Parasha Balak: Mourning and Justice in Israel
This week’s parasha tells two significant stories. The
greater focus is upon the story of Balak and Balaam. In this tale, the powerful King Balak orders the prophet
Balaam to curse the Israelite nation.
G-d intercedes – more than once – to help Balaam turn this curse into a
blessing. In a particularly
unusual sequence, Balaam’s donkey sees an angel of G-d and speaks to Balaam,
helping Balaam understand G-d’s will as a blessing instead of a curse. Balaam shames himself and all human beings
by beating this donkey.
Our parasha also tells the story of Pinchas. G-d commands Moses to kill the Israelite men who have consorted with prostitutes of another land. Moses sends people to do this dirty work. In his religious fervour, Pinchas spears both an Israelite and the woman standing behind this Israelite, killing both. There is much debate in our tradition about whether we should laud or chastise Pinchas for his actions.
Our parasha also tells the story of Pinchas. G-d commands Moses to kill the Israelite men who have consorted with prostitutes of another land. Moses sends people to do this dirty work. In his religious fervour, Pinchas spears both an Israelite and the woman standing behind this Israelite, killing both. There is much debate in our tradition about whether we should laud or chastise Pinchas for his actions.
Which brings us to the events in Israel over this past
week. Three teenage Israelis
kidnapped and killed; one Arab teenager also kidnapped and killed. There has been much attention paid to
why each kidnapping happened; which murder was in retaliation for what crimes. Israelis and Palestinians have been
enraged and in mourning, taking to the streets with words of hatred.
In my mind, there can be no justice that adequately
addresses an act of murder. When
we destroy one person, it is as if we have destroyed the entire world (BT, Sanhedrin,
37a). If for one moment we are able
to put ourselves even near the shoes of the parents of these victims, we
understand the truth of these words.
It is impossible to replace the value of a soul. Once it is gone, there is a hole left in
the universe. No action, court
ruling, or payment will fill in that hole.
If there is no true justice for the murder of a person, then
there is no retaliation for the murder of a person that will end in a feeling
of satisfaction or conclusion, as if justice has occurred. One person is murdered and then another
is murdered in retaliation – we are left with two gaping holes in the
universe. And that is all. No justice, no sense of righteousness.
I watch from afar as many Israelis and Palestinians puff
themselves up. They fill
themselves with that religious fervour of Pinchas, believing that they are
doing G-d’s will – doing what is just – as they shout about filling those holes
with more violence and more death.
Many Israelis and
Palestinians feel justified in shouting down any voices of moderation. And in doing so, they beat the donkey that
has seen the angel of G-d.
I cannot help but think that we are so terribly flawed as
human beings. We allow our anger
and our frustration and our sorrow lead us to actions that actually deepen our
distress. We never experience that
‘justice’ that we seek. And those
holes in the universe multiply, creating more despair, less resolve to look for
that angel.
When will we step up and say, “enough”? When will we finally declare that we
refuse to mourn while we plan another attack? When will we stop training our children to believe that the
urge to wage war is natural; that there are ‘others’ who hurt less than we do;
that killing people will lead to a sense of justice?
Everywhere we turn, people are in mourning. Can’t we commit to creating no more
holes? This could be our
opportunity to turn a curse into a blessing.
Marcia Beck
Jun 4/2014
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