פרשת בלק. Following Bil am s blessing, the Torah tells us (B midbar Perek 25/P sukim 1-3):

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1 פרשת בלק I won t try to pretend that I understand this week s Parshas Bolok that I have attempted to learn tens of times. After a number of years I mastered many of the words that were at first very challenging, as is to be expected from large sections that belong to a genre of poetry. I also became more knowledgeable in understanding how to translate and interpret each Posuk with Rashi s commentary and with those of other meforshim as well. I am still trying to comprehend the dynamics that occurred, particularly in the final blessing that Bil am conferred upon Israel, a blessing which disguised his true intent to cause Israel to fail. That blessing of Bil am brought about the death of 200,000 members of the family of Israel. The Torah tells us that people died in two ways. Some died by a Divine plague and others died by the special Botei Din that were established to deal with the thousands who worshiped Ba al Peor. Following Bil am s blessing, the Torah tells us (B midbar Perek 25/P sukim 1-3): ו י ש ב י ש ר א ל ב ש ט ים ו י ח ל ה ע ם ל ז נ ות א ל ב נ ות מ ו אב: ו ת ק ר אן ל ע ם ל ז ב ח י א לה יה ן ו י אכ ל ה ע ם ו י ש ת ח ו ו ל א לה יה ן: ו י צ מ ד י ש ר א ל ל ב ע ל פ ע ור ו י ח ר אף ה' ב י ש ר א ל: Israel dwelled in Shittim and the people began to be promiscuous with the Moabite daughters. Those women invited the people to the offerings of their gods and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. Israel became attached to Ba al Peor and Hashem was angry with Israel. That anger brought a plague against Israel and the Torah tells us how many were killed in the plague. In fact, it is with that sad information that Parshas Bolok concludes as we read (ibid.posuk 9): Those who died in the plague numbered 24,000. ו י ה י ו ה מ ת ים ב מ ג פ ה אר ב ע ה ו ע ש ר ים אל ף:

2 However, besides those many dead, there were far more. As Israel began to sin with the idol worship of Ba al Peor, Moshe Rabbenu issued a command, as we read (ibid. Posuk 5): ו י אמ ר מ ש ה א ל ש פ ט י י ש ר א ל ה ר ג ו א יש א נ ש יו ה נ צ מ ד ים ל ב ע ל פ ע ור: Moshe said to the judges of Israel, Each man shall kill his men who are attached to Ba al Peor. Rashi writes: הרגו איש אנשיו - כל אחד ואחד מדייני ישראל היה הורג שנים, ודייני ישראל שמונה רבוא ושמונת אלפים, כדאיתא בסנהדרין )יח א(: Each man shall kill his men Each of the Israelite judges was to kill two idolaters. The Israelite judges numbered 88,000 1 as we learn in Masseches Sanhedrin. Rashi employs the standard rule of thumb in the Torah s interpretation. Chazal taught that when the Torah gives information it is interested in making us aware, not in keeping us in the dark. So we read in Yalkut Shimoni Parshas Noach (62): The Posuk did not come to hide, but to explain. לא בא הכתוב לסתום אלא לפרש 1 Early Reader reviewed this Parsha sheet and, unlike this writer, checked Rashi s source in Masseches Sanhedrin. The Gemara there writes that the number of judges was 78,600! [See Tosfos there d.h. nim tz u for a discussion as to how the Gemara arrived at this number. See Ramban here whose quotation of Rashi lists the numbers as they are in the Gemara and not as they are in the text of the Rashi that is before us. See the edition of Rashi edited by Rav Chavel ZT L who notes that this entire Rashi is not found in all texts! Nonetheless, since the Rashi that we have does use this number, we will continue our computations based on it. The numbers will vary, of course, if we use the Gemara s computation, but the point will be the same.

