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Dear Friends,

The following is a compendium of Divrei Torah on various parshiyot compiled by some of our

members, including some of our younger ones, who participated in the 5780 Shaare Tefilla Torah

Siyum. Studying Torah together is a tremendously unifying force that keeps us anchored to the lifeblood

of our people, even as we have ot heard the Torah being read in public for some time.

I urge you to take advantage and study these words over Shavuot and beyond!

Sincerely,

Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky

Fear Forward: Parashat Vayeitzei

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Rachel Berke, Lisa Strobel, Miriam Tannenbaum

Parashat Vayeitzei begins with the story of Yaakov abruptly leaving his parents home after Rivkah

arranges his receipt of Esav’s first-born blessing from Yitzchak by concealing Yaakov’s identity. He is

now forced to leave home and run from his brother Esav in fear for his life.

The parasha begins

נה׃ לך חר בע וי ר ש א ב מב א יעק ויצ

Jacob left Beer-sheba, and set out for Haran.

….and Yaakov left Beer-sheba and went towards Charan. Having to leave his family was difficult for

Yaakov and that night while on his journey, he sets himself up with a place to sleep, and has a dream

where Hashem comes to him and promises to protect Yaakov and his future generations.

When Yaakov awoke from his sleep, he expresses his realization of Hashem’s presence. It is this vision

and promise from Hashem that comforts Yaakov during what was likely a very uncertain and scary

time. With that feeling of comfort and protection, Yaakov promises to return to his father’s home –

ים׃ אלה י ל הוה ל היה י י ו ית אב ום אל־ב של י ב ת שב ו

and if I return safe to my father’s house—the LORD shall be my God.

The parashah continues saying,

ר לך א יו וי ל ב רג א יעק דםויש ני־ק צה ב

Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the Easterners.

After waking from his dream, Yaakov lifted his feet to get up and move onwards where he ultimately

meets Rachel, his future wife. What does this mean, Yaakov “lifted his feet”? He sounds heavy and

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exhausted, almost like the feeling you have early in the morning when you don’t have enough sleep,

forcing yourself to put two feet on the floor to start your day. How is this possible? Yaakov just had an

incredible nevuah from Hashem. Hashem showed Himself to Yaakov and promised to protect him and

his descendants. Wouldn’t you think Yaakov would feel this incredible adrenaline and have some “get-

up-and-go, or pep-in-his-step”?

Perhaps the unusual wording of “lifting his feet” means that moving on that morning was an intentional

choice for Yaakov. He could have allowed fear to stop him from moving forward, but instead, he lifts

his feet to move onwards.

This idea reminded us of another dark and uncertain time for the B’nei Yisrael while in Egypt. When

Moshe appears before B’nei Yisrael, they do not listen to him because of their 'crushed spirits and hard

labor'-

ה׃ )פ( ה קש ד עב וח ומ צר ר ה מק ש עו אל־מ מ א ש ל ו

But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed by cruel

bondage. As slaves for many years, they couldn’t see beyond their current darkness or envision a better

tomorrow. This mentality had to be broken. Even after leaving Egypt, facing the waters of the Yam Suf

and the pursuing Egyptians has them ‘ready to throw in the towel’. Like Hashem’s promise to Yaakov

to send him on his journey, Hashem calms them by telling them not to look back at Egypt, but to move

forward.

ם את־מצ אית ר ר י אש םכ וד עד־עול ם ע ת א יפו לר ס א ת ום ל ים הי ר ׃

For the Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again.

Thinking about the unprecedented times we are living in now, it is easy to let fear force us inside,

paralyzed from moving forward and allowing us to create something from the chaos. Even more so, we

have no visions or clear direction from G-d like Yaakov and Bnai Yisrael received, reassuring that all

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will be OK and we will be safe. In fact, some of these “groundhog-like” mornings, may require

considerable effort to “lift your feet” and keeping moving.

