“A Family Worthy of Blessing,” Rabbi Zecher’s Shabbat Awakenings
July 19, 2024 | 13 Tamuz 5784
Welcome to Shabbat Awakenings, a weekly reflection as we move toward Shabbat. You can listen to it as a podcast here.
The saying goes something like this: The only happy families are the ones we do not know very well.
It is a curious axiom of assumption that no family is perfect. We cannot know the troubles of others as well as we are familiar with the challenges inherent in the experience of our own family. And yet there must be a positive side to the underbelly of imperfection. Each family has its blessings too.
In the book of Numbers, we continue the clear view into the family of the Jewish people. There has been rebellion by Korah and the loss of leadership through the deaths of Miriam and Aaron. The fear of no water, the anxiety of no food, and the vulnerability of Moses exposed when he struck the rock instead of following God’s instruction to speak to the rock to bring forth water shined a revealing illumination upon the ancients. They may implode from within. On top of it all, each time Moses requested safe passage through other people’s territory as they moved through the wilderness, he was turned away as his own people was prevented from the straight path. Inside this ever developing family, the challenges form their own heap of distresses.
In this week’s Torah portion, the perspective changes from a view from within to an account of the perception of how the Israelite community is regarded from the outside. Initially, we meet the King of the Moabites by name: Balak. He, like those before him, feared the Israelite community passing through his territory. His anxiety is on full display when he hired Bilaam, a prophet diviner, to curse the Israelites and render them powerless. But something unexpected happened, as we are privy to the narrative focused on those not in the Israelite family.
Bilaam had three opportunities to curse the Israelites and instead he blessed them. In addition, he related to the Israelite God and recognized the power present in that relationship. In the third blessing, Bilaam gazed upon the ancient Jewish people and offered these words that are part of our liturgy:
How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov, מַה־טֹּ֥בוּ אֹהָלֶ֖יךָ יַעֲקֹ֑ב
your dwellings, O Israel, מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶ֖יךָ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל
These words are delightful in their appreciation of this people that Bilaam regarded as worthy of blessing. He had no intimate understanding of the Israelites. He saw from afar the goodness and the way that the people dwelled as a community.
In our own day, we hear many curses thrust upon the Jewish community in the form of antisemitism and Jewish hate, but we know better from the place where we sit. Bilaam reminds us that there are those who look upon us from the outside and bless us instead. Let us not underestimate that we are worthy of blessing even in the face of distress and challenge and may we be inspired to discover and uncover the blessings we know to be true of our own family.
Shabbat Shalom! שבת שלום
- We celebrate Shabbat this week with Qabbalat Shabbat at 6:00 p.m. outside in the garden. Register here to join on Zoom.
- On Shabbat morning we gather at 9:00 a.m. in the library for a short Shabbat service and Torah reading, followed by a lively discussion of this week’s Torah portion. All levels and abilities are welcome. Register here to join on Zoom.
- Thank Goodness It’s Shabbat gathers at 10:00 a.m. No registration necessary.
- Village Water Play Dance Party and Havdalah begins at 3:45 p.m. Register here.
- Gather online to say goodbye to Shabbat with a lay-led Havdalah on Zoom at 8:00 p.m
- See Temple Israel’s website for Livesteam options.
I continue to value the many comments you exchange with me through these Shabbat Awakenings. Share with me what you think . Your email goes directly to me!
Rabbi Elaine Zecher