Shabbos Parashas Balak - 5778

Shabbos Parashas Balak - 5778

Rabbi Hal Miller

Moab became very frightened of the people because it was numerous, and Moab

was disgusted in the face of the children of Israel. [Bamidbar 22:3]

In the very next verse, the Torah tells us that "Moab said to the elders of Midian,"

and "Balak son of Tzipur was king of Moab". Ramban tells us that Balak was appointed

at this time to deal with Israel, and emphasizes that the appointment "was on the advice

of Midian." When Moab sent for Bilaam, the delegation included "the elders of Moab and

the elders of Midian." [22:7] Rashi cites Tanchuma and Midrash Rabbah that verse 5 tells

us Balak was actually from Pethor, where Bilaam lived. So who is the enemy of Israel

here, Moab, Pethor, or Midian? All three?

There is more confusion as the story unfolds. The Midianites convinced Moabite women

to seduce the Jewish men as a way to attack Israel at its heart, Torah observance. But

in the end we see that it is a Midianite princess, Cozbi, who is caught and killed along

with her Jewish lover Zimri, by Pinchas. But each time Israel is opposed by individual

nations to enter the land, Moab is one of the few who God tells Moshe to leave alone.

What seems to separate Moab from the other enemies is the beginning of our verse,

"Moab became very frightened of the people." Balak saw, as the preceding verse said,

all that had happened to the other nations who had opposed Israel--they were totally

destroyed. The Moabites knew that their nation had refused passage to Israel in the

verse we read recently about Moshe saying they would stay on the road and do no

damage. Pethor had not denied Israel anything, nor had Midian, but Moab had

presumably angered the God of the Jews, and was apparently on the chopping block.

Midian, although much bigger than Moab, saw that they would someday have to

face Israel, and chose to do so through the proxy while they still had one. Without

the fear that Moab had, Midian was more than ready to see war between Moab and

Israel, before they, Midian, would have to get involved, but they exhibited no fear.

But Moab, not understanding that God forbade Moshe to destroy that small nation,

was desperate. They feared God. They were easily swayed by their neighbors, yet

still managed to come out it in relatively decent shape. After all, Ruth, the great-

grandmother of David, was a Moabite princess. Had the Moab of our verse known

this, they would not have been so afraid, nor disgusted with themselves for having

denied Israel passage through their land, having denied God.

Thus, Moab was a pawn. They acted inappropriately, but the real enemy here is

Midian. The same situation is playing itself out today, with Syria and Iran, with

Lebanon and Iran/Hezbollah. Some things seem constant, and thus so must our

vigilance in Torah.