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Reb Noson explains that demanding is a kind of stealing, robbery even. Because when a person demands, he seeks to take something by force. Forcing an issue always leads to error. Even if we get what we want, mishaps and mistakes (and often hurt feelings) will follow. Fractured relationships, sticky web-like situations, loss of money – all this comes from forcing an issue.

Rebbe Nachman tells us that a person needs to cultivate patience. If you don’t have patience, no matter how much you think you believe in Hashem, you do not have true emunah. A person with emunah knows: If you need something, if you want something, the only address to go to is Hashem.

How do you get to that address? A person needs to go on a psycho-spiritual journey. On this journey, turn to Hashem internally, turning your mind and heart to Him. Once you try it, you’ll realize it’s not only possible, but Hashem wants you to turn to Him so much, that He’ll help you. Talk to Him. Plead with Him. Ask Him to help you understand. Ask Him to help you make things different.

What if it feels like nothing is happening? Even if your material situation doesn’t change exactly the way you wish it would, you can ask Hashem for insight into why your situation is so challenging. Even if you don’t get the insight you had hoped for, you can strengthen your emunah and bitachon, thereby gaining valuable spiritual strengths that will serve you throughout your entire life (with all its ups and downs.)

You’ll start out remembering halfway through a your own personal “rock-hitting” episode that you forgot to turn to Hashem, and you’ll turn to Him in that moment. Next time, it will be quicker and easier. And eventually, God willing, you will turn to Hashem the moment you are frustrated, confused or hurt.  Then you’ll see, if not outright miracles, that your situation has generally turned out for the best.

May you have a day in which you turn to Hashem at every opportunity.

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This week’s Torah portion is parshat “Chukat.” There are many topics covered in this parsha, and among them is the story of Moses hitting the rock instead of speaking to it and bringing forth its waters to sanctify G-d’s Name. Moses and Aaron were punished for this act and were judged not worthy to enter into the land of Israel. This will be the focus of our discussion this week.

First, we will go over what happened in the parsha, and afterwards, we will try to understand the meaning of the incident, why Moses and Aaron were punished for it, and how these matters apply to each and every one of us, because we know the narratives of the Torah is not mere stories, but rather a form of instruction and guidance for us all.

First, we will describe the progression of the events as the Torah describes them: “The entire congregation of the Children of Israel arrived at the desert of Zin in the first month, and the people settled in Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there” (Numbers 20:1). The Nation of Israel arrived at the Zin Desert after the generation of the desert died as a punishment for the Sin of the Spies as was related in parshat Shalach. There, the sister of Aaron and Moses, Miriam, in whose merit there was water available for the Nation of Israel, passed away (Ta’anit 9a). The nation was thirsty for water and began to complain: “The congregation had no water; so, they assembled against Moses and Aaron” (Numbers 20:2). G-d commanded Moses and Aaron to gather the congregation and to speak to the rock so that they could draw out water for the people: “And G-d said to Moses, ‘Take the staff and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and speak to the rock in their presence so that it will give forth its water. You shall bring forth water for them from the rock and give the congregation and their livestock to drink” (Numbers 20-:7-8).

But here something went wrong. The rock got mixed up with other rocks, and when Moses began to speak to the rock, it didn’t bring forth water. Moses thought that perhaps he might need hit the rock to draw out the water as was previously the case in parshat Beshalach: “Behold, I shall stand there before you on the rock in Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and the people will drink; Moses did this before the eyes of the elders of Israel” (Exodus 17:6). Moses lifted up his staff and hit the rock twice: “Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff. A huge amount of water poured out, enough for the community and their livestock to drink” (Numbers 20:11).

However, G-d was angry that they beat the rock and did not speak to it, since G-d’s name would have been clearly sanctified if they had talked to the rock instead of hitting it. G-d turned to Moses and Aaron: “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Since you did not have faith in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, you shall therefore not bring this assembly to the Land which I have given them.” And the Torah continues: “These are the Waters of Strife, where the Israelites argued with G-d, and He was sanctified through them” (Numbers 20: 12-13).

Let’s look at this story in light of one of the wonderful teachings of Rebbe Nachman:

(Note: These concepts are deep, but they will be explained in a simpler manner later on with regard to how they apply to everyone.)

There are wonderful explanations and innovations in the Torah, and there is one holy soul who brings down all of these new Torah insights. All commentators on the Torah receive their insight and understanding from this holy soul. Whoever wants to bring down and reveal new insights on the Torah and explain them to others needs first to draw down the passionate words which are like fiery coals, because all the Torah’s words are like fire, as it is written: “Is not My word like fire?” (Jeremiah 23:29). These words are drawn down from the “Upper Heart,” as in the verse: “Tzur levavi – the rock of my heart” (Psalms 73:26). In Hebrew, the word “tzur” means “rock.” Thus, “the rock of my heart” signifies the “rock” of the “Upper Heart,” which has an abundance of the waters of Torah which need to be opened up so that they can flow out. This is similar to what we see in nature: a rock (or practically, a layer of rock) may be full of water but it needs something to enable the waters to flow out.

However, in order to draw out and reveal the Torah innovations from the rock (“tzur”), one first needs to awaken the “Upper Heart” by speaking, i.e., through prayer, in order to arouse mercy and enable the abundance to flow down. In other words, prayer and entreaty, i.e., petitions and supplications for mercy, arouse the “Upper Heart” which contain all the Torah explanations, as it is written, “Inscribe them upon the tablet of your heart” (Proverbs 3:3). And in this way, the rock will open. This is the stone, the “Upper Heart,” and it will bring forth abundant waters as the verse says, “He opened the rock and its water flowed” (Psalms 105:41), which is referring to the waters and explanations of Torah.

G-d was angry that they beat the rock and did not speak to it, since G-d’s name would have been clearly sanctified if they had talked to the rock instead of hitting it.

When the tzaddik draws down and reveals Torah insights, he must connect himself in his prayers to the people who are listening to his Torah class, because then it turns into a communal prayer, about which it is said, “Behold G-d is great and will not despise” (Job 36:5). This means that such a prayer will be accepted above. With such a connection, the soul of the student also has a part in the words of Torah. The more people who are listening, the greater the honor of G-d is, and the more abundance is drawn down. This causes new Torah insights increase exponentially.

In addition, due to the connection between the soul of the tzaddik and the souls of those who are present when he is giving a lesson, and due to the good in the tzaddik, the evil in the souls of those who are listening is subjugated. The good deeds of the tzaddik are “the staff of your might,” and are able to expel the powers of evil, as in the verse: “The staff of your might the Lord will send from Zion to rule in the midst of your enemies” (Psalms 110:2). This means that “the staff of your might,” which are the good deeds, is what annuls the opposition and also the enemies. It is as if there were an enemy powerfully approaching with a strong staff who succeeded in conquering him. In our context, when the tzaddik draws down his good deeds, that is, the “staff of [his] might,” he subdues the evil in the souls who are connected to him with the new Torah insights that he reveals, as was mentioned previously.

Now we will go a step further. When the tzaddik wants to reveal new Torah insights, he should not use “the staff of [his] might,” his strength which is the aspect of his good deeds to reveal his Torah insights. “The staff of [his] might” is necessary only to subjugate the evil that is in the souls of those listening to him, but G-d forbid he should use his good deeds to apply pressure and force the revelation of Torah insights. Again, Torah insights should only be drawn down with words of submission and entreaty as a free gift, with requests for mercy and supplications like one who is requesting a free gift and not in a way which attempts to draw down by force (Likutei Moharan I, 20).

Now we will return to our parsha and see how the story is interpreted:

G-d said to Moses: “Take your staff and assemble the congregation…and speak to the rock in their presence and call forth its water” (Numbers 20:8). The staff symbolizes the governance and power of the tzaddik through his service and his tremendous efforts to serve G-d, as well as his power to subdue both spiritual and physical enemies. Moses was supposed to gather the entire congregation and connect with their souls and then he was supposed to draw down new Torah insights and explanations through his talking to the rock, “the Upper Heart,” with pleas for mercy and supplications.

When our teacher Moses struck the rock, he supposedly did not use the staff of his strength—his good deeds—to subdue the evil in the congregation, but rather he used his good deeds in prayer, that is, he combined and activated his merits from his prayers to draw down new Torah insights. Instead of asking for an influx of Torah insights only as a free gift, he asked in the merit of his good deeds and thus he “forced” the Holy One, blessed be He, with his prayer.

Talk to the rock, “the Upper Heart,” with pleas for mercy and supplications!

The meaning of the verse in the parsha, “Since you did not have faith in Me to sanctify Me” (Numbers 20:12), is not that, G-d forbid, Moses and Aaron had a flaw in their faith, but rather that if they had merited to pray an appropriate and complete prayer, then they would have also fixed the faith of the nation Israel, because prayer is an actual expression of faith, as was recounted in the war with Amalek, when Moses raised his hands in prayer, “And his hands were faith” (Exodus 17:12). But since they were not equal to the task and “diminished” the sanctification of His Name, they were sentenced to die and thereby sanctify G-d and increase faith through their deaths. Rashi comments on the words “and He was sanctified through them” that “Moses and Aaron died because of them. When God judges His holy ones, He is feared and sanctified by mankind” (Rashi on Numbers 20:13).

These teachings are indeed sublime. In the words of Rabbi Natan on this Torah: “This awesome Torah reaches the highest heights,” but Rabbi Natan then explains that this teaching can apply to everyone.

Everyone has an aspect of new Torah insights. Yes—each and every one of us. How is this? It is because the main point of studying the Torah is that a person should fulfill what he learns. The concept of “Torah insights” has several meanings. Even when a person wakes up with an increased desire to study Torah as if it were something new to him and takes it upon himself to fulfill it, this is also called a Torah innovation. This is especially true of those who merit to actually reveal new Torah insights, and this is its ultimate fulfillment.

When a person wants to innovate a Torah insight or become renewed through his Divine service, on one hand, he should use “the staff of his strength” to subdue the evil, and on the other hand he should turn to the Creator and beg Him that he will give him as a free gift the ability to draw down Torah insights, but only through pleading and submission, like a poor person at the door requesting nothing more than a free gift, and not like a thief that comes intending to use his strength to steal something that is not his, as if he was its true owner.

When a person wants to merit to new Torah insights, in every sense that we have mentioned, there is another who comes and wants to join in this celebration. We are of course speaking here about the Evil Inclination, who is the greatest thief, as our sages said: “Is there a greater thief than this?!” (Midrash Bereshit Parsha 54). He comes under the guise of demanding justice: “How dare you immerse yourself in holiness and learning bearing in mind your previous behavior?!” Against this claim, we should hold on to “the staff of our strength” and to believe in ourselves and our goodness and subdue the evil that wants to prevent us from connecting to good. On the other hand, one should never use “the staff of one’s strength” in regard to the Holy One, blessed be He, to demand He grant us spiritual achievements that we have not earned, G-d forbid. For that, we must behave with total submission before the Creator, and we should only beg with humble supplications and requests: “Please, G-d, have mercy on me, and bestow upon me Your kindness and mercy. Shine Your face towards me that I should merit to receive spiritual enlightenment, and that the gates of understanding and Torah insights will be opened before me, and please help me, in your mercy, that I will enjoy success in learning Torah and be able to draw down Torah insights from the “Upper Heart” which are good and worthy.”

(Based on Likutei Halachot, Gezeila, 5)

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Learning Torah

A person should learn Torah—the word of Hashem—in purity. Which means to learn it for the sake of kedusha, for the sake of fulfilling the mitzvah of Hashem, and for the sake of learning it and fulfilling it: lilmod u’l’kayem.

However, a person may find that he does not have the appetite or the patience to sit and learn. But he could sit and learn if there was profit involved.

This is what Pirkei Avos says: do not use the Torah as a utensil with which to dig your fortune. Don’t use the Torah as a means of livelihood. What if a person feels that he can only learn Torah for the sake of earning a livelihood, for personal gain—or even more so, for the sake of kavod, honor? Imagine the scenario: he attains vast knowledge of Torah, and wherever he goes, people say with admiration, “Here is a truly learned man.”

Balak was Zocheh

A person who learns Torah for the sake of honor—it’s very bad. But as bad as it is, the Gemara says: learn. That’s called lo lishmah— learning not for the sake of the mitzvah. Even if that’s the only way to learn, continue doing that, and eventually you will be transformed into one who learns for the sake of the mitzvah itself.

So if you have a choice to learn immodestly, or not to learn at all, it is best that you learn with a false, wrong intention—because that will lead to lishmah.

We find, too, that Balak was zocheh, because he brought korbanos to Hashem with the wrong intentions. He was zocheh that from him came forth Rus—who was the great-grandmother of David HaMelech, and ultimately Moshiach. That is the privilege and zechus of shelo lishmah. Imagine, then, how much greater is the zechus, the reward, for lishmah.

Bilaam’s Downfall and His Afterlife

In the Zohar HaKadosh, we find that Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai Z”L said there is a secret about Bilaam, which could not be revealed until the Arizal revealed it. The Gemara says that Unkelos HaGer—the one who wrote the Targum of the Chumash—wanted to find out how beneficial it would be, or how advisable it was, to become a Jew, to convert. And so he used special powers to summon three people from the upper world. One of those three was Bilaam. He summoned his soul and spoke to him. Bilaam told him to stay away from the Jews. “There’s not too much profit there. Stay away.” He advised Unkelos against joining the Jews.

That means that Bilaam was still evil, even in the upper world. The Gemara asked: what was Bilaam’s punishment? He went through judgment in Heaven. What was the penalty meted out to Bilaam? The answer: to be boiled constantly, daily, in boiling filth—tipa ha’me’usa, the corrupted drop—because he had suggested this sin. Let him boil in that filth forever afterwards.

We find in the Zohar HaKadosh that this “forever” was completed. Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai Z”L indicated that something had occurred to change this. The Arizal says that Bilaam came back as a gilgul—as Naval. The letters of “Bilaam” and “Lavan” hint at the three gilgulim: first Lavan, then Bilaam, and then Naval. Naval was not a good Jew—but at least he died as a Jew. He was allowed to do that despite all the evil. The Gemara says that anything you can find to say bad about Bilaam, it is a mitzvah to say it—yet we find that later on, there was a tikkun, even for him.

There Is Always a Way Back

What does pertain to us is this: that any person— no matter who he is, no matter what he is, no matter what he has done—should know that there is a tikkun for everyone.

Never give up hope, no matter what you may have done. Never feel depressed over your actions. You can return to Hashem. The Pesach—the door, the gate—is always open. A desire alone, one desire, one craving, one look, one heartfelt thought—is enough to have Hashem bring you back. That’s the most important lesson we can learn. And it is this chizuk—this encouragement—that Rabbeinu Z”L constantly taught. There’s no yi’ush—no giving up hope. A person can always come back to Hashem. And it is this chizuk that sustains a person throughout his lifetime and prepares him for an eternal future.

Let’s hope that we are able to reach this true emunah shleimah and chizuk.

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The Parah Adumah and Batya

Parshas Chukas teaches the paradox of the Parah Adumah—it purifies the impure but makes the pure person who performs the ritual impure. This mystery is reflected in Moshe Rabbeinu’s first salvation through Batya, daughter of Pharaoh. Batya defied her father’s decree and reached out to save Moshe Rabbeinu, a small infant who was floating in a tiny boat on the river.

