The way I see it, this week’s Parsha is a flagship for transformational living.
Balaam, the greatest prophet and most professional ‘curser’ of his time, the ‘bad guy on the block’, concedes that he cannot do anything but what G-d tells him to do.
If Balak gives me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot transgress the word of God to do either good or evil on my own; I can speak only what God speaks.
Understanding that anything that comes your way is from G-d, even if it’s not what you would have chosen, is transformational.
The biggest impediment for many people is the ‘blame game’.
It is easier to blame something or someone and live in the ‘if only I wouldn’t have this, or I would have that’ than to deal with the issue at hand and move forward.
How many people don’t even try to succeed because they feel that they have been placed in compromised conditions.
‘How can I be successful if G-d didn’t bless me with superior intelligence/money/good looks/esteemed pedigree’ (or anything else that could be placed to fill in this blank).
Take it from Balaam. Nothing happens if it not willed by G-d to happen. Balaam desperately wanted to succeed at cursing the Jews. More than anything else in the world.
He was not a force not to be reckoned with.
Balaam was the most intelligent man of his time. He was working in tandem with the most powerful king Balak. Together they had brains, money, power, determination and whatever else would be needed.
Each of them tried to outdo the other when it came to hating and conspiring to destroy the Jews.
Ultimately, they had to concede and retreat ‘tail between their legs’.
If G-d doesn’t want the Jews to be harmed, He simply doesn’t allow the enemy to speak words of curse.
On the contrary. G-d transforms the intended curses into blessings.
We end up with a parsha full of the most incredible blessings of the Torah. All coming from the mouth of an avowed hater of the Jews. The curses are transformed into blessings.
We are living in blessed and miraculous times.
The missiles of Iran were raring and ready to go. The intention of the Ayatollahs was to kill and destroy the Jewish people in Israel (and wherever we may be) in a way that I don’t even want to put on paper.
G-d Almighty protected Am Yisrael and will continue to protect us. For eternity.
The forces of Israel, aided by the army of the USA carried out their missions, blessed by G-d to be successful beyond expectations.
Click here to read ‘An Enormous Hug: Witnessing Miracles, Embracing Kindness’
They wanted to cause us to mourn, we now have huge reasons to celebrate. And celebrate and say thanks to G-d we must.
Make a toast and sing a song of thanks to Hashem for protecting us with His protective canopy of Shalom – Sukkat Shalom.
And let us personalize this lesson so that it uplifts us and inspires us.
Let us wake up and recognize that we are exactly where we need to be.
Don’t try and excuse yourself for not living up to your potential because of something or someone.
Embrace the reality of G-d.
Trust in G-d. Truly. To the point where you move forward and put forth your best efforts to succeed.
And open yourself up for the energy of this week’s Parsha, where curses turn into blessings.
Imagine your greatest obstacle, your most formidable challenge, becoming your greatest asset and blessing.
No. Don’t just imagine. Believe that all is for the good. Trust in G-d that He wants your best. Always. Forever.
Albeit, we can’t always see it.
Become empowered by this reframing of your tailor-made set of circumstances that G-d has woven as the tapestry of your life.
Don’t run away from G-d’s embrace.
You think that is obvious? Not if one is childish.
Listen to this story someone just shared with me.
It starts off as a story about giving Tzedaka and ends in an inspiring realization.
My friend and his wife had given a sizeable amount of Tzedaka to help the needy. They were feeling stretched, but they were quite pleased about their efforts.
Like exercising, feeling a bit sore means that you are probably making progress in your training regimen.
A day later, as the family is relaxing at home in the afternoon, someone knocks on the door.
The father opened the door and to his utmost shock the neighbor from down the road was holding his two-year-old infant (who he assumed was quietly playing in the back of the house) by the hand.
His neighbor explained that he had found the infant wandering in his garden across the street. This meant that somehow in the space of a few minutes, the infant had crossed the street and entered the neighbor’s property.
The parents checked their cameras and saw one of their houseguests had left the house through a side gate that hadn’t properly closed after they left. The child ran out of the open door, crossed the road went to the neighbor’s house and emerged miraculously unscathed from this ‘outing’.
What a miracle. A modern-day reenactment of what Rabbi Akiva taught us nearly two thousand years ago. ‘Tzedaka saves from death’.
Click here for the story about ‘The Snake in the Wall’.
The father, in telling the story, pointed out something else.
In the camera, you see the two-year-old infant discovering an open door and running away. If you didn’t know the background it could look as if he was running from being kidnapped G-d forbid by a bullying tyrant. When in reality, the child was living in a two-parent loving and embracing home.
What was the child running away from?
It doesn’t make sense.
Yet, it may be a very telling story for us to meditate about.
Is it possible that if we think about it more deeply, we may find similarities to this behavior in our own lives and conduct?
G-d Loves YOU.
Run towards HIM.
With reciprocal love.
And may all your perceived curses, and all your very real challenges, get transformed into powerful blessings.
This parsha is full of reference to Mashiach’s coming.
May it be NOW before we need to start remembering the destruction of the Bet Hamikdash marked by the fast of 17 Tammuz this Sunday.
Click here for more info about the ‘Three Weeks’ and Sundays fast day.
When Mashiach comes the fast days will be transformed into FEAST days.
This will be the greatest reenactment of the Balaam curses being transformed into blessings.
The best is yet to come. We are almost, almost, almost there.
One more mitzvah can tip the scales to the tipping point where Redemption by Mashiach unfolds.
AMEN
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yosef Kantor