B"H
Wednesday, Tammuz 13, 5781 / June 23, 2021
This week’s Parsha is Balak. The Parsha begins with the story of Balak, King of Moab, who was afraid that the Jewish people may conquer his land as they have just conquered the lands of Emori and Bashan and killed their kings. He sent for Bilam to come and curse the Jewish people.
Bilam, who hated the Jewish people and was tempted by Balak's promises of wealth and honor, very much wanted to go and curse the Jewish people. In the end, G-d allowed him to go, but warned him not to curse the Jewish people. G-d told him, “Only the words which I will place in your mouth that you shall do.”
Seeing that Bilam’s intentions were not good and he was still hoping to get a chance to curse the Jewish people, G-d sent an angel to block Bilam’s way. Bilam didn’t see the angel, but his donkey did see him. The donkey deviated from the road three times and Bilam hit the donkey three times. Finally, G-d gave the donkey the ability to speak and it said to Bilam, “Why did you hit me three times?”
Finally, G-d opened Bilam’s eyes and he saw the angel blocking the road. Bilam said to the angel, “I have sinned. I didn’t know that you were blocking the road. If it’s not proper in your eyes, then I will return.”
The angel told Bilam, “Go with these people. But remember, the words I will tell you, only that you shall say.”
In the end, instead of cursing them, G-d placed words of blessing in Bilam's mouth and each time he wanted to curse them, he ended up blessing them. The specific blessings are recorded in this Parsha.
One passage of Bilam's blessings to the Jewish people is, "He [G-d] has not beheld sin in Jacob, nor has He seen perverseness in Israel. The L-rd his G-d is with him." Rashi explains this to mean that even when the people of Israel sin, G-d is not very strict with them and does not abandon them. He is always with them.
Many of our sages have always tried to find the good in another person. They were able to look beyond the person's external negative acts and see into the essence of the Jew's Neshama-soul. As a result, rather than judging their brethren for their shortcomings as acts of sin, they were able to find the good and positive hidden within that act or the conditions in which they were performed.
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Barditchev was one of those sages whose unconditional love for his brethren was legendary. He saw only the good in everyone.
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak once saw a Jewish coachman enwrapped in Talit and Tefillin, in the middle of his prayers, greasing the wheels of his carriage in preparation for a trip.
Someone else would have scolded the man for his lack of respect for his prayers. Not so Rabbi Levi Yitzchak. He lifted his eyes upward and exclaimed, "G-d, see what a great people you have. Look how devoted this poor coachman is to You. Even when he's greasing the wheels of his coach he cannot refrain from praying!"
There are those who find fault with others even when the other person is performing a good deed and then there are those, like Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, who cannot find faults and see only good in others. G-d deals with us measure for measure. When we see the good in others, He too, sees the good in us.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY