In this week’s parashah, the Moabite king, Balak, hires the prophet Balaam to curse the Israelites. However, once the prophet reaches the Israelites, he issues several blessings. This week, we’ll examine the enduring meaning of those blessings.
For there is no augury in Jacob
No sorcery in Israel.
Rather, Jacob is told at once
Israel, what God intends.
Numbers 23:23
Balaam’s second blessing references God’s relationship with Israel, as well as their compliance with proscriptions, found throughout the Torah, against divination rituals such as consulting oracles and spirits, or reading omens and entrails.
The 11th Century French Sage Rabbi Solomon Isaaci, known also as Rashi, teaches that the two go hand in hand. By abiding by the proscription against divination, the scholar suggests, the Israelites merit direct revelation. Rashi’s interpretation invokes Balaam’s first blessing which refers to the Israelites as,“a people that dwells apart.” By calling their distinctiveness (their refusal to practice divination) a blessing, Balaam applauds the Israelites for their choice to remain apart from the neighboring peoples in their practices.
This begs us to consider: which values, rituals, or beliefs continue to set us apart as Jews in useful or meaningful ways?
– Rabbi Josh Knobel