Similarly, now is the time to choose to reflect on what in our lives is working and not working and

make changes; choose to spend more time with our family, choose to do something that scares us,

choose to accept the change in our “normal” routines and live in the present while deciding our best

path forward. Should a pandemic that causes suffering and death force this type of choice? That is

certainly a question for another D’var Torah. However, one thing we can say for sure during this time;

we only have one opportunity on this earth, so now is the time to lift our feet, move forward to create

the best life for ourselves and our families. We found inspiration to do this from Yaakov in Parashat

Vayeitzei. With his simple act of lifting his feet, he makes an intentional decision during a dark period

in his life that leads to the start of his own family and the building of our people from his twelve sons.

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B”H

Dvar Torah on Parshat Vayeshev- By: Abigail Rogers

Parshat Vayeshev begins with the following verse:

ען׃ נ רץ כ א יו ב י אב גור רץ מ א ב ב שב יעק ׃וי

Now Jacob was settled in the land where his father had sojourned, the land of Canaan.

Rashi quotes the Midrash which says that Yakov wished to “Lieshev Beshalvah,”

“settle down in tranquility.” Yakov was 100 years old. He had lived a difficult life. He

was forced to run away from home in fear of his brother Esav, was then enslaved to

Lavan and his unrelenting schemes for 20 years, only to later be confronted by a

vengeful Esav and four hundred of his men. After Yakov buried and mourned his

beloved wife Rachel, he had experienced enough hardship and heartbreak for a

lifetime. He looked forward to some peace and quiet. According to Rabbi Moshe

Lichtenstein, Yakov expected that now he would finally have the time, conditions and

an environment in which he would be able to bring up his family and mold the future

house of Israel.

But the very next verse begins with the story of Yosef. The most beloved of Yakov’s

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sons is sold into slavery by his own brothers and for 22 years Yakov grieves, believing

that Yosef is dead. Yakov is then compelled to spend the last years of his life far from

home in Egypt.

Why was Yakov’s desire for tranquility ignored? Didn’t he deserve to rest after such a

difficult life? Rashi quotes Bereishit Rabbah Chapter 84 verse 3 which says,

When the righteous wish to live at ease, the Holy one, blessed be He, says to them: “Are not the

righteous satisfied with what is stored up for them in the world to come that they wish to live at

ease in this world too!” (Genesis Rabbah 84:3)

B”H

Perhaps, the Midrash is trying to teach us that Yakov’s mission was not yet complete.

There was still more for him to do. However, the Lubavitcher Rebbe asks, why can’t

we have the peace and perfection of the World to Come, and a few years of peace and

quiet in this world too? Does Hashem have a limited quantity of tranquility to give out?

The Lubavitcher Rebbe answers that we can’t live in peace and quiet in this world

because that requires us “to forget what happened yesterday, [and] avoid thinking

about what will happen tomorrow.” Living in peace and quiet in this world forces us to

separate what is happening in our own lives from what is happening to our fellow man.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that righteous men and women “cannot relish their

meal as long as someone, somewhere, remains hungry.” They understand that if there

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is discord anywhere in G-d’s creation, they cannot be at peace with themselves.

In other words, it is easy for us to close our eyes to what is happening around us

especially when our lives are not directly impacted. We all want to live in tranquility.

But, Hashem doesn’t want us to close our eyes because the world is not at peace.

So how should we help better this world? It is easy to feel completely overwhelmed by

the amount of charitable organizations that need our help. Should we feed the

homeless, save the environment, protect endangered species, help bring clean water

to third world countries? This list goest on and on. There are so many problems in this

world. Where do we begin? How could we possibly make a difference? It is so much

easier to close our eyes to everything that is going on and live in peace and quiet.

In an article written by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks titled “How to Change the World,” Rabbi

Sacks discusses Reuven and how he may have acted differently had he known how his

actions would have impacted his family and the entire Jewish people.

Rabbi Sacks quotes Maimonides’s Laws of Repentance to explain how we should train

our minds to believe that we can make a difference. Maimonides writes: “[W]e should

see ourselves throughout the year as if our deeds and those of the world are evenly

poised between good and bad, so that our next act may change both the balance of

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our lives and that of the world.”

