"To be a teacher in the right sense is to be a learner.  I am not a teacher, only a fellow student."  (Soren Kierkegaard)

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A FEW PRE-SHABBAT WORDS FROM RABBI AARON

The Power of the Blessing
Rewind all the way back to Genesis chapter 12. God challenges Abram to leave everything that is secure and familiar behind. ?? ?? – Go forth! Journey on the unfolding mystery toward the person you will become.
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Now Fast Forward back up to this week's parasha - Balak, titled after the Midianite king who hired Bil'am to curse the Israelites.
So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River, in his native land. Balak said: “A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”

a few close-ups in the text...
Note the underlined phrases from Genesis and Numbers. Here's one [admittedly literalist] reading of the textual similarity. We are witnessing a contest between Bil'am and God: Who is really the master of blessings and curses? Is it God or a person?

[Thanks to Professor Richard Friedman [in his Commentary on the Torah] for this nuanced take on perspective...

God came to Bil'am and asked, “Who are these men with you?” Bil'am said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: ‘A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.’” But God said to Bil'am, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”

The next morning Bil'am got up and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your own country, for Adonai has refused to let me go with you.”

So the Moabite officials returned to Balak and said, “Bil'am refused to come with us.”

Perspective. The Moabites focus on the prophet [Bil'am], not on God, who send a message through the prophet.

This difference in perspectives shows up with Joseph in the Land of Egypt. After Pharaoh shares his double nightmare with Joseph, Joseph reminds Pharaoh and his courtiers: the wisdom to interpret dreams comes from God, not from me. Joseph goes on to foretell the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine. He then offers counsel about the best way to prepare Egyptian society for the hard times ahead. As soon as Joseph finishes his report, Pharaoh says, "Since God has revealed all this to you, there's no one else as wise and understanding as you...." Like the Moabites, the Egyptians focus on the prophet, not so much on the prophecy coming from God.

The power belongs to God
Shortly before the Aleinu near the end of the weekday morning davening we read Psalm 20. This little excerpt drives home the same lesson we might glean from the contest between the Israelite God and the Moabite prophet.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of Adonai our God.

Two small items of take-home
1. The phrase I just quoted from psalm 20 seems so blindingly obvious, but maybe it is far from obvious. It's easy to say that we trust in God [it's even printed on our paper money!], but we are much more inclined to put our trust in certain powerful people or in dazzling weaponry or in glamorous celebrity. Remember those painfully gushing, ecstatic journalistic portraits of the invincible American forces blazing into Iraq. Back when the war in Iraq was a hot sell, way before the date on the carton suggested that our democracy project had terribly soured...

A column of unstoppable steel and resolve; Shock and Awe, bombs that would turn the lights out on the bad guys, and demonstrate the crushing power we wielded. Point, set, match. A cake-walk. We'll have the troops out of there in no time.

How many years ago, how many caskets ago, how many PTSD's ago, how many broken warriors ago - did those embedded journalists blare the trumpets heralding our [perennial] blind trust in horses and in chariots? And, given all the bloody unknowable unknowns, all that chest-thumping rings shamefully hollow. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of Adonai our God.

2. All the way back to that game-changing conversation between God and Abram.
Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation,

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

one more close-up
‎והיה ברכה – v'heye bracha - and you will be a blessing... Actually, the tone/form of the text is not crystal clear. The Hebrew והיה ברכה – v'heye bracha also makes good sense as a command: "And I charge you to be a blessing." This reading resonates more with me. Within the context of the unfolding relationship between God and Abram, these words are much more than divine reassurance. God is raising the bar. Abram, I expect more from you. The point of this journey is for you - and your descendants - to live in such a way that will bring blessings down like the rain. Quite a tall order. And that - still, today - is the point of the journey.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Aaron

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