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Orchard of Delights 16 Balak
of his soul root) was reincarnated in Elijah. Taking over where As discussed above in the first section of Numbers, sometimes
Pinchas left off, Elijah audaciously challenged the priests of Ba’al “the medium is the message.” Just as Mashiach’s spark and lineage
on Mount Carmel to a public test that would prove who was the is revealed in this world as the result of a number of strange and
true god. Each side would construct an altar to its respective deity. mystifying sexual liaisons – a drunken Lot sleeping with his
Whichever deity would successfully rain down fire from heaven to daughters; Tamar seducing and sleeping with her father-in-law,
light the altar would prove it was the true God. After the priests of Judah; the circumstances leading to Boaz’ marriage to Ruth the
Ba’al spent an entire day imploring Ba’al to rain down fire with no Moabite convert; and the state of affairs surrounding King David’s
success, Elijah doused God’s altar with water three times, prayed conception – so too God uses the impure Balaam to reveal the most
to God briefly, and was immediately rewarded by fire raining down exalted of prophecies. There is a lesson to be learned from His doing
from heaven and consuming his offering. The people responded by so: God can use even the lowest of the low to serve His purposes.
enthusiastically recognizing God. In arranging this test, Elijah acted The Midrash teaches that “God had a passion to have for Himself
quite boldly because he built an altar outside the Temple environs, a dwelling place in the lower worlds” (Midrash Tanchuma, Naso 16;
which ordinarily was forbidden; however, he judged the Jewish see “A Dwelling Place in the Lower Worlds” in Tetzaveh). Above
people’s overwhelming attraction to Ba’al worship sufficient motive we interpreted this concept as meaning that God wanted Divinity
to justify this onetime infraction. Apparently God concurred, and and spirituality to infuse all aspects of life and the physical world.
the strength, commitment, and zealousness of Nadav, Avihu, and The Tabernacle in the desert and the Temple in Jerusalem are the
Pinchas, shone through Elijah at this climactic event. quintessential representations of this ideal. Here though a different
Elijah, at the end of his life, ascended to heaven in a fiery chariot aspect of God desiring a dwelling place in the lower worlds is revealed.
and was transformed into an immortal heavenly being. Thus the fire God desires to utilize even the lowest of the low to fulfill His will,
that Nadav and Avihu longed to bring before God came to fruition in to serve Him as an instrument in carrying out Divine Providence.
the fiery chariot of Elijah. Although the acts of Pinchas, Nadav, and God subverts Balaam’s evil intentions by converting them into an
Avihu lasted but a few moments, their individual souls began a process opportunity to bless Israel.
ultimately leading them to immortality. This point is important for According to the Slonimer Rebbe, Balak and Balaam did not
it teaches us that a single act, performed by a single individual, can mind the children of Israel learning Torah and performing mitzvot
have an enduring impact. Our mystical tradition teaches us that in principle. What did terrify them though was the prospect of the
all our actions affect the upper worlds and create energies that can Jewish people entering the Land of Israel where they would be able
last a lifetime, many generations, or, as in Pinchas’ case, transform to elevate every aspect of material reality, even the very dust of the
a soul so fundamentally that spiritual transcendence eventually ground, to holiness and purity. They recognized that only in the
occurs. In the Divine realms, past, present, and future take place Land of Israel could the Jewish people accomplish the very purpose
simultaneously. Similarly, the soul, rooted in God, can, when focused of creation – to make God a dwelling place in the lower worlds. In this
and actualizing all its potential, achieve eternity through one act, in context, Rashi’s comment on Balaam’s words – “Who can count the
a single quintessential moment. (See Return Again: The Dynamics of dust of Jacob” – has special meaning. Rashi mentions that Balaam
Reincarnation, pp. 158-163 and the portion of Shemini.)
is alluding to those mitzvot which actually use the dust of the earth,
such as the rituals of the red heifer and the sotah (the suspected
adulteress). In performing these mitzvot, the Jewish people raise up
even the dust of the earth to the spiritual realms.

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