Regalim? Says the Kotsker, you know why? What ברכה bracha do we make? What is the קידוש Kiddush and what is the שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esrei of the שלוש רגלים Shalosh Regalim? ברוך אתה ה׳ מקדש Baruch Atah Hashem mekadesh ישראל והזמנים Yisrael v'hazmanim. שישראל מקדשי הזמנים. שישראל הם למעלה מן הזמן. ואיך אתה יכול לשלוט בהם שהם למעלה מן הזמן, ואתה תחת הזמן. She'Yisrael mekadshei hazmanim. She'Yisrael heim lema'alah min hazman. V'eich atah yachol lishlot bahem she'heim lema'alah min hazman, v'atah tachas hazman. שלוש רגלים Shalosh Regalim. Who determines the calendar? Who decides when the holidays fall? It's the Jewish people because we are למעלה מן הזמן lema'alah min hazman. We are above time. The donkey was saying this nation that you're going to curse, they're above time. They're above מזל mazal. And you think that you, you mere mortal, and who knew the mortality of the of of בלעם Bilam better than the donkey? Because let's just say they had a very intimate relationship.So the donkey's telling בלעם Bilam, you low life who has this intimate relationship with me a donkey, you think you're going to take on a people who are למעלה מן הזמן lema'alah min hazman, who are מקדש ישראל והזמנים mekadesh Yisrael v'hazmanim? Are you out of your mind? Turn around, turn away. It's not happening. It can't happen. It can't happen. The מגד יוסף Meged Yosef, I'll end with the מגד יוסף Meged Yosef of סורוצקין Surotskin.Quotes the זוהר Zohar.About this donkey that was created in ערב שבת Erev Shabbos.בלעם Bilam says, כי התעללת בי, היה לאתון להשיב את התשובה האמיתית ki hit'alalt bi, haya la'ason lehashiv es hat'shuva ha'amitis? What happens? Right? The the donkey says, why you hit me? And בלעם Bilam says, you're blocking the way. The donkey says, what have I ever done to you? So במקום זה היה טיפה מוסר לבלעם שאינו מכיר לטובה, ועם שמעשה אתון סומא מעיניו. B'makom zeh hayah tipa musar l'Bilam she'eino makir l'tovah, v'im shema'aseh ason suma me'einav. וילו נשוב עם דברי חכמה, שאילו השיב לו בדבר המהלך V'ilu nashuv im divrei chachmah, she'ilu heishiv lo b'davar hamehalech, what should the donkey have said? The donkey reacts and says, ow! Whatever I do to you? What should he have said? Why are you hitting me? There's an angel. I didn't just stop willy-nilly. I didn't stop for no reason. I didn't stop because I'm lazy. I stopped because there's an angel. What are you hitting me? There's an angel. Donkey doesn't say that. What does the donkey say? What have I ever done to you? Have I not served you loyally and faithfully?And says the מגד יוסף Meged Yosef, what you see from here, what you learn from here is the power of gratitude. What the donkey was really saying is, משום הכרת הטוב, יש מקום לבא בטענות כלפי בלעם. מדוע לא דן את האתון לכף זכות? mishum hakaras hatov, yesh makom lavo b'ta'anos klapei Bilam. Madua lo dan es ha'ason l'kaf zchus? I don't have to get into what was blocking me, why I was blocking me, what I couldn't get around. The bottom line is why didn't you judge me favorably? Why'd you hit me? Why didn't you ask me why I'm not moving? Have I not served you loyally and faithfully all these years? So the first time I break down, you smack me, assuming the worst? Where's your gratitude? Where's your loyalty? Where are you to reciprocate that loyalty? And you see from here a powerful lesson from a donkey. The donkey is teaching this powerful lesson, that when someone's been loyal to us, don't jump to the wrong conclusion. What should gratitude cause us to do? Judge favorably. Gratitude should make us seek to understand, to ask questions, to judge favorably, to not jump to conclusions. That's what the donkey was giving מוסר musar. Didn't answer, there's an angel blocking. Answered, hey, don't I deserve to be judged favorably? Aren't you grateful? Haven't I always served you? Haven't I always served you faithfully? Haven't I served you faithfully?We didn't even get into what בלעם Bilam said when he tried to curse and he turned it into a ברכה bracha. How was it a ברכה bracha?I leave you with a question, a question of the Kotsker. One more Kotsker. I'll leave you with the question, I won't tell you the answer.אראנו ולא עתה Er'enu v'lo atah. One of the ברכות brachos that בלעם Bilam ends up giving is that he sees the end of time. He sees משיח's Mashiach's going to come. He sees the Jewish people's worthiness. He sees, he sees how the book, the movie's gonna end. Kotsker wonders, why didn't he convert? Why didn't he join the team, the winning team? Why didn't you become a fair-weather fan? You see who got the best pick in the draft. You see who's lining up the best team on the field. You see who's gone, who's gone, what are the Yankees now? 62 or whatever their record is, insane. Jump aboard. Why didn't when when Balak, when בלעם Bilam sees how it's going to end, jump aboard. Why didn't he convert? יתרו Yisro saw what was going on. What did he do? He joined the winning team. וישמע יתרו Vayishma Yisro, וירא בלק vayar Balak. What is it about יתרו, וישמע יתרו Yisro, Vayishma Yisro, he joined the team. וירא בלק Vayar Balak, בלק Balak didn't join the team, he opposed the team. And בלעם Bilam, even though אראנו ולא עתה er'enu v'lo atah, even though בלעם Bilam sees how it's going to end, he doesn't convert. Why not? Why not?Until next time. Tomorrow morning, 10 minutes of מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim. Living with אמונה emunah behind the במה bimah, you know the drill. Sign up for the newsletter פרשה parsha perspectives and one on one. Till next time, stay happy.
