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BALAK 5783
What Does the Goyim Defense League Teach Us About Gd?
One week after the Pittsburgh synagogue terrorist—Robert Gregory Bowers—was convicted on June 16 of killing 11 Jews … only days after Nazi flags were flown outside Disney World … the Goyim Defense League—a neo-Nazis group—rallied at a Macon GA synagogue last Friday and at Chabad of Cobb this past Shabbos afternoon. They waved Nazi swastika flags, stomped on the Israeli flag, and yelled anti-Jewish messages—like the Jews control elected officials, the banks, the Federal Reserve, and the media. We’ve heard it all before.
Question: Why do Jew-haters need a defense league? Are the Jews out to get them? Do they fear for their life? Really?? Should we be fearful? The Goyim Defense League is a Jew-hating group that harasses Jews and spreads antisemitic conspiracy theories. Mostly, it’s a small few—about 10 or 11—that travel from state to state to spread their venom.
Where was Gd? How could He let this happen in front of His houses of worship? I’ll tell you where Gd was. Let me share with you the words of Rabbi Efraim Silverman of Chabad of Cobb:
The response of the wider community has been beyond belief. To date we have received over 1000 messages, emails, cards, letters and donations from every segment of the community. The irony is that this group of 11 Nazi wannabes has actually allowed us to see how much love and respect our non-Jewish neighbors have for our community.
Where was Gd? Gd was found in the hundreds of non-Jewish neighbors that turned out telling the Goyim Defense League that they were not welcomed in their neighborhood! And that’s been the case all over the country—wherever they have marched. Yes, we should be concerned, but we needn’t fear them.
Today’s 2nd parsha is called Balak, after the king of Moav, who sought to destroy the Jewish people. Balak saw that the Jews destroyed more powerful nations than his—like the Amorites. Rather than the usual military attack, he needed a more unconventional approach. Everyone knew that the Jews were Gd’s people and so, Balak thought, a more spiritual path to destruction might be more effective. Perhaps his big mistake was in thinking he needed to destroy the Jews to protect his people.
But Jews weren’t threatening him at all. The Jews only destroyed those others because they were attacked by them, and they needed to defend themselves. So, Balak sent for the greatest prophet in the non-Jewish world, Bilaam, to curse the Jewish people to weaken them, and then he would attack.
But Bilaam refuses to come. Balak offers him silver and gold and other riches and honors, and finally, Bilaam succumbs to the temptation and heads out for the long journey to Moav. On the way, Bilaam’s donkey behaves erratically—veering off the road on one occasion, banging Bilaam’s leg into a wall on another and then just laying down on a 3rd. Each time Bilaam angrily beats it with his staff. Gd then opened the mouth of the donkey who said: “What have I done to you that you have struck me these 3 times?”
The Torah (Num. 22:31) then tells us, “Gd opened the eyes of Bilaam, and he saw an angel of Gd standing on the road with his sword drawn in his hand.” The donkey had seen Gd’s angel standing in the way each time and reacted accordingly.
Bilaam’s response to seeing Gd’s angel was simple, Chatati, “I have sinned.” It marked the turning point in the story and from then on Bilaam—to the chagrin of Balak—rose to poetic heights praising the Children of Israel—a praise so wonderful that it begins the prayer service in our Siddur: Mah tovu oholecha Yaakov, mishk’notecha Yisrael, “How goodly are your tents O Jacob, your tabernacles, O Israel.” Most significant of all to me, however, is that Bilaam the prophet is brought to his divine visions by the message of a donkey!
It’s fascinating that the Talmud (Avot 5:8) lists the miracle of the speaking donkey’s mouth as one of the 10 things created at dusk immediately preceding the Sabbath of the 7 days of creation. In the very blueprint of creation, Gd made room for this “donkey’s mouth” whose voice would be heard not only by Bilaam but reverberate throughout the generations saying, “No Gentile leader will be allowed to ultimately curse and destroy the Jewish People—not Balak, not the Babylonians, not the Romans, not the Crusaders, not the Catholic Church, not Hitler, not the Palestinians, and not the Goyim Defense League!”
But why did Gd choose such an unseemly messenger—a donkey—to convey this message to Bilaam? This shows us how Gd’s messages can reach us from the most unexpected sources … and that each person must develop the ability to hear, to discern—even in harsh guttural hee-haws—the message that’s being sent to him.
Rashi seems to echo this principle in his explanation of the verse immediately following the 10 Commandments (Deut. 5:19) where the Torah tells us: “These words Gd spoke unto all your assembly out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice, v’lo yasaf, which did not stop.” Rashi explains: “Since Gd did not stop, He did not have to resume, for His voice is strong and goes on forever.” How does Gd’s voice go on forever? It means that the sound waves released at Sinai are continually and eternally present in the world; we must attune our ears to be sensitive receptors of Gd’s message.
Let me read you a story told about the Chassidic master, Reb Zusha, who during one of his journeys, came upon a peasant whose wagon had turned over:
Asked to help, Reb Zusha—no longer young and feeling himself too weak to struggle with an overburdened wagon—demurred, saying: “I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”
“You can,” said the peasant to Reb Zusha, “You just don’t want to.”
The peasant’s words sank into the very core of Reb Zusha’s being, resonating with a message from Above, as if the Shechina herself was admonishing Reb Zusha for saying, “I can’t.” “You can,” he heard the Shechina saying, “You just don’t want to.”
Reb Zusha was able to accept the truth of the peasant’s words. How often do we say, “We can’t,” when we really mean, “We won’t,” “We do not wish to”?
And here, in this world, our Temple is destroyed, the Divine Presence has fallen, and we don’t do what we can to lift the Shechina up. And although it’s because we say we cannot, the real reason is because we don’t want to, to make the effort!
Herein lies the essence of the famous teaching in Pirke Avot (4:1): “Ben Zoma says, who is wise? He who learns from everyone.” If Reb Zusha could learn a major principle regarding our relationship to Gd from the simple words of a Gentile peasant … if Bilaam could learn his mission from a donkey, we must always be on guard to sensitize our ears and our hearts to receive Gd’s message from—whomever or whatever!
Rabbi Meir, in the Talmud continued to study with his teacher, Elisha be Avuya, who lost his faith. How could he continue to learn from someone who no longer believed? The Talmud (Chagiga 15b) answers that a truly great person has the ability and sensitivity to hear Gd’s words even from the lowliest of places. Hence Rabbi Meir heard it from Elisha ben Avuya, Zusha heard it from a Gentile peasant, Bilaam heard it from a donkey, and we can hear it in the neighbors’ response to the protests of the Goyim Defense League!
My friends, when was the last time you heard Gd speaking to you? If your answer was, “Never,” or it’s been a long time, perhaps it’s because you didn’t get it when it was sent. In his Guide to the Perplexed, Maimonides points out that on Mt. Sinai every Jew heard Gd’s voice, but each person heard only what he was capable of hearing. The Gd-waves from Sinai—as Rashi taught us—never stops. They can be accessed everywhere in the world at any time—even from the most unseemly messenger. The question is: are we prepared to receive them? They say to each and every one of us: “Hello, it’s Gd calling. Can you hear me?” May we be up to answer the call. Amen!
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