Defense from Unknown Attacks Chukat Balak

 DivineShield of Protection           Thisweek we read the portion of Balak. Balak, the king of Moab, summons the prophetBiaam to curse the people of Israel. Three times, from three different vantagepoints, Bilaam attempts to pronounce his curses; each time, blessings issueforth instead. Bilaam also prophesies on the end of the days and the coming ofMashiach.     Fromthe eser zechirot   10remembrances      Hashem’sfoiling of Balak and Bilaam’s plot against our ancestors, so that we may knowHis righteousness– Clearly, we must remember G-d’s loving-kindness and goodness; how He protectsus from our enemies’ plots minute by minute, even without our awareness. Balakand Bilaam circled the Camp of Israel, looking for a way to carry out theirevil plot, while the Nation of Israel did not even know the great danger thatit was facing.        RabbiAbittan in a class on Bitachon (Trust in G-d) once taught us that this week’sportion is unique in that it lacks any witnesses from Benai Yisrael. We wereall ostensibly oblivious of the menace we faced nor the extent of divineprotection we enjoyed in those moments. None of us were present to recordthe events as they unfolded and the only reason that we discovered whathappened was because Hashem had Moshe include the story in the Torah. SeeBaba Batra where we are told Moses wrote his book (the Torah) and the portionof Bilaam.     Theperasha we read this week is a lesson and reminder to have faith and trust inHashem. And that Hashem is there to help and assist even when we are unawareand don’t ask. It could be for this alone that the rabbis would suggest addingit to our daily prayers. It’s a way to remember always that not only are we notalone, but Hashem is taking care of us always. I think the rabbi’s favoritesefer was chovot HaLevavot, Duties of the Heart and the chapter on trust wasone he told us to review again and again.     Yearsago when I read Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan’s book on Jewish meditation, I walked awaywith one key idea incorporated in my daily Amidah which in some wayincorporates this reminder. At least I know that 4 words in my Amidah each dayhave some bit of kavanah, thought and intent.     Insteadof paraphrasing Rabbi Kaplan, I thought it important to quote him directly asthis is such an incredible lesson, I doubt there is a single person who wouldnot benefit tremendously, ( See link to his book).     Hewrites: The first paragraph in the Amidah concludes with four words that aredesignated to bring Hashem closer to the worshiper. These  fourwords are 'Melech - King, Ozer - Helper, Moshia - Rescuer, and Magen -Shield,'     Whereasin the first part of this paragraph we relate to Hashem in a general manner,here we develop our personal relationship with Him.        Thesefour words are the key to the entire Amidah. If one says them correctly, one isleft in a perfect spiritual space for the rest of the service. Even if one hassaid the first parts of this paragraph without proper concentration, if thesefour words are said properly, they will bring the worshiper to such a closenessto Hashem that the rest of the Amidah will be perfect.     Letus look at these four words in detail.  Thefirst word is 'King' (Melekh). We begin by looking at Hashem as ourking and at our relationship to Him as that of a subject to a king. A king isfar away, in his capital city, in his palace. If you want something from theking, you must send him a formal request, and it goes through his staff, hisministers, his secretary. Then, if you are lucky, after a few months you mayget a reply. Therefore, when we address Hashem as King, we see Him as majesticbut distant. Help is available  fromhim, but not closely available.     Inthe next word, we address Hashem as 'Helper' (Ozer). Now we see himas much closer than a king. A 'helper' is someone whom we can readilyapproach. He is a friend whom we know we can  alwayscall on and who always will make himself available. Therefore, when we callHashem 'Helper,' we realize that we can call on Him at any time andHe will be there for us. This is a relationship  muchcloser than that to a king. In saying this word, we are beginning the processthrough which we draw closer to Hashem.     Third,we address Hashem as 'Rescuer' (Moshia). Again, a rescuer is muchcloser than a helper. A rescuer is someone who is available to save you whenyou are drowning in a river; he is right  thereto jump in and pull you out. A helper may have the best intentions in theworld, but if he is not close to you at all times, he cannot save you when youare in danger. Therefore, when we  speakto Hashem as our 'Rescuer,' we see Him as being available whenever weneed Him, ready to rescue us in an instant. We recognize that Hashem is alwaysclose enough to help us, even when  weare in imminent danger. Thus, the relationship of Rescuer is much closer thanthat of Helper. This word brings us yet a step closer to Hashem.     Finally,we speak to Hashem as our 'Shield' (Magen). A shield is even closerthan a rescuer. A shield can help even when an arrow is flying at me and thereis nothing else that can stop it. When the  arrowis flying, there is no time for even the rescuer to intercept it. The shieldmust be there in place—right in front of me. Thus, when I address Hashem as my'Shield,' I can feel Him right in front  ofme. Hashem is all around me, surrounding me like a suit of divine armor. I amtotally aware of Hashem's protective power, surrounding me on all sides. I feelthat I am being protected by Hashem, so that  nothingin the world can harm me.     Thus,in the four words 'Melech - King, Ozer - Helper, Moshia - Rescuer, andMagen - Shield,' we become more and more aware of Hashem's closeness.First we see Him as a benevolent but distant king, then as a willing helper,then as a nearby rescuer, and finally, as an immanent shield. In these fourwords, we make the transition from viewing Hashem as a remote transcendentalforce to seeing Him as a protector  whois closer than the air around us.     