This week's Torah Portion of the Week, Balak, like many in במדבר Bamidbar, Numbers, is rather depressing. How could it be that the Jewish People could have so quickly forgotten the great miracles Gd did to enable our escape from slavery to Pharaoh in Egypt?
In the past few weeks we've read about how the tribal leaders chickened out of immediately entering the Promised Land, claiming that the locals were too strong. We also read how they missed the Egyptian slave food. After years of slavery, which had an advantage of being fed and cared for, they found responsibility a drag.
And this week's Torah Portion, since the Moabite King Balak was in awe of Gd's protective powers over the Jewish People, he hires the famous sorcerer Balaam to curse and weaken them. It doesn't seem to work, because Balaam ends up blessing them.
Then the Parsha ends rather ironically, or tragically, because the Jewish take up with non-Jewish women causing a terrible epidemic killing 24,000, until Pinchas executes one of the leaders in the act with his lady friend. With that the plague ends, as does the week's Torah Portion.
And the Three Weeks mourning and restrictions begin for the invasion of Jerusalem and destruction of our two Holy Temples. Jewish People have been observing this mourning period for two thousand years. And today, even after experiencing so many miracles from Gd to facilitate the establishment of the State of Israel and our miraculous military victories over vicious enemies, we again hear Jews claiming we aren't strong enough to be fully sovereign in our Land. Also, the plague of intermarriage is growing. There are even Jews who promote replacing Jewish Israel with Arab Palestine sic. The Israeli Supreme Court has been ordering the destruction of Jewish homes, and Israeli Leftists sympathize with terrorists rather than Jewish victims. In addition, our tax money goes to giving food and medical care to our enemies. All this does is make our enemies more confident, so they attack us more and more.
Where is our Pinchas?
In the past few weeks we've read about how the tribal leaders chickened out of immediately entering the Promised Land, claiming that the locals were too strong. We also read how they missed the Egyptian slave food. After years of slavery, which had an advantage of being fed and cared for, they found responsibility a drag.
And this week's Torah Portion, since the Moabite King Balak was in awe of Gd's protective powers over the Jewish People, he hires the famous sorcerer Balaam to curse and weaken them. It doesn't seem to work, because Balaam ends up blessing them.
Then the Parsha ends rather ironically, or tragically, because the Jewish take up with non-Jewish women causing a terrible epidemic killing 24,000, until Pinchas executes one of the leaders in the act with his lady friend. With that the plague ends, as does the week's Torah Portion.
And the Three Weeks mourning and restrictions begin for the invasion of Jerusalem and destruction of our two Holy Temples. Jewish People have been observing this mourning period for two thousand years. And today, even after experiencing so many miracles from Gd to facilitate the establishment of the State of Israel and our miraculous military victories over vicious enemies, we again hear Jews claiming we aren't strong enough to be fully sovereign in our Land. Also, the plague of intermarriage is growing. There are even Jews who promote replacing Jewish Israel with Arab Palestine sic. The Israeli Supreme Court has been ordering the destruction of Jewish homes, and Israeli Leftists sympathize with terrorists rather than Jewish victims. In addition, our tax money goes to giving food and medical care to our enemies. All this does is make our enemies more confident, so they attack us more and more.
Where is our Pinchas?