3 Thus, when the Torah writes,אנשיו his men, in the plural, the Torah must be referring to two men, which is certainly the minimum that the word men means. 2 Had we not known the number of men that is implied by the term men, then the Torah would have given us mysterious information. But, since we know that the Torah comes to reveal, not to hide, we understand that it is referring to two men. If the Torah meant more than two, it would have written so. Since there were 88,000 Israelite judges and each killed his men, that is, each killed 2 people we arrive at a total of 88,000 X 2 which equals 176,000. With the 24,000 killed in the plague we arrive at the devastating number of 200,000! It is the eve of crossing over the Jordan into Eretz Yisroel. In a number of months their wandering would come to an end. Those who were to die because of the sin of the meraglim had already departed from this world. And now this huge number was gone 3. 2 We read in Masseches Yevomos (42 a): The minimum quantity for the word days is two. מיעוט ימים שניים. 3 I have not found a comment regarding this huge loss of people in the context of the census that was taken in Parshas Pinchos following the plague. We read there (Perek 26/P sukim 1-2): ו י ה י אח ר י ה מ ג פ ה ו י אמ ר ה' א ל מ ש ה ו א ל א ל ע ז ר ב ן אה ר ן ה כ ה ן ל אמ ר: ש א ו א ת ר אש כ ל ע ד ת ב נ י י ש ר א ל מ ב ן ע ש ר ים ש נ ה ו מ ע ל ה ל ב ית א ב ת ם כ ל י צ א צ ב א ב י ש ר א ל: It was following the plague that Hashem said to Moshe and to Elazar ben Aharon ha Kohen saying, Count the heads of the congregation of B nei Yisroel from the age of twenty and above according to their fathers house; all those who go out to war in Israel. Rashi writes: ויהי אחרי המגפה וגו' - משל לרועה שנכנסו זאבים לתוך עדרו והרגו בהן והוא מונה אותן לידע מנין הנותרות. It was after the plague etc. It is like the parable of the shepherd that wolves attacked his flock and killed some of them and he counted them to see how many were left. The total number of B nei Yisroel is told to us at the conclusion of the census as we read (Posuk 51):

4 Therefore, the elaborate presentation that the Torah makes of Bolok and Bil am and their efforts to harm Israel and the great loss that befell our people obligate us in particular to understand as much of this Parsha as we are capable. For this particular Shabbos of Parshas Bolok we will choose one of Bil am s statements and see how best we can understand it. We read in the second series of blessings uttered by Bil am (Perek 23/Posuk 21): א ל ה פ ק וד י ב נ י י ש ר א ל ש ש מ א ות א ל ף ו אל ף ש ב ע מ א ות וש לש ים: These are the numbers of B nei Yisroel 601,730. The census that was taken as our ancestors left Sinai, some 38 years earlier was almost the same number. We read in Parshas B midbar (Perek 2/Posuk 32): א ל ה פ ק וד י ב נ י י ש ר א ל ל ב ית א ב ת ם כ ל פ ק וד י ה מ ח נ ת ל צ ב א ת ם ש ש מ א ות א ל ף וש לש ת א ל פ ים ו ח מ ש מ א ות ו ח מ ש ים: These are the numbers of B nei Yisroel according to the house of their fathers; all the numbers of the camps for their armies were 603,550. Now in the four decades that ensued we would have expected that there be a natural increase in the numbers of our ancestors even though some of it was offset by מדבר,מתי those who died in the wilderness because of the punishment of the meraglim, as well as the thousands who died as a result of other punishments in the midbar (i.e. those who complained for no reason, those who craved and gorged themselves on meat, those who sinned with Korach, and those who died in the plague after the rebellion of Korach). Rashi points out sharp differences between the numbers of certain tribes whose populations diminished greatly, as indicated by the 40 th year census. See his comments in Parshas Pinchos there to P sukim 13 and 36. However, if we take into account the 200,000 people who died during the plague of Ba al Peor and the punishments administered by the Botei Din, we understand that immediately before this census the number of Israelites was larger by far. Of course we cannot say that the numbers were larger by 200,000 because some of those who died in the plague and who died at the hand of Beis Din may have been under twenty years of age or over sixty which excluded them from the census in any case. I have searched somewhat to explore comments of the meforshim but I have not as yet found any who relate to this issue regarding the census and the myriads killed by the judges.

