Even before my Bar Mitzvah, I was intrigued by the “talking donkey” in the Torah. Fortuitously, it became my Bar Mitzvah Parsha, and as I grow older its content has become much more meaningful.
Our parsha this week, Parashat Chukkat-Balak is rich with drama and meaning. Balak begins with Balak, the King of Moab, distressed and threatened by the success of the Israelite people. Instead of simply allowing our people to pass through peacefully, he decides to hire Balaam, a non-Jewish prophet, to curse the Israelites. Balaam tells Balak that he can only say whatever words God tells him to, but Balak doesn’t buy it, so he keeps pushing Balaam to curse the Israelites.
The story ends with Balaam not only not cursing our people, but, instead of just blessing them, he is overcome with awe of God and the Israelites’ houses of worship. (As an aside, this is the only prayer used in our worship written by a non-Jew.) Balaam blesses the Israelites three times, including the powerful prayer, Ma Tovu. However, it is what happens with Balaam on his way up to “curse” our people that continues to fascinate me.
Heading up the mountain to curse the Israelites, Balaam’s donkey sees an angel blocking their path and stops and will not move. Balaam does not see the angel and begins to beat his donkey. At this point the donkey incredibly starts to speak to Balaam and asks him if he, the donkey, has ever done something wrong to Balaam before, and why would Balaam suddenly start being so cruel? Once Balaam realizes how foolish he is being, the angel is revealed to Balaam, and he sees why his donkey stopped. The lesson from this seemingly childish story is an important one. Oftentimes, we are so focused on our end goals that we do not see what is right in front of us and therefore may hurt others along the way. Balaam is so focused on the silver and gold he can earn by cursing the Israelites that he does not see the angel blocking his path, (but a donkey who can talk does). All of us are guilty at one time or another of not listening to others or of not being aware of our surroundings. While we have been socially distant from one another these last few months, this has been accentuated more than ever before. My hope and blessing for all of us this week and in the weeks ahead is that we continue to take more time to appreciate what is around us and not always be focused on our end goals. Together, we can slow down and take time to learn more about each other.
** Please note: Rabbi Neal's Torah for Today Class will NOT meet today, July 3 **
Friday, July 3 Friday Evening Services 6:00 pm We welcome Rabbi Abraham and his family for their first official Shabbat with B'nai Amoona with a song-filled Shabbat service led by Cantor Sharon, Andy and BelleAnne Curry, Samantha Thal, Judy Abrams, Michael Rubin Eitan Kantor, the Wallerstein family singers and the Abraham family Meeting link:https://zoom.us/j/113973471 Meeting ID: 113 973 471 also via Livestream and FB Live
Shabbat, July 4 Tefilah with Cantor Sharon Nathanson: 9:00 - 10:30 am D'var Torah with Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham: 10:30 am via Livestream and FB Live (only)
Evening Services with Rabbi Neal Rose, Zakai and Ellior Rose: 8:00 pm via Livestream and FB Live (only)
