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hardly a good that has no seed of its own undoing or a curse that has What could Balaam have meant when he declared that God “has
no possibility of being turned into a blessing. not beheld sin … in Israel”? God, who is Omnipotent and knows the
past as well as the future, certainly knows that the Jewish people
Recognizing this truth, Judaism has traditionally taught that upon
having a disturbing dream one can employ a special rabbinic formula have many failings and weaknesses, and that they have sinned and
to reframe the dream by declaring seven times before three people: “I will sin many times throughout the ages. Thus, to comprehend this
have seen a good dream.” To this they reply: “You have seen a good matter, we must deepen our understanding of both sin itself and of
dream. It is good and may it become good….” The Rabbis learned the the Jewish soul. The Kabbalistic tradition teaches that sin, which in
importance of doing this from Joseph’s dream interpretation, as the Hebrew literally means “to miss the mark,” is a superficial, transient
Torah declares that events came to pass as Joseph had interpreted state of the soul. When the soul was created, it was pure, essentially
they would (Berachot 55b). The way we see things is the way they bonded to its Divine source, so its natural state is one of holiness and
are; the force of positive thinking is that strong. innocence. Yet, when confronted by the physical reality of the world
– the body and the animal soul – it often fails to maintain its pristine
Therefore, the antidote for the Balaam in our own lives is to be state, becoming entrapped in a swamp of desires and ephemeral
determined to see the positive in everything and to proactively pleasures, failing to properly assess its own purpose in life. This verse
transform challenges and adversity into blessings and success. teaches us that notwithstanding the extremely harmful effect and
deep impression sin leaves on the soul, God does not perceive sin as
permanently effecting the very essence of the soul. Teshuvah always
has the power to return the soul to its true, natural state.
£The Nature of EnemiesThe Nature of EnemiesThe Nature of Enemies Since the Torah teaches us to imitate God’s way, we must also
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learn to distinguish between peoples’ actions and their inner selves:
peoples’ actions, no matter how harmful or destructive, do not reflect
After attempting to curse the Jews several times, Balaam suggests one their real inner selves. We need to learn how to distinguish people from
more way to undermine them: entice them into sin, so that they will their actions so that if we object, oppose, or even condemn others’
in effect curse themselves. This is how the Sages understand the last abstract philosophies or concrete actions, we do so in a manner that
shocking incident in the portion of Balak, when the women of Moab does not condemn their very essence. This is no easy feat and serves 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 16 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:05 | SR:-- | Magenta
entice some of the men of Israel to engage in sexual promiscuity and as a great lesson in discernment as well as compassion. #24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 16 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:05 | SR:-- | Yellow 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 16 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:05 | SR:-- | Black 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 16 - A
idolatry (Numbers 25:1-9) As a result, a plague breaks out, which This incident in the portion also reveals the true nature of our
threatens to engulf the entire camp; only Pinchas’ quick thinking “enemies.” We might have thought that our enemies oppose and
and valiant actions turn the tide. attack us as a matter of principle, because of who they and we are.
After God turns all of Balaam’s prophecies into blessings, including However, we must realize that sometimes those forces that oppose us,
the declaration that God “has not beheld sin in Jacob, nor has He both in our personal lives and on a national level, are opposing us in
seen perverseness in Israel,” how could the people of Israel have response to the opening we have given them. While such a statement
fallen so low (Numbers 23:21)? This surprising turn of events teaches must be made with great caution, as it can lead to misunderstandings,
a number of very important lessons about the nature of sin and the the Sages have taught us that in this case and in many other places
nature of our enemies. in the Torah our enemies manifest themselves in order to point
out our own weaknesses and failings. The classic example of this is
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