* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
Balak, king of Moav, turns to the prophet Bilam and asks him to curse the nation of Israel that is about to enter the land of Israel.
Notice that Balak does not ask Bilam to bless him or his people, but only to curse us. He does not ask to build up, but only to tear down. He does not want to better the lot of his own people, but only to make the nation of Israel suffer. Our enemies are like this today. They do not want to advance themselves but only to cause us harm. It does not even matter if they too are harmed in the process. The main thing is to destroy, to kill, to attempt to annihilate the nation of Israel. Look at our enemies today. What a sad and all too familiar scenario...
But then, of course, the plan of Balak is thwarted just as similar plans of our enemies are thwarted today. God does not allow Bilam to curse us, and only blessings emanate from him. He bestows upon us blessings that have endured until today: “As a lion, he will rise up,” “How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov,” and so on.
In contrast to the murderous perspective of our enemies, this week’s Torah portion predicts that our nation will be altogether different. We will become a blessing to all the nations of the earth. This blessed quality has characterized us until today as we are a nation that radiates light, sanctifies life, and makes the world a better place.
Let us pray that light will vanquish darkness, and that the words of the blessings in the parasha will be completed fulfilled.