Rabbi Sacks explains that this statement seems at odds with the way the world seems

to us most of the time. Each of us knows that there is only one of us, and that there

are seven billion others in the world today. Could one act that we do really change the

course of our lives and that of humanity as a whole? According to Rabbi Sacks, this

week’s parsha teaches us yes.

As the story of Yosef unfolds, we quickly begin to see the tension between Yosef and

his brothers. The Torah tells us that Yakov loved Yosef more than his other sons.

Yosef’s brothers knew that their father favored Yosef and resented it. It didn’t help

matters that Yosef provoked them with his dreams of greatness.

One day, when the brothers were away from home tending to their flock, they saw

Yosef in the distance and decided to take revenge. “‘Here comes that dreamer!’ they

said to each other. ‘Come now, let’s kill him.’”

The Torah then says,

פש׃ נו נ א נכ אמר ל ם וי הו מיד ן ויצל אוב ע ר מ ויש

But when Reuven heard it, he tried to save him from them. He said, “Let us not take his life.”

Reuven knew that what his brothers were proposing was wrong and he created a

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strategy to save Yosef. Reuven says to his brothers, let us throw Yosef alive into one of

the pits and let him die. That way, we will not be directly guilty of his murder. Reuven’s

intention was to come back to the pit later, when the others were elsewhere and rescue

Yosef. However, his good intention failed. By the time he came back, Yosef was

already gone and sold as a slave.

Rabbi Sacks asks us to consider what would have happened had Reuven acted

differently at that moment and stood up to his brothers. Yosef would not have been

sold as a slave and taken to Egypt. He would not have worked in Potiphar’s house and

been thrown into prison on a false charge. He would not have interpreted the dreams

of the butler and the baker and subsequently for Pharoh two years later. He would not

have been made viceroy of Egypt and he would not have brought his family there to

stay. If only Reuven had felt as if his act would change the balance of the world, he

would have acted differently.

The Mishnah, in Sanhedrin Chapter 4 verse 5, teaches us that a single life is like a

universe. Change a life, and you begin to change the universe. That is how we make a

difference, one life at at time. We never know in advance what effect a single act may

have.

It is easy for us to close our eyes to the plight of others. However, we can make a

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difference to our world. When we do so, Rabbi Sacks writes, “we become G-d’s

partner in the work of redemption, bringing the world that is, a little closer to the world

that ought to be.”

Chag Sameach.

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Lessons from the First Born- Parshat Bo

Mordechai Weiss

Let's lay out the story: Pharaoh finally lets the people go and the Jews rush out of Egypt. While

the Jews hasten on their way, Pharaoh then changes his mind and chases after the Jews. Now, what do

you expect to happen next? The sea would split and swallow the Mitzrim, right? Not yet! The Torah

seems to take a break and discuss quite a few laws about Bechorot. So why the break in the Exodus

story to talk about these firstborn rules? You would expect them to join the list of laws elsewhere.

The placement of these laws in this parsha may fit because the “death of the firstborn” just happened.

Hashem said in Exodus chapter 13 verse 15, “When Pharaoh was too stubborn to let us go, Hashem

killed every Firstborn male and animal, therefore, I redeem every Firstborn male and sacrifice every

Firstborn animal.“ First, let's answer the question of what qualities exactly define a bechor. A bechor

serves as the transitional figure in the family, and he (more so the older he gets) is closest in age and/or

mentality to the parents. The root of bechor is bachar. In gematria, Bet equals 2, Chaf equals 20, and

Riesh equals 200. The bechor passes on the father, or the Av’s values. Av in gematria is Aleph which

equals 1 and Bet which equals 2. If one puts that together, that translates to 1 and 2 for the father, and

the son takes that and multiplies it to the next generation. 2 then 20 and lastly 200. When the Mitzrim

refused to recognize Hashem and the Jewish people, then Hashem killed off all of the Egyption

Firstborns--the ones that carry on the values of the last generation onto the next.

