Parshah Summary – P’shat
Once when I was back east in a rural area of Connecticut, I was walking outside, and a thought came into my mind: what happens if I see a bear? I should know what to do if I see a bear in the wilderness, but I couldn’t really remember. And then, all of a sudden, a big black bear appeared right in front of me! So I just became still and watched it. It slowly crossed the road in front of me, and then it just walked past me, behind me, to my left; it wasn't really concerned about me at all.
When people hear a story like this, they might think: does it mean that that I had a psychic premonition? Well, maybe, but of course we really don’t know; we can’t really know. It could just be a coincidence. It could also be that I actually saw the bear first unconsciously, and that caused the thought of the bear to arise in my mind. But the reason I'm sharing the story is because sometimes, especially in spiritual circles, we can get very concerned with supernatural things or seemingly supernatural things like psychic premonition. But there is something that I think is far more significant than anything supernatural or psychic; it is also a kind of premonition, but not a premonition of what happens in time, but more of a deep seeing into our own hidden motivations in the flow of life. Things are happening, we’re responding quickly to situations as they arise, and it can be difficult to really know why we do what we do. So the question is, can we develop this other kind of premonition, not of what’s coming in time, but rather, where we’re coming from; what our motivation is. This is crucial because fundamental to Jewish spirituality is that we experience a spectrum of motivation: on one end of the spectrum is wisdom, genuine love and benevolence, the desire to be of benefit and to support the wellbeing of those we encounter. That’s the spiritual depth that we often define as being human, in the sense of humanism. And then on the other end, we have the opposite: we also can be a deeply violent, angry, fearful and destructive species. So on the internal level, being able to see where we ourselves are coming from is so vital, probably much more important than any kind of supernatural or psychic premonition. וַיַּ֥רְא בָּלָ֖ק בֶּן־צִפּ֑וֹר אֵ֛ת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֥ה יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לָֽאֱמֹרִֽי׃ Balak son of Tzippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites… Balak king of Moab is frightened of the Israelites who are camping in a nearby valley, so he petitions the prophet/sorcerer Bilam to curse them. But as Bilam rides out on his donkey to the Israelite camp, something strange happens… וַתֵּ֨רֶא הָאָת֜וֹן אֶת־מַלְאַ֣ךְ יְהֹ-וָ֗ה... The donkey saw the angel of the Divine… Bilam rides his donkey through a vineyard, when an angel blocks the path with sword drawn. But only the donkey can see the angel; Bilam is oblivious to it. Bilam beats the donkey with a stick two times to get it to move, but the donkey veers off the path to avoid the sword-wielding angel, and accidentally presses Bilam’s foot into a wall. Bilam gets even angrier and beats his donkey even more, at which point… וַיִּפְתַּ֥ח יְהֹ-וָ֖ה אֶת־פִּ֣י הָאָת֑וֹן וַתֹּ֤אמֶר לְבִלְעָם֙ מֶה־עָשִׂ֣יתִֽי לְךָ֔ כִּ֣י הִכִּיתַ֔נִי זֶ֖ה שָׁלֹ֥שׁ רְגָלִֽים׃ Then Hashem opened the ass’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” They argue a bit, then Bilam’s eyes are “uncovered” and he too sees the angel with the sword. Bilam bows, prostrates, apologizes, then continues up the mountain to curse the Israelite camps. But when Bilam opens his mouth, he utters a blessing instead… מַה־טֹּ֥בוּ אֹהָלֶ֖יךָ יַעֲקֹ֑ב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶ֖יךָ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ – Mah Tovu! How good are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel! - Numbers 24:5 The donkey is your body – the beast you live in. You may think you want to say something, but your words will be a curse if you can’t “see the angel.” But the donkey sees it – and the donkey can talk, and if you know how to listen. What is the blessing that God “wants” you to say? Your body is the gateway to this awareness, if you become present. Bring awareness into your body, into your senses, before you open your mouth; this is meditation. What that means, of course, is not only that you should suddenly try to become present before you talk. It means that you should try to be present in general, so that you’re ready. Make it a habit to rest some of your awareness in the temple of the body, whatever you happen to be doing. Let your body be a welcoming space for awareness; this is the Path of ב Bet.
Read past teachings on Balak HERE
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