The Torah hints that she saw not just a child, but the Shekhinah resting with him. By saving Moshe Rabbeinu, Batya was spiritually purified, like the Parah Adumah purifies the impure.

Batya’s Reward in Olam Habah

The Zohar HaKadosh relates that when Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai Z”L once visited Heaven, and inquired of the leading angel of the Yeshiva shel Ma’alah (Heavenly Academy) to reveal to him what role do righteous women have in the World to Come? He was shown a special place in Heaven where Batya leads a group of these righteous women. Each day, she opens the curtain of Heaven, keviyachel, and gazes at Moshe Rabbeinu as he passes by. Such is the spiritual privilege of Batya, whose merit was so great that she was able to save Moshe Rabbeinu and convert—becoming Bat-Yah (the daughter of Hashem).

The Hidden Impurity Passed to Moshe Rabbeinu

The Tikkunei Zohar adds a deep dimension. When Moshe encountered the burning bush and Hashem first spoke to him, He said: “Sha’al ne’alekha”—“Remove your shoes, for the place you stand on is holy ground.” The Zohar explains that this wasn’t just about shoes. Ne’alekha—your ‘shoes’—also means the physical body that ‘encloses’ the soul. Hashem was telling Moshe: remove your physical self, you are too holy now for a body.

But why would Moshe need to remove his body? Isn’t the body of a tzaddik also holy?

The answer lies in Batya.

When she touched Moshe to save him, she was still contaminated by idolatry—she had spiritual tumah (impurity), described even as a form of tzara’at (leprosy). By touching Moshe, she became pure—completely cleansed, spiritually and physically—but he took on a trace of that impurity in the process.

This is one of the deepest, fantastic statements of the Zohar Hakadosh about the secret of the Parah Adumah—the Red Heifer. The Torah calls it a chok—a law that transcends human understanding. Its ashes were used to purify those who had become impure from contact with the dead. Today every person is impure and a person who is impure cannot walk on the grounds of the Holy Temple until he becomes pure. No one can become pure today because we do not have this red cow. But the Kohen who performed the purification would himself become impure. This is the paradox: “metaher teme’im, u’metameh tehorim“—it purifies the impure but contaminates the pure.

Rebbe Nachman says this refers to the Tzaddik Emes

Rebbe Nachman says that this refers to the tzaddik emes, who is so great and intent on saving those far from religion and descends into impurity, into the lowest spiritual realms, to lift others out. He has to contaminate himself to a slight degree in going down there. Of course he doesn’t lose by elevating countless others to such a high level. This is the case of the Parah Adumah, where the Kohen using it purifies the one that is most tamei, and he himself becomes slightly tamei.

The Tikkunei Zohar says this is the case of Batya the daughter of Pharaoh. She came to the river still impure, and by rescuing Moshe Rabbeinu, she was purified. But Moshe absorbed a spiritual trace of that impurity. Later, when Hashem told him to remove his physical “shoes,” He was referring to that lingering impurity—so that Moshe could now ascend in complete purity.

This is one of the deepest secrets of the Zohar HaKadosh, showing how Moshe’s first contact with salvation came through Batya, who embodied the mystery of the Parah Adumah—sacrificing purity to save others, and being eternally elevated because of it.

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Some of us might find this verse somewhat troubling. Does it mean that Hashem (God) doesn’t judge us for what we do? Does it mean that He doesn’t see what we do? Does it mean that it’s okay to do those things the yetzer hara (evil urge) whispers in my ear?

No, no and no. Rosh HaShanah is called Yom HaDin (Judgement Day); “He Who forms the eye, will He not see?” (Psalms 94:9); and our verse does call them “sins” so they are still forbidden. So, what does the verse mean?

Rebbe Nachman teaches us that Hashem’s way is to focus on the good that Jews do. If there are things that are not good about them, He turns a blind eye to those things. “All the more so, a person is forbidden to look at another in a negative light, to seek and find specifically what is wrong about [the other’s] worship. On the contrary. One is obligated to focus only on the positive.”

This is important throughout the year, but is especially important now, as we approach the period of Bein HaMitzarim (literally, between the straits, aka The Three Weeks). This is the period of the year in which we mourn our exile, which began with the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash (Temple). The climax of The Three Weeks is the anniversary of the Temple’s destruction, 9 Av. (This year, 5771/2011, The Three Weeks begin Tuesday, 17 Tammuz [19 July] and conclude at the end of Tuesday afternoon, 9 Av [9 August]). The Talmud tells us that the reason for the destruction of the Temple—and our prolonged exile—is sinat chinam (baseless hatred).

It seems like a rather formidable task: rid ourselves of the tendency to look at people unfavorably. How do we do it? The Rebbe gives one suggestion in the first part of the lesson: Celebrate Shabbat! Enjoy it! Dress up! Make Kiddush on a wine you enjoy. Eat nicer meals than you do during the week. I’m sure you have no objection to this suggestion. But you’re probably a little curious: what’s the connection?

