See Truly: Parashat Balaq

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Children at a tent encampment in Tornillo, Texas. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Parashat Balaq
Numbers 22:2 – 25:9

“And Bil`am saw that it is good in the eyes of the Eternal One to bless Israel…And he lifted his eyes and he saw Israel dwelling according to its tribes, and the spirit of the Almighty came upon him.” (Numbers 24:1-2)

As many close readers of this Torah portion have remarked, a constant motif running through the narrative is that of seeing. After many variations on the theme of seeing are played out in the story, we have come, in the verse cited above, to this culminating episode, where Bil`am, a “seer” who has been blinded until now by his ambition and greed, finally sees the truth. As a result he is filled with the Divine spirit and he pours out a blessing upon Israel, a blessing that we recite to this very day.

It is impossible for anyone who is aware of the tragic breakdown in national leadership and values that the people of the United States are presently suffering – and in too many cases, supporting – to read this Torah portion without finding in it echoes of our current nightmare. The Torah presents a national ruler who is overcome with fear and loathing for a foreign people. In the Torah’s case it is Israel. The Moabite king, Balaq, seeing Israel and being filled with revulsion toward them, compares these people to animals. (Num. 22:4) In truth, they pose no threat to him, but he is convinced otherwise. And, like Pharaoh before him, he stokes these irrational fears for the sake of dehumanizing them and turning them into an enemy who must be beaten back by any means possible.

In our day we have a President and his enablers who picture foreign people who are fleeing from harm as mortal threats, for they are “animals” and worse. They threaten to “infest” our land! Against all evidence, he is convinced that these “vermin” are causing rising rates of crime wherever they are admitted. It does not matter that the facts are against him. He sees what he wants to see and he is the successful prophet of others who wish to see things in this way. (See – https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/06/trump-immigrants-infest/563159/)

In ancient times Pharaoh, Balaq’s predecessor, in his disgust with Israel, formulated policies designed to destroy our families. And today the administration has done the same. King Balaq attempts to enroll a spokesperson of God, Bil`am, to support his approach. Our administration is also buttressed by politicians and religious leaders who present cruelty and hatred as the word of the Bible, the word of God.

But, in the Torah’s story, so akin to a folk tale or fairy tale, Bil`am finally sees the light. His eyes are opened in two ways. He first discerns that God’s eyes look upon Israel with love. This allows him to open his own eyes and look at Israel in the light of truth. What does he see? He sees a normal people dwelling in their homes. He sees families going about their daily lives. He sees that they are human beings! What a revelation!

So much for the ancient tale told by the Torah. When will we be filled with revulsion, not against the harmless foreigner, but against our own capacity for moral blindness and self-deception? When will we finally open our eyes and see truly?

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi David Greenstein


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