Shabbat Balak -
בלק
Balak + Bilaam = Amalek
בלק + בלעם = עמלק
Come Hear The Vaccine Against Amalek = Doubts
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Consciousness Builder:
Six Constant Mitzvot
1. To believe in the existence and providence of G-d.
2. Not to believe that there are any other gods.
3. To believe that G-d is an absolute unity.
4. To love G-d.
5. To fear G-d.
6.To guard oneself from foreign thoughts
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1. Our Exodus From Egypt
“
. . .So that you shall remember the day when you went out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.” Deuteronomy 16:3
The mitzvah is to remember that we were enslaved in Egypt and G d took us out.
This is unlike the mitzvah to retell the story of the Exodus on Passover, which includes describing in detail the miracles that took place.
See
Likkutei Sichot, vol. 21, p. 71
; see also
Haggadah Shel Pesach im Likutei Taameim, s.v. Mitzvah Aleinu Lesaper
, for a list of differences between the everyday mitzvah of remembering the Exodus and that of Passover eve.
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2. The Revelation at Sinai
“
But beware and watch yourself very well, lest you forget the things that your eyes saw, and lest these things depart from your heart, all the days of your life, and you shall make them known to your children and to your children’s children—the day you stood before the L rd your G d at Horeb.”
Deuteronomy 4:9–10
The Torah was given with great fanfare, thunder and lightning, as we beheld G d’s glory. The drama ensured that we would remember that it was from G d Himself that we received the Torah. Thus, the idea behind this mitzvah is to always remember that we received and witnessed the Giving of the Torah, not through a prophet, but from G d himself.
See
Ramban
on
Sefer Hamitzvot, Shikchat Halavin 2
, and his commentary on
Deuteronomy 4:9
.
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3. Amalek’s Attack on Israel
“
You shall remember what Amalek did to you on the way, when you went out of Egypt, how he happened upon you on the way and cut off all the stragglers at your rear, when you were faint and weary, and did not fear G d. [Therefore,] it will be, when the L rd your G d grants you respite from all your enemies around [you] in the land which the L rd, your G d, gives to you as an inheritance to possess, that you shall obliterate the remembrance of Amalek from beneath the heavens. You shall not forget!”
Deuteronomy 25:17–19
The Amalekites were unique in that they were the first to attack the fledgling Jewish nation, despite all the miracles that were performed for the Jews during the Exodus. Thus, not only did they make war with the Jewish people, they showed that they didn’t fear G d, setting a precedent for those who would attack in the future. In recalling what they did, we remember that their severe punishment is due to their extreme offense against the Jewish people and G d.
See
Ramban
on
Sefer Hamitzvot, Shikchat Haasei Mitzvah 7
.
Others explain that the main point of this daily remembrance is not so much the actual attack but the spiritual reason behind the attack: the Jews’ disunity and their laxity in observing the mitzvahs.
See
Melachet Shlomah
on
Mishnah, Megillah 3:7, and Sefer Hasichot 5749, vol. 1, p. 342, gloss at end of fn. 3.
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4. The Golden Calf and Rebelling in the Desert
“
Remember, do not forget, how you angered the L rd, your G d, in the desert; from the day that you went out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebelling against the L rd.”
Deuteronomy 9:7
We remember how we angered G d in the desert through constantly rebelling against Him, and how shortly after the giving of the Torah, we made a Golden Calf. We also remember G d’s great kindness—despite all we did, He remembered the covenant He made with our forefathers and ultimately spared us.
Ramban
on
Sefer Hamitzvot, Shikchat Haasei Mitzvah
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5. Miriam’s Negative Speech and Punishment
“
Remember what the L rd, your G d, did to Miriam on the way, when you went out of Egypt.”
Deuteronomy 24:9
With this remembrance, we remind ourselves how careful we must be to refrain from negative speech and lashon hara. If even Miriam, who was a prophetess and sister of Moses, and meant no harm, was nevertheless afflicted for speaking negatively about her brother, how much more so do we need to be careful regarding what we say about others.