We hear about the 10th plague before the Exodus even started. When Hashem tells Moshe to free the

people, he says Exodus (4:22-23), “Israel is my Firstborn, so if Pharaoh doesn’t let them go, I will kill

his Firstborn, his nation.” This means that if Pharaoh doesn’t give Hashem’s Firstborn back to Him,

then Hashem will take away Pharaoh. But is Israel really Hashem’s Firstborn? There were many

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nations before the Jews. In fact, Israel is Hashem’s Firstborn because a bechor doesn’t literally mean a

Firstborn- it just means someone who passes on the father’s values. The bechorim were Yitzchak, not

Ishmael, though Yishmael was technically first born. Likewise, Yaakov, not Esav, becomes the bechor.

Again, Yosef, not Reuven proves himself the bechor. Israel is the bechor because we pass down

Hashem’s values. One main value centers on the fact that everything is from Him. The plague show

that there is only one Hashem and He is the one that controls all.

The macah of the firstborn is the culmination of all ten plagues. This plague focused on the

people primarily charged with carrying on the legacy. Also the main reason for the plagues and all the

consequences from them was to show the Egyptians that the only G-d is Hashem. The symbolism of

the Firstborn laws capture that aspect of Hashem for us. Thank you and good Yom Tov!

I thank Rabbi David Fohrman’s Aleph Beta program for the inspiration for this d’var Torah.

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Dress for the Occasion- Parshat Acharei Mot

Shalva, Emmy and Avi Rosenberg

In Parshat Acharei Mot, we learn about the service of the kohen gadol in the beit hamikdash on Yom

Kippur. When the kohen gadol performed the service of the korbanot unique to Yom Kippur he would

wear simple white garments like the other kohanim instead of the special gold garments he usually

wore.

Why did the kohen gadol wear the plain white clothes for the Yom Kippur service? We would think

especially when he is doing the most holy service he should wear the fancier gold garments.

The answer might be that there are different levels of doing teshuva. Sometimes teshuva is just

repenting for a specific sin that we did. That is regular teshuva that is performed with the korbanot of

the rest of the year. There the kohen gadol can still wear his fancy clothing. But the teshuva of Yom

Kippur is totally changing how we look at ourselves and our relationship with Hashem. This higher

level of teshuva comes from recognizing how humble even the greatest people must be before Hashem.

To do this teshuva the kohen gadol can only wear simple plain white clothes.

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Bookends and Book Endings- Bechukotai

Eric Schramm

The headline event, as it were, in Parashat Bechukotai is the Tochacha, the series of rebukes or curses

stating what will happen to the Bnei Yisrael if they fail to listen to Hashem's commandments.

The Tochacha appears in the Torah as one uninterrupted section, and that is how it is read. One should

not pause in the middle nor make an extra aliyah therein. The most widespread tradition is to read the

curses softly and quickly so that they are concluded expeditiously rather than prolonged.

At the conclusion of the Tochacha, Hashem says that, however horrific the future may be should the

Bnei Yisrael not heed His words, nevertheless He will not become so disgusted with or tired of the

people that He would destroy them or nullify His covenant. The next verse reiterates that Hashem will

remember the original covenant with those whom He brought out of Egypt. Then the section concludes:

"These are the chukim [decrees], mishpatim [laws], and torot [how-to instructions] that Hashem set

between Himself and the Bnei Yisrael at Mount Sinai through the hand of Moshe."

This summation clearly cannot apply to the Tochacha, because the Tochacha is not a series of decrees,

laws, and instructions. We can therefore assume it applies to a much larger section, and because this

appears very close to the end of Sefer Vayikra, it would make sense to view it as a fitting conclusion to

the sefer.

However, several interlocking questions are raised if we make this assumption:

● If it's a summary pasuk, why is it placed near the end of Sefer Vayikra rather than at the

actual conclusion of the sefer?

● Specifically, why does the sefer end with an additional chapter that relates the laws of

arachin, personal valuations (in which one vows to contribute the value of oneself or another

person, with those values specified by age and gender)? Wouldn't this subject have fit better

with the laws of personal offerings or the laws of Yovel in the parshiot of Vayikra and

Behar, respectively?

