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Parshat Matot-Masei: Numbers
30:2-36:13; Jeremiah 2:4-28; 3:4.

J

ust a few weeks ago, we read
a fascinating Torah portion
called Balak, in which a great
prophet praises Israel with the stirring
words of Mah Tovu: "How beautiful
are your tents, 0 Jacob ..." (Numbers
24:5) And so it might be dishearten-
ing to read in this week's double Torah
portion (Matot-Masei) how that same
prophet, Balaam, was "put to the
sword" as our people took vengeance
on Midian (Numbers 31:8).
In the space of a few short
chapters, Balaam goes from
doing God's will to being
destroyed by God's people.
But this is only the begin-
ning as our tradition clearly
had a difficult time with the
character of Balaam. There
is a conversation going on
within our sacred texts, and
the details can illuminate the
minds of our ancient sages.
For example, the Midrash
insists that Balaam was a
revered prophet (Numbers Rabbah 20)
and one of only a very few people born
unblemished (Avot d'Rabbi Nathan).
On the other hand, his followers are
distinguished by three morally corrupt
qualities: an evil eye, a haughty bear-
ing and an avaricious spirit (Talmud
Sanhedrin 105a). Further, the rabbis
assert that when he was killed, Balaam
was subjected to all four legal means of
execution — stoning, burning, decapi-
tating and strangling — and that he
had no place in the world-to-come
(Talmud Sanhedrin 106b). Quite the
fate!
These writings reflect a deep
ambivalence. It seems to me that our
ancestors were not sure how to treat

someone who is at once powerful and
not one of us. It is a tribal mentality:
How can this great prophet, serving as
a mouthpiece for God, not be Jewish?
We no longer live in an "us vs. them"
society, and one of the great struggles
in the Jewish world today is the com-
peting notions of universalism vs. par-
ticularism. In other words, should our
focus as Jews be inward or outward?
Do we support the Jewish community
first or help those around
us? Do we care more about
our own fortunes than
those of others? We have
asked questions like these
for many centuries, but
never before have we been
so deeply connected to the
broader community.
We came to these
American shores in search
of something better, a
Golden Medina that would
provide us with freedom
and opportunity. And we
found it. As a result, we are in a posi-
tion to make our own community
stronger specifically by strengthening
others. When we show up to sup-
port those in need, those who are
oppressed, those who have suffered
tragedy ... we become worthy of
Balaam's blessing.
And if we want to continue thriv-
ing as a Jewish community, I believe
the best way to do so is by constantly
reminding ourselves that our deepest
Jewish values are reflected in the way
we respond to the brokenness that still
exists in our world. ❑

Mark Miller is a rabbi at Temple Beth El in
Bloomfield Township.

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July 16 • 2015

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