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 these blessings.
They crouch in wait like a lion
Like a lioness, who dares to rouse them?
Blessed are they who bless you
And cursed are they who curse you!
Numbers 24:9
Balaam’s fourth and final blessing begins with a prophecy which suggests that Israel’s victory shall arrive in a far-off future. Balaam then lists each of the various enemies within the levant that Israel will one day subdue, or outlast, before he concludes with an intriguing question: “Who shall endure, save those named by God?”
From an historical perspective, Balaam’s blessing rings true – each nation mentioned in this blessing is no more, save Israel. The Jewish people have watched nations and empires rise and fall throughout the millennia.
The idea that Israel was somehow chosen to endure may be comforting. Jews have faced countless hardships and tragedies throughout history, and threats to our people continue even in the modern age. For some, the suggestion that our resilience is due to Divine blessing, may feel reassuring. For others, the idea of Divine selection is, at face value, repellent. After all, if such a relationship is possible, surely justice and mercy for all on earth should be possible as well.
However, this is the fourth and final of Balaam’s blessings. Each blessing speaks not only to Divine beneficence, but to the character of Israel that presages these blessings. As much as Balaam’s blessings suggest that God chose Israel, they also suggest that Israel must begin by choosing God; by embracing our distinctiveness while also joining hands with our neighbors, by practicing Jewish rituals and values that ennoble us –even when they differ from those of others – and by cultivating a nourishing, responsible relationship with the earth. Only in doing so may we develop a loving bond with the Divine which will sustain us through all the challenges the future may hold.
– Rabbi Josh Knobel