Parshas Balak: The Balaam Syndrome

Whoever possesses the following three traits is of the disciples of our father Abraham; and whoever possesses the opposite three traits is of the disciples of the wicked Balaam. The disciples of our father Abraham have a good eye, a humble spirit and a meek soul. The disciples of the wicked Balaam have an evil eye, a haughty spirit and a greedy soul. What is the difference between the disciples of our father Abraham and the disciples of the wicked Balaam? The disciples of our father Abraham benefit in this world and inherit the World To Come, and as is stated, "To bequeath to those who love Me there is, and their treasures I shall fill" (Proverbs 8:21). The disciples of the wicked Balaam inherit purgatory and descend into the pit of destruction, as is stated, "And You, G-d, shall cast them into the pit of destruction; bloody and deceitful men, they shall not attain half their days. And I shall trust in you" (Psalms, 55:24) (Ethics of Our Fathers 5:22)

The gentile prophet Balaam is the protagonist in this week’s parsha. The parsha begins with the Moabite king Balak having retained Balaam to curse the Jews. Balaam, whom the Midrash describes as having reached Moses’ level of prophesy, gladly acquiesced; that is for the right price of course! Ultimately, G-d prevented Balaam from cursing the Jews, so he delivered a curse disguised as a blessing. He also advised Balak on the way of seducing the Jewish People to sin. That suggestion was implemented, and it cost many Jewish lives including one of its leaders. Despite all of Balaam’s evil acts, he ended off his case for not cursing the Jews with a heartfelt plea: "Let my soul die the death of “yesharim” (a term describing the righteous which literally means 'straight'). [23:10]” The Talmud explains that the “yesharim” refers to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Balaam could not care less to live a righteous life, but he sure did not want to bear the consequences of his iniquities. He wanted to have it all. He wanted to live a wanton life, and to receive the same reward that the most Holy people of all time received. He knew where the truth lied. He simply had no desire to own up to it.

Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, (1902–1978), the Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva, is very bothered with the seeming disparity between Balaam’s actions and desires. Here was a man who had reached the pinnacle of prophesy. He knew where the truth was, yet the Mishna in Avos describes his students as having the worst possible traits; the exact opposite traits of the students of our Patriarch Abraham. Was he suffering from schizophrenia?

Rabbi Shmuelevitz offers a very important insight into the complex world of the human psyche. Balaam was neither the first nor the last intellectual who wanted to have it all. He philosophized and intellectualized for hours on end, but that had no relevance to the way he led his life. His emotional draws were not influenced whatsoever by the realities of G-d and the truth that exists. Sure, he wanted the full reward in the World to Come, but he was not willing to invest in that stock at all. He was so removed from G-dliness that the only teaching that stuck with his students was his being a role model for an evil eye, a haughty spirit and a greedy soul. Balaam did whatever he could do to avoid the truth. If there was any candidate for conversion, he was the prime candidate. His heart however held him back.

Balaam’s quandary is faced by so many Jews worldwide. The truth stares us in the face, but the desires of the outside world are quite overwhelming. So how do we break out of the Balaam syndrome? By realizing that we can have it all. The greatest pleasure in the world is living a life of meaning. The Torah lifestyle is our answer to Balaam. It seems daunting and that is what prevented Balaam from taking the plunge. We cannot afford the same mistake.

May we merit to have it all.

Parshas Chukas: Why The Snakes?

We are all familiar with the emblem of the American Medical Association; the serpent wrapped around a pole symbolizing healing. That symbol was taken out of this week’s parsha. The Jewish people complained again. They asserted that the spiritual manna which had the ability to taste like any food that one desired, was bland and insufficient. They desired the physically scrumptious and sumptuous smorgasbord from Egypt. (Abarbanel) Thereupon, G-d sent poisonous snakes to silence those naysayers. Moshe prayed for salvation so G-d instructed him to make a copper serpent and place it on a pole. By staring at the serpent, the afflicted person would be cured.

What is the measure for measure here? Why were snakes chosen to be both the punishment and the cure?

Rashi explains that the snake was punished as being the first gossipmonger by saying loshon harah about G-d to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, the people who were now spreading loshon horah on G-d were punished with snakes.

Additionally, the punishment of the snake was that it will eat dust and that all food will taste the same. Contrast that with the manna which tasted like all of the worlds delicacies, and even so they were ungrateful for that bestowal of good. Therefore their punishment was to bitten by the mono-tasting serpents. The measure for measure is obvious. G-d was granting them reprieve from the curse of Adam “by the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread” with the best tasting fare of all time, and their response was kafuyei tovah, sheer ingratitude.

Rav Hirsch elaborates that G-d was sending a very clear message to the ingrates. They were focusing on the small items in life that overshadowed everything else. They were forgetting about the daily miracles that was protecting them. There were always serpents lurking in the desert, and it was only through miraculous intervention that they were kept at bay. G-d removed the protection which they enjoyed until then, and out came the snakes. By gazing at the snake, one remembers G-d’s graciousness of providing constant protection from all sorts of dangers in the world. One realizes that every moment of existence is a gift from Heaven, thereby consoling us from everyday disappointments in life. It is all about having the proper perspective in life.

Samantha, a hardworking housewife demonstrated this lesson quite aptly. One day her husband came home from work only to find the house upside down. Toys were strewn everywhere, the children were fighting, and leftovers from breakfast had found their way onto the living room floor. He went running to check on his wife, and there she was reading peacefully in bed. “Samantha, what in the world is going on” he proclaimed. Calmly, she looked up from her book and said, “You know how you always ask me what I do the whole day. Today I went on vacation!”

May we all merit to appreciate the good in our lives and to express the due appreciation!