● The chapter on arachin ends with its own summary pasuk, similar in structure to the

preceding one but with a notable difference: it refers not to chukim, mishpatim, and torot but

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to mitzvot (commandments). But clearly Sefer Vayikra contains commandments that could

have been referred to in the summary pasuk at the conclusion of the tochacha; this is not the

only discussion of commandments in Vayikra. Why doesn't the Torah discuss arachin earlier

and conclude not with two summary psukim in close succession, but with only one such

pasuk that mentions mitzvot together with the other categories?

● Relatedly, if we assume that the Tochacha's concluding pasuk functions as a summary of

most or all of the sefer, why does it refer to Har Sinai and what was transmitted there

through Moshe, when in fact the very first pasuk of Sefer Vayikra states that Hashem spoke

to Moshe not at Har Sinai but in the Ohel Moed?

All these questions boil down to one nagging problem about the section on arachin: it reads and feels

very much like an appendix. Its connection to the Tochacha is not at all obvious, and nothing follows it

in this sefer. If we seek to understand the Torah as not randomly organized, just as we seek to

understand the Torah as not randomly worded, then it is distinctly unsatisfying to say that there was no

other place for this section to go.

Even some obvious suggestions that might be applied to a solution for these questions fail to answer

them fully.

One suggestion is that the Tochacha leaves such a negative impression that it cannot be the conclusion

of a sefer. This idea would seem to have support from our practice regarding four sefarim in Tanach,

where the last pasuk is considered negative and so we repeat the penultimate pasuk, to have a neutral or

positive message as the last thought we read and hear: Eicha, Kohelet, Yishaya, and Trei Asar

(Malachi).

However, this suggestion fails for two reasons: first, because the penultimate psukim are reread; they

are not the actual last psukim. To be parallel with the Tochacha and the chapter that follows, those

repeated psukim would have to actually be written, rather than just read, last. Second, those repeated

penultimate psukim are in each case a single pasuk, and the Tochacha ends with not one but two psukim

that are free of negative messaging. Those two psukim should be considered buffer enough.

Another suggestion is that arachin is a perfect topic to discuss before the beginning of Parashat

Bamidbar, in which Hashem commands a census of each person. But if that were the case, it would

make more sense not to end the sefer with arachin but to include the subject in the same sefer as the

census itself.

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A third suggestion is that arachin, although an obscure topic, is fundamentally a commandment, and

since the summary pasuk after the Tochacha doesn't mention mitzvot, the Torah isn't yet finished with

this sefer: there is one more commandment to go, followed by one more summary pasuk that specifies

commandments. But this idea merely begs the question. We still have no answer as to why the Torah

places arachin at the end of the sefer, with no clear connection to what precedes, leaving it stranded

there like an appendix.

At this point, since you have read this far, I'd like to share with you some bad news and some good

news. The bad news is that nearly two pages of exposition precede a comparatively brief solution. The

good news is that nearly two pages of exposition precede a comparatively brief solution.

First, with regard to chukim, mishpatim, and torot and Har Sinai:

Seforno suggests that the Tochacha's summary pasuk may refer to all of Sefer Vayikra. This

interpretation is possible because Vayikra does not say that what was transmitted to Moshe as recorded

in the sefer took place on Har Sinai or in the Ohel Moed. While laws specifically given to Aharon or

that followed the death of Nadav and Avihu must have been given post-Sinai, it is possible to assume

that Moshe received everything else recorded in Vayikra – chukim, mishpatim, torot – on that mountain,

back in Sefer Shemot. Since the Torah in Shemot (24:7-8) refers to a brit (covenant) enacted there, it is

fitting that the Tochacha similarly refers repeatedly to that same brit, although in most cases in the

negative contingency of Bnei Yisrael violating it. There is a brief reference in the Tochacha to the brit

avot, referring to Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov, but that is separate from the brit mentioned at the

conclusion of the Tochacha¸ where the seemingly ambiguous term brit rishonim ("original covenant") is

used with reference not to the Avot but to "those I took out of Egypt." Therefore, the Tochacha's

conclusion may be said to apply to the entirety of whatever Hashem transmitted to Moshe on Har Sinai

that is recorded not there but in Sefer Vayikra.