Theone person who reached the level where he could constantly see Hashem as hisshield was Abraham. Hashem had told him, 'Do not fear, Abram, I am ashield to you' (Gen. 15:1). From that time on, Abraham had a constantperception of Hashem as his shield. He was always aware of Hashem being veryclose to him, surrounding him and protecting him on a most immanent and directlevel…. Of all the levels of relationship to Hashem, the level of shield is theclosest. Here we see Hashem close enough to us to stop even a flying bullet.This was the level attained by Abraham, and at this point in the Amidah, weaspire to it.     Evenunaware of the danger and oblivious to even call out for help, Hashem is thereprotecting us.     Thetheme of protecting us even when we are unaware that we see in this week’sportion begins in last week’s portion which we discussed in our Sunday morningclass. After the passing of Aaron and victory against Amalekites disguised asCanaanites, we complain about our food, claiming that we are'disgusted' by the manna. The verse states     וַיְשַׁלַּח ה ’בָּעָם אֵתהַנְּחָשִׁים הַשְּׂרָפִים     Manywrongly translate the verse as Hashem sends serpents into the Israeliteencampment.     Butthere is a difference between VaYishlach which we see a number of other timesin the portion and this word which is actually, VaYehShallach. One means tosend and the second one means to release or unleash as Rabbi Yosef Bitton sobeautifully explains.     Thisverse teaches us that Hashem “released” and “unleashed” these snakes. Our Sagesexplained that in the desert Bore Olam protected us from our enemies and the naturalelements, the dangerous climate, the desert animals, the sand storms, with the“‘anane kabod”, a virtual cloud, like a “firewall.” Divine punishment then,does not consist in Hashem “sending” the poisonous snakes, but rather inHashem’s “suspending” His special protection, and thus the poisonous snakes actaccording to their nature and instinct.     Theproper translation helps us to understand that Hashem constantly protectsIsrael, and not only in the desert.… Israel –the Prophets and the Sages said–islike a little lamb among the nations, surrounded by enemies who want to destroyus. Israel is protected by Bore Olam through an invisible Divine firewall that“keeps our enemies away”, thwarting their plans, deflecting their missiles,confusing their ideas, etc.     Thishelps to answer Mark Twains question: He has made a marvelous fight in thisworld, in all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. Hecould be vain of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian,and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded todream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vastnoise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torchhigh for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or havevanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was,exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, noslowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. Allthings are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What isthe secret of his immortality?     OurDivine protection is the secret!     Whenour behavior is not correct, somehow the Divine firewall is deactivated. Andwhen HaShem “suspends” His special protection, the enemies of Israel do theirthing.… This idea is mentioned in a very explicit way in Debarim 31:18, ואנכיהסתר אסתיר פני ביום ההוא: when the Jewishpeople abandon their covenant with Hashem, the most severe punishment Israelmight get is that Hashem “hides His presence”, that is, “suspends His specialprotection” from us.     Abeautiful aspect of this idea of VAYEH -SHAL-LACH, is what we can learn fromthis verse indirectly about the way the Creator protects us, as a nation andalso as individuals, without us even realizing it.     ThePerasha continues with this idea in the 6th aliyah, as we journey on, makingour way towards the eastern bank of the Jordan River. Encrypted in this sectionis a great miracle which occurred when we passed through the Arnon valley. Tallcliffs rose from both sides of this narrow valley, and in the clefts of thesecliffs the Emorites, armed with arrows and rocks, were waiting to ambush us.Miraculously, the mountains moved towards each other, crushing the guerrillaforces. This section ends with a song of praise for the well which sustained usthroughout our desert stay — and whose now-bloodied waters made us aware of thegreat miracle which G‑d wrought on our behalf.     Ibelieve these ideas expressed as we are about to enter the land are soimportant. They are meant to give us strength as we leave the miraculous worldof the clouds, the maan and the well along with the leadership of Moses behind.     Weare about to embark on a new chapter. This new time will see us needing to dothings, planting our fields, defending our cities, growing wealthier and stronger.     As aconsequence of success we gradually begin to believe that I am responsible formy own success and my own defense. As the Torah warns, we will say Kochi VeOsemYadi …. To overcome this danger, we must remember that the revealed miracles ofthe dessert will not disappear. They will simply be replaced by hiddenmiracles.     Therevealed protection of the holy clouds encircling us will be replaced by ahidden protection, and the latter in both cases may be more important than theformer, because the latter requires faith and a realization that Hashem istaking care of us even when we don’t know and we can’t ask.     Themessage of this portion is a message of faith. We are never alone. We are as achild in the womb or on his father’s shoulders. There is a secret to ourimmortality and that is, Hashem is truly our Magen – our shield.     Let’sremind ourselves of this each day and in reminding ourselves, we willappreciate and be blessed to always be protected.