Hashgachah (Divine providence). Rebbe Nachman writes that when a person behaves correctly, God takes care of him/her with a personalized, tailor-made hashgachah. What would happen, he asks, if a person misbehaved? If he were to be treated with tailor-made hashgachah then, he would have a difficult, unpleasant existence. What does Hashem do to allow us to enjoy some good in life? He lets our lives run naturally. That way, in the natural order of things and in the natural course of events, good things can happen to us.

Shabbat is holiness itself. All holiness demands appropriate celebration and joy. When we observe Shabbat by refraining from the 39 types of melakhah (loosely defined as “work”) and their offshoots, we remove the distractions that keep us from appreciating Hashem’s presence in life. The food, drink and other pleasures that we enjoy are meant to enhance our true joy, which is the recognition and feeling of God’s care and concern for us—His hashgachah.

When we celebrate Shabbat, our appreciation for Hashem’s “not looking at the sins of Jacob,” we internalize to some degree the same perspective, so that we, too, do not “look at the sins of Jacob,” of our fellow Jews. For just as you understand God’s involvement, care and concern in your own life, you understand His involvement, care and concern in the other person’s life. You begin to understand that just as out of His love for you He overlooks your errors, mistakes and defiance—your sins—He also overlooks the errors, mistakes and defiance—the sins—of your fellow Jews. All the more so should you!

May we merit to see the good in others. Amen!

Based on Likutey Moharan II, Lesson #17

agutn Shabbos!

Shabbat Shalom!

© Copyright 2024 Breslov Research Institute

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Check out more from Rabbi Nasan Maimon at BreslovTorah.com

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This week’s Torah portion is parshat “Balak.” The central topic in the parsha is the attempt by Balak, the King of Moav, to hire Balaam to curse the Nation of Israel, and G-d’s interfering with his thoughts and forcing him against his will to bless the Nation of Israel. This parsha contains such beautiful points on the one hand, and so many perplexities and wonders on the other. Who was Balak, and who was Balaam, and what is the connection between them? Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, first deny Balaam permission to go with Balak’s ministers, and yet He did allow him to go in the end? We will first look at a summary of what happens in the parsha and then we will offer an explanation from the words of Rabbi Natan.

After the death of the Kings Sichon and Og (recounted in parshat Chukat), Balak was appointed interim King of Moab and Midian. Balak hated the Nation of Israel and was looking for ways to expel them from the area. When he thought about how the Nation of Israel had defeated Sichon and Og, whose strength bordered on the supernatural, with victory that could not be explained by any form of logic, he realized that a normal war would be of no use, and he too had to come with a different way of battling them that went beyond the laws of nature.

Having no choice, Moav reconciled with Midian, a nation that they utterly despised, as Rashi explains: “And what did Moab see that caused them to take counsel with Midian? Since they saw that Israel was supernaturally victorious in their battles, they said, ‘The leader of this nation was raised in Midian. Let us ask them what his character is.’ Midian answered them, ‘His strength is solely in his mouth.’ They said, ‘We too will come against them with a man whose strength is in his mouth’” (Rashi on Numbers 22:4).

Then Balak remembered that he knew someone whose power was in his mouth, who had already proven himself in the past, and this was Balaam, who hated the Jews even more than Balak. Balak sent many honorable ministers to Balaam to ask him to come and curse the Nation of Israel, for he knew from experience that the curses of Balaam would be fulfilled “for I know that whomever you bless is blessed and whomever you curse is cursed” (Numbers 22:6). He just needed Balaam to come and curse Israel, and then he would be immediately able to destroy them.

Who was Balaam that he would have so much power in his mouth?

Balaam was a goy (non-Jew). He was evil. Yes, you read that right. If you ask, “Why did G-d rest His Shechinah on a wicked goy?” The answer is so the nations should not have an excuse to say, “If You had given us prophets, we would have gone back to behaving properly.” So, He sent them some prophets, but they breached the boundaries of morality. At first, they held themselves back from immorality, but Balaam advised them to offer themselves freely for prostitution (Rashi on Numbers 22:5). In public, Balaam acted as if he were a prophet—like one who was ascetic and celibate, clinging to the Creator. Secretly, Balaam was a lowly and abominable sinner who had an intimate relationship with his donkey, as our sages prove from the Scriptures (see Rashi on Numbers 22:30).

Balaam would have been very happy to accept Balak’s tempting offer of “a house full of silver and gold” in return for cursing the Nation of Israel, but he knew very well that only that which the Creator decreed would actually happen, but he did not reveal this to the messengers. When God said to him, “You will not go with them,” he said to the ministers, “The Lord has refused to let me go with you.” You are simply not important enough that I should go with you. So Balak raised the stakes and sent more dignitaries, who were higher in rank than the previous ones. And this time G-d said to him, “Arise and go with them, but only the word I shall speak to you, shall you do” (Numbers 22 5-21).

Balaam set off, riding on his donkey. An angel of mercy stood in the way with a drawn sword in his hand to prevent him from going. Three times the donkey deviated from the path in order to avoid the angel. First, it veered from the path and turned into a field, and Balaam struck it. The second time, it walked between fences of a vineyard, crushing Balaam’s leg against the wall, and he beat it again. The third time it had nowhere to turn, and it simply crouched down and refused to move! And then Balaam stuck it a third time.