Second, with regard to the placement of arachin at the end of the sefer:

As Menachem Leibtag points out, the beginning of the sefer is also out of place. Vayikra opens with

Hashem speaking to Moshe in the Ohel Moed, but that could have occurred only after the Shechina

returned to the Mishkan on the eighth day of its dedication. Therefore, Sefer Vayikra both begins and

ends with sections that don't seem to belong where we read them. What's more, the sections have

something in common. The sefer both begins and ends with mitzvot regarding one person's connection

to Hashem: adam ki yakriv mekem korban ladonai ("when one of you brings an offering to Hashem"

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[1:2]), and ish ki yafli neder be'erkecha nefashot ladonai ("when a person expresses a vow to donate to

Hashem the valuation of a person" [27:1]). Both sections then follow the voluntary with obligatory

offerings (chatat and shelamim in Vayikra, bechor and maaser in Bechukotai).

Why might Sefer Vayikra be bookended thus?

Following the suggestion of Menachem Leibtag, one approach is to say that Sefer Vayikra, with its

emphasis on Torat Kohanim and laws related to all the people, may give the impression that individual

expression has little significance. Instead, the Torah seeks to emphasize that a personal connection to

Hashem is also important.

It is a message that, having been transmitted in Vayikra, is a natural precursor both to the census of

individuals in Bamidbar and to our celebration of receiving the Torah on Shavuot, about which Rashi

says of Bnei Yisrael: k'ish echad beleiv echad – "they encamped as one person opposite the mountain."

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PARASHAT BALAK: WHY DOES A DONKEY TALK?

Simon Raphael

In Parshat Balak, Balaam Son of Beor is a gentile prophet for hire. His evil services are

sought by King Balak of the Moabites who is alarmed by Bnei Israel after seeing what Israel had

done to the Amorites as well as the sheer number of the Israelites in comparison to his small

nation. Fearing a devastating defeat to his Moabites, Balak seeks to hire the wicked prophet (for

profit) Balaam for the purpose of cursing Bnei Israel so that the Moabites could defeat the

Israelites in battle and drive them out of the land. Ultimately, Balaam does not curse Bnei Israel

but actually blesses them three times and along the way, a donkey sets Balaam straight..

When Balak’s messengers approach Balaam with Balak’s offer for payment to curse Israel,

Balaam does neither accept nor reject the offer; rather, he seeks guidance from Hashem:

י לה תת ה ל הו ן י א י מ כם כ צ ל־אר ו א כ ק ל י בל אמר אל־שר קר וי עם בב ם׃ויקם בל ך עמכ ל

Balaam arose in the morning and said to Balak’s dignitaries, “Go back to your own country, for the

LORD will not let me go with you.” Hashem instructed Balaan to not go with the messengers to Balak

and to not curse Israel because Israel is a blessed nation, so he follows Hashem’s instructions and

informs Balak’s messengers that he cannot accept the job. Undeterred, Balak attempts again to hire

Balaam by sending more important and distinctive messengers who offer Balaam more money. This

time, Hashem tells Balaam that he may go with the messengers, so long as Balaam does as Hashem

instructs him. The following morning, Balaam wakes up, saddles his donkey and proceeds on the

journey with the dignitaries to Balak. Despite giving Balaam permission, Hashem is furious at Balaam

for going and places an angel with a sword in Balaam's path. Balaam does not see the angel, but his

donkey does and as a result lays down on the ground. In anger, Balaam beats his donkey three times.

That’s when Hashem made the donkey talk:

גל ש ר ני זה של י הכית ך כ י ל ית עם מה־עש בל אמר ל ון ות י האת הוה את־פ ח י ת ים׃ ויפ

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Then the LORD opened the ass’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you

have beaten me these three times?”

The donkey and Balaam enter into a conversation. “Why did you hit me?” asks the donkey.

“You have made a mockery of me! If I had a sword with me, I’d kill you,” replies Balaam.

The donkey retorts, “Look, I am the ass that you have been riding all along until this day. Have I been unfaithful to you?