Ramban
on
Sefer Hamitzvot, Shikchat Haasei Mitzvah 7.
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6. The Sabbath
“
Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it.”
Exodus 20:8
The Shabbat is a testament to the fact that G d created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Thus, by constantly remembering it, we recall that the world was created by G d.
See commentary of
Ramban, Exodus 20:8
.
Does One Need to Verbalize These 6 Mitzvot?
According to many opinions, one can technically fulfill this Mitzvah just by thinking about these remembrances. In fact, in his
Shulchan Aruch
, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi outlines how one should keep in mind each of these remembrances while reciting various parts of the blessing of
Ahavat Olam (Rabbah),
said before Shema.
Shulchan Aruch Harav, Orach Chaim, 60:4.
In the words of the
Shulchan Aruch Harav, Orach Chaim 60:4
: “When one says U’Vanu vacharta (“and You chose us”), he should recall the Giving of the Torah; VeKeiravtanu (“and You drew us close”) alludes to Mount Sinai; Leshimcha hagadol (“to Your great name”) — this alludes to the attack by Amalek, for the Divine name will not be complete until the seed [of Amalek] is obliterated; LeHodos Lecha (“to thankfully acknowledge You”) — this alludes to the incident involving Miriam, for the mouth was created to give thanks [to G d] and not to gossip. The phrase U’zechartem et kol mitzvot A donai (“and you shall recall all the commandments of G d”) alludes to Shabbat, which is equivalent to all the mitzvahs.
There is an authority who says that one should recall the Golden Calf while saying (LeYachedcha) BeAhavah (“to proclaim Your unity with love”), i.e., in contrast to those who made the Golden Calf at that time who did not [act] with love towards the Holy One, blessed be He.
Nevertheless, Rabbi Schneur Zalman chose to place them in the prayerbook so that we can verbally recount these six events as well. Some explain that this was because many would find it difficult or forget to have these remembrances in mind while reciting the blessing before Shema. After all, many find it difficult to have the simple meaning of the prayers in mind, never mind the deeper meaning of the blessings.
Noheg Katzon Yosef, p. 77; Ketzot haShulchan 19:10, and Badei Hashulchan ad loc.
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Others entertain the possibility that he formulated the text in deference to the opinion that one needs to actually verbalize these remembrances. However, it seems that Rabbi Schneur Zalman is of the opinion that the remembrances technically need not be verbalized. See
Badei Hashulchan, ibid.
; indeed, it is pointed out that ordinarily one is not allowed to quote and recite partial verses, and yet, in the text, some of the remembrances are only half of a verse. The reason this is permitted in this instance is that the point isn’t really to recite the verse, but to remember the concepts behind the verse (see
Igrot Kodesh, vol. 12, p. 3
, quoting responsum
Maharam Shik, Orach Chaim 124
).
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Are There 4, 6, 8 or 10 Remembrances?
Although the more prevalent custom is to recite six remembrances, as mentioned, there are some who list as little as four or as many as ten.
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, known as the Arizal, lists four: (1) going out of Egypt; (2) the Giving of the Torah; (3) Amalek; and (4) the incident with Miriam.14
Rabbi Avraham Gombiner (c. 1635–1682), known as the Magen Avraham, in his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, quoted the above-mentioned four from the Arizal and also quoted in his name the remembrance of Shabbat, as well as the idea from the
Midrash Yalkut Shimoni, Bechukotai 671
that one should remember the sin of the Golden Calf.
Magen Avraham, Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 60:2.
This brings the number of remembrances to the above-mentioned six.
Others,
Sefer Chareidim, Mitzvot Asei Hateluyot B’lev 1:23
, and
Mitzvot Asei Hateluyot B’kaneh 4:51;
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev in
Kuntres Sefer Hazechirot
(printed in the back of some editions of Kedushat Levi) add an additional two: (1)
Sefer Chareidim, Mitzvot Asei Hateluyot B’lev 1:23
, and
Mitzvot Asei Hateluyot B’kaneh 4:51
; Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev in
Kuntres Sefer Hazechirot
(printed in the back of some editions of Kedushat Levi). The manna that G d sustained us with in the desert; and (2) that G d gave us the land of Israel. And yet others, Rabbi Chaim Yosef Dovid Azulai (the Chida), Avodat Hakodesh, Kaf Achat, 25; Siddur Yaavetz, add (1) remembering what Bilaam and Balak sought to do to the Jewish people and (2) Jerusalem, as the verse in Psalms states, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither.”