At this point an incredible miracle occurred, something which had never happened before: the donkey spoke and rebuked Balaam to the point that he blushed from the humiliation. It revealed everything: his disgusting behavior, his malicious intentions to uproot an entire nation, and how he got his unique power to curse. Suddenly, G-d opened Balaam’s eyes, and he realized that an angel was standing in front of him with his sword drawn. He feigned innocence before the angel saying, “If it displeases you, I will return” (Numbers 22:34), as if he couldn’t understand on his own that he was supposed to return home.

In spite of everything, being the hard-hearted and wicked person he was, he still wanted to curse, but he wasn’t able to detect the exact moment that the Holy One was angry, and instead of cursing, he ended up blessing the Nation of Israel. In the end, when he saw that he was not succeeding in his evil plot, he thought of a diabolical plan: to entice the people of Israel to sin with the daughters of Moab. He told Balak: “Their G-d despises lewdness.” If they sin, He will become angry with them and destroy them. Unfortunately, some of the people stumbled, and tens of thousands fell due to this demonic plan.

That was a brief summary of our parsha, and we will not look at these matters in the light of one of Rebbe Nachman’s wondrous teachings:

Everyone must continually renew his faith in the Creator who created the world out of nothing. He is continually renewing the world and runs it according to His Will. This is one of the foundations of faith, that the world is not run by the forces of nature, even though it appears to be following natural laws. The Creator intentionally hid himself within creation, and made it appear as if the world were running on its own. He planted the wisdom in man to search for the Creator and reveal Him. So, it is man’s task in this world to discover the Creator and believe in him.

At this point an incredible miracle occurred, something which had never happened before: the donkey spoke and rebuked Balaam to the point that he blushed from the humiliation. It revealed everything!

However, there are “Masters of Nature” (deterministic scientists) who have heretical beliefs and deny the existence of a Creator. Even if they do not deny His existence completely, they claim that the Creator allows each person to behave any way he wants to and supposedly permits everyone to behave as he pleases, G-d forbid. Of course, this idea is completely false, and it is a huge mistake to think this is true. Their beliefs stem from the desire to act with complete abandonment, G-d forbid! Rabbi Nachman calls them “wild animals” who are predatory attackers (compare to Daniel 7:17). They are literally like animals who rip apart their prey and suck out their blood. These people are like wild beasts whose only intention is to uproot man from the path of life, so that instead of purifying his blood with good desires, they will pollute it with lust.

The way to be saved from this false ideology is through continual renewal. When man creates himself anew by adding holiness to his life each day, he strengthens his belief that everything was created through His Will. And even now, after the creation of the world, the Creator recreates everything according to His Will. There are those who, to the contrary, live out their lives without dedicating their hearts to trying to understand their eternal purpose—i.e., life in the World to Come—and this is the main reason that they think that everything is only run according to the forces of nature (Likutei Moharan II:4).

Let’s return to our parsha.

Rabbi Natan teaches that Balak and Balaam represent the “Masters of Nature,” those “wild beasts” who trample and devour their prey. Our sages explain the name Balak as being indicative of his evil nature. “Balak” is an acronym for “ba lalok” (“comes to lick”), meaning that he “come to lick up the blood of Israel.” All the sins that people commit are rooted in the murky blood which has not been properly purified. In this sense, Balak came to lick their blood, that is, to corrupt their blood, by making them fall into lust which would spiritually corrupt them and cause them to sin—especially with sins of lust, G-d forbid. We realize the extent of his maliciousness from the final step he took when he abandoned even his own daughters to prostitution to seduce the Nation of Israel (Rashi on Numbers 25:15).

Balaam, however, was even worse because he was literally embodiment of the “forehead of the snake.” This expression refers to the root of evil and the complete concealment of good. Rebbe Nachman calls this in Yiddish: “a frumer rasha,” an evil person who presents himself as G-d fearing. Balak’s intentions were obvious, so one could still distance and guard himself from him. Balaam, on the other hand, disguised himself with the pious cloak of an ascetic and a saint who received Divine revelations, while in fact he drew all his powers from the forces of impurity.

So, why did G-d give such a power of speech to Balaam, and where did his power really come from?

The answer is, just as with everything, a person must reveal for himself the true Will of the Holy One, blessed be He, but in order for the power of free choice to be balanced, the forces of impurity, which are referred to as the “Sitra Achra” (literally, “the other side”), must have the power to appear that they have an influence and even control over the world. The “Masters of Nature” try to show that even though there is a G-d, each person has the power to change the Heavenly influences according to his desires as he wishes. If you want to behave like a Jew, you cannot, G-d forbid, behave like a goy with total abandon and impurity.

A person must reveal for himself the true Will of the Holy One, blessed be He!

For example, how many times in history have we heard about Jews that wanted to come to the Land of Israel? They were literally prepared to give up their lives. They traveled without money, without means, and at actual personal risk to immigrate to the Land of Israel. How did they succeed in the end? According to the laws of nature, they had no chance, but they still succeeded because they acted with such tremendous self-sacrifice, that the Creator helped them.