And Balak answers “No.” Then and only then, does G-D make his angel visible to Balaam

who immediately bows down to the ground and confesses to sinning. The question arises- why

does Hashem make the donkey talk? Couldn’t Hashem deliver whatever message he wanted

directly to Balaam the prophet or perhaps through the angel? Why does Hashem employ the

donkey?

First, it should be mentioned that there are different interpretations of what exactly takes place

with the donkey. The Rambam in Guide to the Perplexed maintains that the donkey did not talk

in real life, but rather as part of a prophecy (Moreh Nevuchim 2:42). In other words, Rambam

believes that the donkey’s speech is happening only in Balaam's mind. Our Sages had a very

different opinion. In fact, according to them, the talking donkey was created by Hashem among

ten creations on the eve of the Shabbat at twilight: (Pirkei Avot 5:6).

Sforno believes that Hashem made the donkey talk for Balaam’s sake so that he could do

tshuva. “ He provided her with the ability to speak; we are familiar with the verse in Psalms

51:17 which we recite daily before our prayers, asking, ‘O Lord please open my lips.’ God

went to all these lengths in order to provide Balaam with yet another incentive to become a

penitent.” Of course, Balaam does not repent and continues with his evil ways.

Perhaps Hashem wanted to humiliate Balaam. After all, the donkey can see Hashem’s angel

and, at first, Balaam cannot. Unquestionably, Balaam feels humiliated , 1 he even says to his

donkey that she has made a mockery of him: תה יכ ללע ת יב (Numbers 22:28). This humiliation is

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intended to remind Balaam that he is at Hashem’s mercy and cannot curse the nation of Israel.

Another explanation for why Hashem uses a talking donkey is to show the evil Balaam that

Hashem is in complete control of the world’s order. Balaam may actually want to curse Bnei

Israel either for Balaak’s riches or for his own evil desires. By having a donkey talk, Hashem

nips this idea in the bud, letting Balaam understand that just as He can put words in a donkey’s

mouth, so could He put words in Balaams’ mouth. Of course, Ibn Ezra would disagree with the

assertion that Hashem is telling Balaam that he is choiceless. For Ibn Ezra, as Rabbi Shlmo

Riskin writes, Hashem “never prevents an individual from doing what he really wants to do,

even if it goes against the Divine will. We see this when God tells the Israelites to go up and

conquer the Promised Land but they demur and insist upon sending out a reconnaissance

mission.” (God’s Will vs. Our Free Will, June 22, 2010). For Ibn Ezra, the talking donkey

shows that G-D could deliver his message through any vehicle, even a talking donkey!

Regardless of Hashem’s reason for having a talking donkey, ultimately Balaam blesses

Israel with prose almost as beautiful as King David’s Psalms:

כ ב מש יך יעק הל בו א ל׃מה־ט רא יך יש ת נ

How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel!

ים׃ י־מ ה כארזים על הו ע י ר כאהלים נט י נה ת על גנ יו כ ים נט חל כנ

Like palm-groves that stretch out, Like gardens beside a river, Like aloes planted by the LORD, Like

cedars beside the water;

ו׃ כת א מל תנש ו ו כ אגג מל ם מ יר ים ו ים רב מ ו ב ע זר ו ו י ל ים מד זל־מ י

Their boughs drip with moisture, Their roots have abundant water. Their king shall rise above Agag,

Their kingdom shall be exalted.

21

ץ׃ ח יו ימ חצ ם ו גר ם י יה ת מ עצ יו ו ם צר ל גוי ו י אכ ם ל א ת ר תועפ ים כ ר ו ממצ ל מוציא א

God who freed them from Egypt Is for them like the horns of the wild ox. They shall devour enemy

nations, Crush their bones, And smash their arrows.

ור׃ יך אר ר ר א וך ו יך בר ברכ נו מ קימ י י יא מ לב י וכ ב כאר ע שכ כר

They crouch, they lie down like a lion, Like the king of beasts; who dare rouse them? Blessed are they

who bless you, Accursed they who curse you!

Chag Sameach!