How long does it take you to recite Kri’at Shema every morning during Shacharit? Two minutes? Four minutes if you do it with extra kavanah, strictly pronouncing every word and every letter.
Now, imagine if immediately after saying Kri’at Shema, the chazzan suddenly began reciting the entire parasha of Balak! That would raise a few eyebrows, not to mention elicit angry rumblings from those who fear missing their train to work.
Surprisingly, the Gemara (Brachot 12b) says that ideally this is what we should do every day. “R’ Abahu the son of R’ Zutarti said in the name of R’ Yehuda the son of Zveidah: They (Chazal) wanted to institute reciting parashat Balak together with Kri’at Shema, and why did they not do so? Because of “Tircha de’Tzibura” (bothering the congregation).
We can understand why the end result is that we do not recite parashat Balak every day – adding an additional twenty minutes to the service would be an inconvenience to the congregation. However, the question is why Chazal thought it would be a good idea to do so in the first place?
Parashat Balak is a very interesting parasha in that it relates an incident that none of Am Yisrael observed directly. The entire episode is “hidden,” it takes place behind the scenes. If the Torah would not have included it, we would never have known it even took place. Am Yisrael did not know about Balak sending for Bilaam, they did not know about what happened with Bilaam’s donkey, they did not know about the numerous sacrifices that Balak and Bilaam offered, the curses that turned into blessings. Hashem revealed all of it to Moshe, who included it in sefer Bamidbar and more incredibly, named the parasha after the “no-goodnik” Balak himself.
The importance of this parasha is that it comes to teach us the power of words!
Words are incredibly powerful – they have the ability to create and destroy. Pirkei Avot (5:1) tells us that the world was created with words, ten utterances. Hashem, by uttering these words created physical objects from nothing.
It is common knowledge that Avraham Avinu wrote a book called Sefer haYetzira, which focuses on the awesome power of Lashon haKodesh (Hebrew), the letters and the words. Uttering specific sequences of letters and words with the appropriate kavanot, one can also create physical objects.
What is less known is that Avraham wrote another book called Masechet Avodat Kochavim (Tractate Idol Worship). The Gemara (Avodah Zara 14b) says that this book had 400 chapters. Avraham used this book in his mission to bring people closer to G-d. The book describes every ritual of every type of idol worship, down to the smallest detail – the methods, the chants, the accessories, the sleight of hand, the tricks, illusions, etc. Not all of these idolatry rituals were trickery, some of them were based on real forces, not the forces of purity upon which the Torah is based, but upon the forces of impurity. After the period of Ezra haSofer, this book was lost and all that remains of the original 400 chapters are barely five chapters in the Gemara.
Not only was Avraham Avinu a “published author,” so too was Moshe Rabbeinu. We think that the only written work Moshe ever wrote was the Five Books of Moses (including parashat Balak). However, according to the Shlah, Moshe wrote another book called Sefer Bilaam in which he lists and explains in minute detail, all of Bilaam’s powers of magic. This book too has been lost.
In order to ensure freedom of choice, G-d created opposing forces in the world, the forces of tahara (purity) and the forces of tumah (impurity). Words uttered, emanating from both poles of this “magnet,” have enormous power.
Everyone thinks that Balak and Bilaam were trying to harm Am Yisrael, but this is only partially true. They had their sights set much higher.
If you closely examine the pesukim in parashat Balak, you find some interesting references to animals. Everyone knows about the donkey, however, the “curses-that-turned-into-blessings,” contain numerous references to other animals, specifically – ox, eagle and lion. In addition, these verses contain six references to Yaakov. If Bilaam is trying to curse Am Yisrael, why does he not refer to them as Yisrael, why Yaakov?
The answer is that the main thrust of Balak and Bilaam’s operations was an attempt to topple the Kisei haKavod – Hashem’s heavenly throne. This throne has four legs – one that has the image of an ox, the second an eagle, the third a lion and the fourth a man – with the face of Yaakov Avinu.
Just like the generation of the Tower of Babel declared war on Hashem, so too did Balak and Bilaam. They aimed directly at all four legs and let loose. On the first three legs – lion, ox, eagle they shot once, but at the fourth leg, Yaakov Avinu they tried to shoot six times, but each time HaKadosh Baruch Hu intervened and deflected the shots. Why six times?
It is very simple. They were aiming at “Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad” – that contains six words! Kri’at Shema is acceptance of G-d’s dominion over all. Balak and Bilam were trying to wage war against G-d and His chosen people and eradicate Hashem’s name from the world.
This is why Chazal thought of adding the parasha of Balak after reciting Kri’at Shema – as a constant reminder “Look what Balak and Bilaam tried to do and always remember the antidote to them!”
Chazal did not feel that the congregation would be able to sustain such a long service. Instead, they instituted a brief daily reminder of Balak. The Ashkenazim begin the service each day with “Ma tovu,” Bilaam’s blessing, and the Sefardim end the service with remembering Balak in the “Zechirot,” reminding ourselves of the forces of impurity – how they failed back then and how they will ultimately fail in the end when G-d sends Mashiach.
Parashat HaShavua Trivia Question: What was Bilaam’s postal address?
Answer to Last Week’s Trivia Question: Which “Canaanites” attacked Am Yisrael after Aharon died? They were actually Amalekites disguised as Canaanites, to try deceive Am Yisrael (Rashi, Bamidbar 21:1).