Similarly, the opposite is true. There were evil goyim, who were poor, and yet with tremendous self-sacrifice, they traveled from their homes in order to study philosophy, and they later became revolutionaries and caused all kinds of troubles. Remember Napoleon Bonaparte, and the list goes on and on… They also had no chance of succeeding according to the laws of nature. Does this prove that what they did was the Will of the Creator? If not, how did they get His help to succeed in their evil designs? The answer is that “a person is lead according to the path he chooses.” At the end of the day, anything that is not true is also not eternal. They think they can manipulate G-d according to their desires. Even if they appear to succeed, it is really just an illusion. G-d only helped them in order to deceive them, not because it is truly His Will.

We can now understand this matter within our parsha:

G-d said to Balaam: “You will not go with them,” but the power of choice is so great that G-d seemingly leaves him room to make a mistake and allows run with it all the way. Also, in his final advice, Balaam said, “Their G-d despises lewdness,” as if this was something forbidden only for Israel and that he and Balak were allowed to behave in any despicable manner they chose. Basically, he wanted to manipulate the Will of G-d according to his own desires, but as we said, this was a mistake. As is known, the Holy One, blessed be He, hates lewdness in anyone, and the fact that he supposedly let them get away with such behavior did not mean that their end would not be a bitter one. In the end, Balaam, Balak, and also his daughters who had abandoned themselves to prostitution, were all killed and uprooted from both this world and the next.

So, how can one truly discern where the truth lies? The Midrash says: “Light” refers to the deeds of the righteous, and “darkness” represents the deeds of the wicked. Even so, how is a person to know which are the actions that G-d truly desires. The Torah says: “And G-d saw that the light was good” (Genesis 1). Our sages explain: “He saw that the world wasn’t worthy of using such a light, so he stored it away for the tzaddikim to use in the World to Come.” In our context, we can learn out that whoever really wants to know how to behave and really wants to know what G-d requires of him, must connect himself to the tzaddikim because the true light is hidden away with them, and only their deeds are truly the aspect of light and good, and they will bring us to eternal life in the World to Come.

(According to Likutei Halachot, Birkat HaShachar 5:72-93)

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Rebbe Nachman tells us that everything that we see, hear, and experience as we live each day contributes to our spiritual growth. What we see or hear concerning other people is no exception.

The holy Baal Shem Tov said that, “Before a Heavenly decree is passed against a person, the person himself whom the decree concerns is asked about it.”*

If the person who is facing the Heavenly judgment agrees with the Heavenly court that the decree should be passed—it is passed. In other words, our own “ruling” determines what happens; our own judgment about our actions decides the consequences we must face.

But Nobody Asked Me. Or Did They?

Now, if you’re like most people, you probably don’t recall ever being asked for your opinions about these lofty proceedings. But, says the Baal Shem Tov, though you may not be aware of this adjudication, you have indeed been asked.

Every time you are given the opportunity to pass judgment on another, know that it is actually your own actions you are judging. The other person’s actions might be obviously similar to your own, or they may be related in ways you find difficult to fathom. You might read about them in the newspaper, you might hear about them from a friend, or you might be a witness.

You may feel annoyed, upset, or angry with the person or you may simply feel an urge to condemn them. If you do, you condemn yourself in the chambers of the Heavenly Courts, says Chassidus. However, if you are able to squelch the desire to adjudge, attack, or accuse; if you reach deep into your heart to be dan l’chaf zchut; if you are able to turn away from the negative and seek and find only the good points in that person, then the positive judgment you pass is on yourself.

We instinctively know this to be true, which is why we admire non-judgmental people, people who are accepting of others, people who are able to see the good in others. On the other hand, those who give into their urge to pass sentence on others, tend to be really hard on themselves, if not openly, at least deep down inside. Arrogance or hypocrisy are often covering up real fear or shame.

Uh, oh. I now realize that I pretty much condemn others all the time—kind of like a negative tape loop running in my brain. What can I do to stop?

It sometimes feels like it isn’t possible to look for the good in others, it requires too much effort. Expressing negative judgment, whether through open condemnation or snide remarks, can easily become habitual. (After all, snarkyism is everyday fare in the predominant cultural media.) Besides, even if we manage to control our mouths, we might really harbor hatred in our minds and hearts.

Let’s say we’re good to go—we can give our fellows a pass. Still, it’s possible to feel able to give a pass to everyone except one particular person.  You know who he (or she) is.  You think, “Okay, I can look for the good in everybody, except fill-in-the-blank. They are simply too… annoying, disgusting, haughty, rude, unkind, etc. No one could find anything good about them.”

Remember, that one person is US. If we pass judgment, it’s still our court case, our decree. We might possibly be forfeiting our own acquittal.

The 7 Habits Of Highly Connective People

In Balak, this week’s parsha, the evil Bilam’s attempt to curse the Jews turns into a blessing despite his unwilling mouth. He says, “…He (Hashem) does not look at wrongdoing in Yaacov or vice in Israel.” If Bilam can bless, certainly, so can we.

HaShem Himself is intent on constantly looking for our good, and Hashem is our greatest role model. In fact, one of the reasons why Hashem reveals His particular actions to us throughout the Torah is in order for us to emulate them. Not for His sake, however, but for our own, the sake of our personal growth.

