Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 12 Tammuz, 5784
Parsha Balak: (Numbers 22:2 – 25:9)
Fifth Portion: Numbers 23:13 – 23:26

Good morning! We are approaching the fullness of the Moon of Tammuz. As we are looking at the transformation of our hearts from broken to healing, my therapist (who is AMAZING) challenged me in session yesterday with all of this.

I was sharing with him this transformation of my broken heart into a wounded heart. He said “you realize those are all just beliefs inside you?  You never “had” a broken heart. You BELIEVED you had a broken heart.”

I realized, the belief was the limiting factor. I don’t now possess a healing heart. I believe I have ALWAYS had a healing heart. So instead needing to create two different timelines – Broken Heart time and Healing Heart time – there is a merging of the timelines together. I have ALWAYS had a healing heart – I just didn’t BELIEVE I did.  I made the decisions I’ve made to always support my healing – even though it didn’t make sense going through it – looking back I can see how all of my choices were for the purposes of healing.

With this, let’s dig into the Torah!  Remembering we just came from the place where Balak thought Balaam was going to curse the Israelites. And instead, blessed the people! Let’s go!

13Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place from where you will see them; however, you will see only a part of them, not all of them and curse them for me from there.

Balak believed Balaam just saw the “wrong” Israelites. So he showed him “different” ones. And. Not all of them.

14He took him to the field of the lookouts, to the peak of the mountain, and he built seven altars and offered up a bull and a ram on [each] altar.

15He said to Balak, “Stand here next to your burnt offering and I will be chanced on here.

So we get a repeat of what happened before. Let’s see what Hashem says:

16The Lord chanced upon Balaam and placed something into his mouth. He said, “Return to Balak and so you shall speak.”

17When he came to him, he was standing next to his burnt offering, and the Moabite dignitaries were with him, and Balak said to him, “What did the Lord speak?”

Here we go:

18He took up his parable and said, “Arise, Balak, and hear; listen closely to me, son of Zippor.

19God is not a man that He should lie, nor is He a mortal that He should relent. Would He say and not do, speak and not fulfill?

20I have received [an instruction] to bless, and He has blessed, and I cannot retract it.

21He does not look at evil in Jacob, and has seen no perversity in Israel; the Lord, his God, is with him, and he has the King’s friendship.

22God has brought them out of Egypt with the strength of His loftiness.

23For there is no divination in Jacob and no soothsaying in Israel. In time it will be said to Jacob and Israel, ‘What has God wrought?’

24Behold, a people that rises like a lioness and raises itself like a lion. It does not lie down until it eats its prey and drinks the blood of the slain.”

Wow. Is a double down on the blessing.

25Balak said to Balaam, “You shall neither curse them nor shall you bless them.”

Balak backs off and basically says – “nevermind”

26Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Have I not spoken to you, saying, ‘Everything the Lord speaks that I shall do.”

Balam explains he is here to do what Hashem has him doing.

What is the takeaway here? As we are shifting our beliefs?

Looking at verses 21-24? It is as if Hashem has let go and forgotten the past. The golden calf. The reports of the spies. Korath’s rebellion.  We have witnessed a lot of “poor decisions” on the part of Israel.  And yet? Hashem doesn’t even mention them here. In this moment, they are good.

Hashem has not held onto the wounds. The alienation. Hashem loves us.

How do we take this within us? Because how many of us – if we put ourselves in Balak’s shoes – and took a prophet to the mountain of our heart – would expect Hashem to look out over the landscape of our lives and judge us harshly and curse us? What if that is what we are trying to re-enact? And each time we do – each time we believe we deserve cursing – we get a taste of that because we are frustrated – but we are taken care of and blessed.  Even when we can’t see it.

Because remember – the Israelites couldn’t see it. This was all happening without their knowledge.

And. Balak was acting out of fear.

How do we move into emotional safety? This is the journey of our healing hearts.

What are your thoughts?

Here are my thoughts from two years ago:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 15 Tamuz, 5782

Today is the mid point of the month! We had a full moon last night. I hope we continue to focus on seeing in the darkness and allowing ourselves to fully reflect the light of our souls!

Let’s dig in!

Yesterday we read about Balaam speaking a parable to Balak, and Balak recognizing that instead of cursing the Israelites, Balaam was blessing them.

Today’s portion begins with Balak taking Balaam to a different place to see the children of Israel. The idea was the place Balak was taking Balaam would only allow him to see a part of the people – and figured that would give Balaam the opportunity to curse some of the people and not all of them.

They did the same thing. They built 7 altars and offered up a bull and ram on each one. Balaam tells balak to stand next to his burnt offering, that God might happen to appear to Balaam.

God shows up, and the Torah tells us God put something in Balaam’s mouth to coerce it to speak positively about Israel. He tells Balaam to go back to Balak and tell him…

Balaam tells Balak that you can’t manipulate God. God has given Balaam words to bless, so he will bless the Israelites.

Balaam says “He (God) observed no evil idolaters among Jacob, and has seen no transgressions. Even when Jacob rebels, God, his God, is with him: he has the King’s affection.”

Wow. I want the King’s affection!!!

Balaam then speaks more; “In that future time the angels will say to Jacob and Israel; “What has God done?” For Israel will be closer to God than angels.”

Wow. Rabbi Schneerson had this to say:

The words “in that time,” are a hint that when the world reaches twice its age at the time when Balaam said his parable (2488 years from Creation), then prophecy will return to the Jewish people. There is no doubt that this is a prelude to the Messiah (Maimonides)

Indeed, around the year 4976 (1216) we find a number of sages among the Jewish people who were known for their prophetic insight: Rabbi Samuel b. Kalonymus ha-Navi (“The Prophet”) or he-Hasid (“The Pious”) of Speyer (12th century); his son Rabbi Judah b. Samuel he-Hasid (“The Pious”) of Regensburg (12th – 13th century); Rabbi Eleazar b. Judah of Worms, author of Sefer ha-Rokeah (12th – 13th century); Nahmanides (13th century): Rabbi Abraham b. David of Posquières (12th century); and the Tosafist, Rabbi Ezra ha-Navi (“The Prophet”) of Montcontour (12th – 13th century).

Unfortunately, this era of prophecy did not immediately lead to the Redemption.

Nevertheless, years later Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (18th century) and his successors openly demonstrated the prophetic spirit once again–and there is no doubt that this is a prelude to the Messiah! (End quote)

The Torah portion finishes as yesterdays did. Basically, Balaam blesses the people and Balak is dumbfounded; “if you’re not going to curse them, at least don’t bless them!”

And Balaam’s response is the same; “I will only do whatever God says!”

What are your thoughts?