Bliya'al

Re'ei

One of the many mitzvot discussed in this week's parsha is the mitzvah of "Ir HaNidachat," a city in which most of the inhabitants stray from the path of the Torah and begin to worship idols. The Torah commands us to totally destroy such a city and its inhabitants.

There are numerous criteria to determine whether such a city fits the halachic definition or not. For example, there has to be a minimum number of people in the city who serve idols; it does not apply to the city of Jerusalem, to a refuge city or to a border city; the inhabitants have to be warned to allow them to do teshuvah, etc. etc. According to the Gemara (Sanhedrin 71a), the conditions for a city to be classified as an Ir HaNidachat are so numerous and extreme, that there has never been such a city and there never will be. For example, if even one house in the city has a mezuzah on the door, that exonerates the city.

The reason the Torah mentions it at all is to give us reward for simply learning it (there are other similar mitzvot in the Torah, for example a rebellious son, "Ben Sorer U'Moreh," which, according to some [R' Yehuda] never occurred in reality).

The pasuk (Devarim 13:14) describes the formation of such a city. "Troublemakers [Bnei Bliya'al] will emerge from you and incite the inhabitants of their city to serve idols." What exactly are Bnei Bliya'al?

According to Rashi (quoting the Sifri 93), the origin of the word Bliya'al is derived from the word "Ol" (ayin vav lamed), in other words – people who have shaken off HaKadosh Baruch Hu's "yoke." A reference to the wooden yoke that is placed on the necks of animals when they plough a field, a restraint consisting of a horizontal beam and two rings that encircle the animals' necks. Such a person is rejecting the "restraints" that HaKadosh Baruch Hu places on us in the form of the 613 mitzvot of the Torah.

Other opinions say it is an adulterer (Yalkut Shimoni), an evil person (Onkelos), someone who does not give charity (Midrash Lekach Tov), someone who is morally decrepit (Malbim), etc. In this shiur I would like to propose that the concept of a Ben Bliya'al is in fact a composite of all the above and the "prototype" of a person who embodied the essence of Bliya'al was Bilaam (the gematria of Bliya'al is Bilaam).

Bilaam is one of the biggest paradoxes in the Torah. According to Chazal (Bava Batra 16b), Bilaam's powers of prophecy paralleled (or even exceeded) those of Moshe Rabbeinu!

The Rambam lists the numerous stages a person has to elevate themselves in order to attain the level of prophecy. It is quite clear that Bilaam never ascended to those levels, quite the opposite.

Chazal tell us that Moshe derived his powers of prophecy from the forces of purity, while Bilaam derived his from the forces of impurity. HaKadosh Baruch Hu did not want the other nations of the world to come with a complaint "If You would have given us a prophet of the stature of Moshe, we would also have turned out like Am Yisrael." HaKadosh Baruch Hu therefore gave them a prophet of the same stature – Bilaam.

From this we understand that prophecy can be attained by opposite extremes of the spectrum – from extreme ascent into purity and also from extreme descent into impurity. The former is the correct process, which all the prophets of Israel followed. The latter was just a "loophole" to allow the Gentiles, who would never be able to attain the same level through holiness, to achieve it through impurity – just so they would never make a claim against HaKadosh Baruch Hu.

The Midrash Aggadah (Bamidbar 24:16) makes an astounding claim, that Bilaam's experience of HaKadosh Baruch Hu was even clearer than Moshe's. Bilaam could gaze directly at the Shechinah, while Moshe could not. So, how is it possible that Bilaam became a Ben Bliya'al? How could someone who has such close proximity to HaKadosh Baruch Hu descend to that level?

The answer to the conundrum is that Bilaam didn't want to be Bilaam.

It is true that Bilaam derived many benefits from being Bilaam, he made a lot of money in the cursing business and achieved much renown and honor. However, deep down, Bilaam resented the fact that v selected him to be the most "elevated" prophet of the Gentiles. Bilaam experienced perhaps the greatest proximity to HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s Shechinah than any other human on earth, even greater than Moshe Rabbeinu's! However, despite being within the "closest circle," all that Bilaam could ever think about was "How do I get out of here! I don't want to be part of this 'family'!"

This is what Bnei Bliya'al are in the context of the parsha of the Ir HaNidachat. It is not talking about Gentile missionaries from outside coming to incite and lead Am Yisrael astray. These are Jews from within Am Yisrael! These are Jews who don't want to be Jews, they despise and resent the reality of their birth and miss no opportunity trying to escape it. It stems from a deep feeling of not wanting to be who you intrinsically are and trying to become like someone else – trying to be a nation like all the other nations.

When someone has experienced ultimate proximity to the Shechinah, the overwhelming love HaKadosh Baruch Hu has for all his creations, like Bilaam did, how is it possible to not want to be part of that shining light and outpouring of love?

There are three main reasons. Laziness, not wanting to make the effort required to be part of the "family." Being part of any family is a mix of privileges and obligations – it is a package deal. Trauma, a negative experience from someone who is supposed to represent the light, causing you harm, or perceived harm. How many souls in Am Yisrael have been lost as a result of abuse from someone they respected and loved. Rejection, being shunned by your family or community. Often HaKadosh Baruch Hu gives people tribulations in this world, to do tikkun. Sometimes the person is able to transcend and sometimes their yetzer hara overcomes them and they succumb.

If you want to understand the phenomenon of antisemitic Jews, people who align themselves with Am Yisrael's worst enemies – this is the root of it, this is where it emanates from.

The good news is that HaKadosh Baruch Hu is looking out for us, for Am Yisrael. Despite there being (often numerous) pockets and enclaves of such Bnei Bliya'al, Chazal tell us that an Ir HaNidachat never existed and never will exist. Even though we find scatterings of this phenomenon within Am Yisrael, it can never take hold and cause our downfall. There will always be someone with a "mezuzah on their door," a solitary fortress of light and love amongst the darkness and impurity.

Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: How do we know if someone is a genuine prophet?

Answer to Last Shiur’s Trivia Question: There were no clothes or shoe stores in the Midbar. Where did Am Yisrael get their clothes from? The clothes and shoes they took with them from Egypt never deteriorated or faded. They grew with them and were perfectly preserved (and laundered/shined) by the Clouds of Glory (Shir HaShirim Rabba 4:11).