Of course, we’re limited—we’re human. And sometimes it can feel like the hardest battle on earth to see the good in a fellow Jew for whom we have negative feelings. But we can train ourselves by stopping hateful the tape loop.

Any habit can be broken—or even better, replaced by a healthy habit. In this case, remembering that we are all connected in ways we can only begin to appreciate, helps.

1. It’s usually easiest to begin by practicing with someone who doesn’t push your buttons so much—someone you don’t know personally, perhaps, such as a political figure or other person in the news, or maybe a friend of a friend. Think about someone distant from you, someone who you have a negative opinion of.

2. Remind yourself that unlike Hashem, Who is able to see the good inside each of us, we aren’t omnipotent. We are bound by time and space. Therefore, it is completely impossible for us to know every thought or feeling another person has had or every action he has done. We are judging the person as he is in only one moment of time.

There are 52,560,000 minutes in one hundred years (assuming your “villain” lives a nice, long life). Your odds of being struck by lightning in your lifetime are about one in three thousand. You have a far greater chance of being struck by lightning than knowing what is going on in another person’s heart the other 52,559,999 minutes of his life.

3. Ask yourself, would you want to be judged on the few minutes in your life where you personally failed? Or would you rather be judged on the other millions of minutes where you succeeded in being the kind, honest, generous person you truly are?

4. Once you’ve mastered the ability to be dan l’chaf zchut a stranger, then you can progress thinking kindly of a colleague, maybe someone in another office you don’t run into too often. Then your workmate. Even your boss.

5. Practice finding the good points in your noisy neighbor. Your enemy. Your friend. Actually list the good points, silently, verbally, or even in writing.

6. What about those closest to you? Are you able to ignore their irritating habits? What about the past hurts? Practice on your parent. Your sibling. Your spouse. Your child.

7. Once you’ve mastered the art of being dan l’chaf zchut, of giving benefit of the doubt for others and finding their good points, don’t forget to do the same for yourself. Remind yourself of all the good deeds you’ve done, your generosity, the effort you make to help another.

If you can’t recall grand good deeds, think of all the little ones. Did you light Shabbat candles last Shabbat? Did you cook a meal for your family? Did you do your best, making sure to fulfill your obligation to do the work your employer expects of you? Did you pay for the groceries on your way home (you probably didn’t steal them)! Did you pray today, even briefly? Think of all the good deeds you’ve done, no matter how small.

*We use the language of court to describe the effects of our actions, but these terms (Heavenly court, decrees, rulings, etc.) may be understood in a less coarse, more metaphysical light, one which does not diminish their very real effects.

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Rebbe Nachman’s first tale, “The Lost Princess,” is a fascinating recounting of the story of our lives. Being such, it incites us to ask a critical question: “Do I truly possess absolute self-control?”

Whether we are aware of it or not, we have all “eaten from the apple”: we have all erred in our own ways and fallen into a deep spiritual sleep. Why sleep? Because when we are asleep, we don’t even realize that we are far removed from reality. Things can be happening all around us, critical events in our lives that we might one day look back at and wonder, “How could I have missed that?” yet we are utterly numb to real life. So how do we wake up? How do we become alive?

We each have our golden calf or other form of idol worship. While these may not be actual idols per se, they distract us enough to sever our connection with God. Many hobbies or acts we engage in pull us away from our true purpose in life, causing us to daydream. The Midrash connects the sin of the golden calf with the burning of the red cow. In the words of the Midrash: “This can be compared to the son of a maidservant who soiled the king’s palace. They said, ‘Let his mother come and clean up the mess’” (Tanchuma, Chukat 8). So too, the remedy for our idol worship is the burning of the red cow.

Our parashah states, “Take for yourself a perfectly red cow, which does not have a blemish, upon which no yoke was laid” (Numbers 19:2). The Zohar comments that “red” refers to harsh judgments, whereas “perfect” refers to softened judgments (Zohar, Chukat, p. 180). The harsh judgments result from our various misdeeds; since we have become distracted and dozed off, there is a judgment against us separating us from our Heavenly Father. We become convinced that we are distant and that we are not compatible with true spirituality. Or maybe even worse, perhaps we are in a truly deep sleep and are not even aware that we are sleeping. We think we’re serving God and living a meaningful life, but that’s because our self-evaluation is only at a surface level! But we can soften the judgment by finding our one “perfect” thing, our good point “which does not have a blemish, upon which no yoke was laid.”

No matter what we have done (or not done), the essence of a Jew is completely good and pure. For this reason, Rebbe Nachman teaches that there is no Jew who does not possess good points. Every one of us must look deeply into our souls and find the good that is expressed through our thoughts and actions. In order to wake up, we must first understand who we truly are and how special it is to be a Jew. We are sleeping only because we have forgotten our true reality!

In the times of the Holy Temple, at the darkest time of the month, when one Jew would see the smallest glimmer of moonlight, the Jewish high court would declare, “Sanctified, sanctified!” and the new month would be announced. As we enter Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, may we all merit to see the small glimmer of light in our souls. Then we will be declared “sanctified”—Amen!

Based on Likutey Halakhot, Hashkamat HaBoker 1

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