5 לא ה ב יט או ן ב י ע ק ב ו לא ר אה ע מ ל ב י ש ר א ל ה' א... ל 'קיו ע מ ו ות ר וע ת מ ל ך ב ו: G-d did not look at iniquity in Yaakov and did not see toil in Israel; Hashem its G-d is with him [the People Israel] and friendship of the King is with the People. Rashi first writes: כתרגומו The p shat of the verse is according to the way that Targum Onkelos renders it. The Targum writes: אסתכלית ולית פלחי גלולין בדבית יעקב ואף לא עבדי ליאות שקר בישראל מימרא דה' א...ל 'קהון בסעדהון ושכינת מלכהון ביניהון: I Hashem looked and there is no idol-worship in the House of Yaakov and there is no tiresome falseness in Israel; the Word of G-d is their aid and the Presence of their King is among them. Rashi continues: דבר אחר אחרי פשוטו הוא נדרש מדרש נאה. לא הביט הקדוש ברוך הוא און שביעקב, כשהן עוברין על דבריו אינו מדקדק אחריהם להתבונן באוניות שלהם ובעמלן שהן עוברין על דתו: Another explanation is in the Midrash that interprets the verse according to its p shat: G-d did not look at iniquity in Yaakov When they transgress His Words He is not particular with them to investigate their iniquities and with the toil that they cause Him when they violate His Law. ה' א...ל 'קיו עמו - אפילו מכעיסין וממרים לפניו אינו זז מתוכן: Hashem its G-d is with the People Even if they anger Him and rebel against Him, He does not move from their midst. ותרועת מלך בו - לשון חבה ורעות...

6 The friendship of the King is with the People תרועה is an expression of love and friendship. We look at this verse in amazement. Hashem does not see Israel s iniquities? 4 Hashem does not attend to their sins? The weariness of toil,,עמל of their sins doesn t tire G-d? Did we forget the rebelliousness of Israel after crossing the Red Sea and with the Eigel HaZahav? Have we forgotten the sins we read in B ha alosecha 4 weeks ago and the Meraglim in Parshas Shlach two weeks ago and Korach and all that went with him in the Parsha that bears his name two weeks ago? Have we forgotten Mei Meriva in last week s Parshas Chukkas when Moshe and Aharon were punished in the context of Israel s recalcitrance? Are we unaware of the Mishnah that we read in last week s selection of Masseches Ovos (Perek 5/Mishnah 4)? We read there: 5 עשר נסיונות נסו אבותינו את המקום ברוך הוא במדבר שנאמר )במדבר יד/כב ) וינסו אותי זה עשר פעמים ולא שמעו בקולי: Our ancestors tested G-d ten times in the wilderness as it says, They tested Me these ten times and did not listen to My voice. 4 Regarding the word,עמל Rashi writes: עמל - לשון עבירה, כמו והרה עמל )תהלים ז/טו(, כי אתה עמל וכעס תביט )שם י/יד( לפי שהעבירה היא עמל לפני המקום: Amal This is an expression of sin such as in the verse it gave birth to amal, referring to sin and, Because You see transgression and anger. Amal refers to sin because sin is toil before Hashem. 5 This verse is said by HaKodosh Boruch Hu in the context of the sin of the Meraglim. It reads in its entirety: כ י כ ל ה א נ ש ים ה ר א ים א ת כ ב ד י ו א ת א ת ת י א ש ר ע ש ית י ב מ צ ר י ם וב מ ד ב ר ו י נ ס ו א ת י ז ה ע ש ר פ ע מ ים ו לא ש מ ע ו ב ק ול י: Because all of the men who see My Glory and My signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and they tested Me these ten times and they did not listen to My voice.