Psalms 137:5.
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May we merit the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple speedily in our days!
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Story Section:
Where There's a Spark . . .
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Balak is an unusual parsha for many reasons, not the least of which is the talking donkey. Not just a talking donkey, but a CLEVER talking donkey who knew how to make a fool of Bilaam, her master. At one point, it is not clear who was the REAL donkey.
It’s one of the few humorous and entertaining accounts in the Torah. The snappy talking donkey isn’t the only funny part. A smile is also evoked when Bilaam, after Balak goes to such trouble to curse the Jewish people, is forced to bless them. He actually opens his mouth to curse them, but a blessing comes out instead, much to Balak’s extreme disappointment and frustration.
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Shabbat Balak is the story of Balak King of Moav hiring Bilaam, a famous magician, to curse the Children of Israel. As children we usually never ask what is cursing? As students of Kabbalah we learn that cursing is a negative exchanging of metaphysical energy. Some would call it draining energy.
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Many people do not accept the truth of metaphysical energy because they can not sense it in any way. Others can sense it and ignore it. Others were able to sense it as children and they were taught to ignore it.
It is difficult to understand the relationship between HaShem and Bilaam. The relationship between Balak and Bilaam is fairly easy to understand. The last 2 Hebrew letters of each name - Balak and Bilaam - combines to spell Amalek = doubts.
How can Bilaam become a Prophet and then use this ability in favor of the highest bidder? This difficult to understand. If one analyzes the story of how Bilaam is hired by the Moav leadership its relationship becomes clear.
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Bilaam never sold his service as a Prophet without first asking permission of Elohim. When Elohim would tell him what he did not want to hear. He would rephrase and ask again. From the answer we learn a spiritual law: HaShem allows you to go in the way YOU want to go. Moshe also asked HaShem before he did any action. Yet Moshe always followed the first action. Bilaam lusted after money so would justify his asking multiple times.
This one time Elohim sent a sign to wake Bilaam up. He opened the mouth of a donkey and caused the donkey to speak. Bilaam does not pay attention to the miraculous messenger. Why? Bilaam is a Prophet.
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Here is another spiritual law to learn. Whenever the upcoming action relates to your tikun, they conceal your intuition so that your decision is based on the way you want to go. The only true solution is to make decisions with binding by striking.
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yeshshem.com
has announced an expanded series of classes during the Virus period.
We use the conference call system to avoid hacking which has been targeting many online classes.
Monday June 29 at 11 AM
- Principles of Kabbalah
Tuesday June 30 at 11 AM
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Wednesday July 1 at 11:00 AM
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Wednesday July 1 at 7 PM
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Thursday July 2 at 11 AM
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Thursday July 2 at 4:30 PM
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Thursday July 2 at 7 PM
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Friday July 3 at 7AM
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Motzie Shabbat July 4 at 6 PM
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Motzei Shabbat July 4 at 7 PM -
Zohar Class - Balak
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605 475 2090 using pincode 911904#
Please Note NEW Number Above
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Learn about the 72 Names . . .
Click
HERE
to learn more, and also how to find your Personal Name and Chart, plus a Teshuvah reminder.
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The moon begins the week in Virgo. This will bring general improvement and pragmatic refinement. This is still the first quarter of the month moving into the second quarter. This will relate to finalizing plans for the month.
Aspects:
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Mars is sextile Pluto. This brings a general review of values with greater discipline and accepting responsibilities.
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Sun in Gemini: This brings the energy of adaptability and flexibility, primarily related to the 70 Nation individuals.
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Mars in Pisces: This will bring an expansive energy of growing our vessel.
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and links to more on their Explanations.
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