We Are Family
Balak, this
week’s parasha, tells the tale of a man named Baalam. Baalam is sent by Balak,
king of Moab ,
to put a curse on the Israelites. Baalam disobeys the L-rd and attempts to
depart with the Moabites. Hashem leads Baalam’s donkey to stop and speaks
through it. Baalam ends up blessing the children of Israel .
The ancient
rabbis’ interpreted Baalam’s name as “without a people.” One without a people
or family may seek out acceptance that could lead to camaraderie any way they
can get it. This may have lead Baalam to be willing to curse a group of nomads
that he didn’t know. But Hashem always has a plan; a curse became a blessing,
which became the basis for the “Mah Tovu” portion in the liturgy. During Shavuot,
we read the story of another Moabite, who became a blessing to our people.
Without Ruth, there would have been no King David. What blessing will you
bring?
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