7 In his commentary to the Mishnah, Rav Ovadia Bartenura 6 writes 7 : עשר נסיונות נסו אבותינו להקדוש ברוך הוא במדבר - שנים בים, אחד בירידה, שם 9 8 נאמר )שם יד/יא ) המבלי אין קברים במצרים, ואחד בעליה, )שם טו/כג ) ויבואו 10 מרתה וילונו. אחד ברפידים, )שם יז/ב ) וירב העם עם משה. שנים במן, לא תצאו ויצאו, )שם שם יט-כ ) איש אל יותר ממנו ויותירו. שנים בשליו, בראשון )שם שם 6 The reader will notice that the verses listed in Bartenura s commentary here are not necessarily in order of the P sukim as they appear in the Torah. It seems that he was listing the verses thematically, not chronologically and some later verses belong to earlier ones. 7 Various commentators differ regarding the specifics of the ten trials. 8 The entire verse reads: ו י אמ ר ו א ל מ ש ה ה מ ב ל י א ין ק ב ר ים ב מ צ ר י ם ל ק ח ת נ ו ל מ ות ב מ ד ב ר מ ה ז את ע ש ית ל נ ו ל ה וצ י אנ ו מ מ צ ר י ם: They said to Moshe, Are there no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? What is this that you did to us to take us out of Egypt? 9 This verse reads in its entirety: ו י ב א ו מ ר ת ה ו לא י כ ל ו ל ש ת ת מ י ם מ מ ר ה כ י מ ר ים ה ם ע ל כ ן ק ר א ש מ ה מ ר ה: They came to Moroh and they were unable to drink water from Moroh because they were bitter; therefore they called the place Moroh. 10 The verse reads in its entirety: ו י ר ב ה ע ם ע ם מ ש ה ו י אמ ר ו ת נ ו ל נ ו מ י ם ו נ ש ת ה ו י אמ ר ל ה ם מ ש ה מ ה ת ר יב ון ע מ ד י מ ה ת נ ס ון א ת ה': The people fought with Moshe and they said, Give us water and we will drink ; Moshe said to them, Why are you fighting with me; why are you testing G-d? 11 In fact, there is no such Posuk regarding the Mon in which the words, do not go out are written. This is what we read there in Parshas B shalach (Perek 16/P sukim 25-29): ו י אמ ר מ ש ה א כ ל ה ו ה י ום כ י ש ב ת ה י ום ל ה' ה י ום לא ת מ צ א ה ו ב ש ד ה: ש ש ת י מ ים ת ל ק ט ה ו וב י ום ה ש ב יע י ש ב ת לא י ה י ה ב ו: ו י ה י ב י ום ה ש ב יע י י צ א ו מ ן ה ע ם ל ל ק ט ו לא מ צ א ו: ו י אמ ר ה' א ל מ ש ה ע ד אנ ה מ אנ ת ם ל ש מ ר מ צ ות י ו ת ור ת י: ר א ו כ י ה' נ ת ן ל כ ם ה ש ב ת ע ל כ ן ה וא נ ת ן ל כ ם ב י ום ה ש ש י ל ח ם י ומ י ם ש ב ו א יש ת ח ת יו אל י צ א א יש מ מ ק מ ו ב י ום ה ש ב יע י: Moshe said, Eat the Mon today because today is Shabbos; you will not find the Mon in the field. Six days you shall gather it and on the seventh day it is Shabbos, it will not be there. On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather and they did not find. Hashem said to Moshe, How long will you

8 14 ) בשבתנו על סיר הבשר, בשליו השני )במדבר יא/ד ) והאספסוף אשר בקרבו. 15 אחד בעגל. ואחד )שם שם א ) במתאוננים. ובמרגלים. והוא עשירי, שם נאמר וינסו אותי זה עשר פעמים ולא שמעו בקולי: Our ancestors tested Hashem with ten trials in the wilderness Two were by the sea, one when they went down as it says, Are there no graves in Egypt and one when they came up as it says They came to Moroh and complained. One was in Refidim where it says, The people fought with Moshe and two were regarding the mon [Moshe said,] Don t go out and they went out. [Moshe said] No one should leave it over [until morning] 13 ג refuse to observe My Mitzvos and My Laws? See, Hashem gave you the Shabbos; therefore He gives to you on the sixth day two days of bread; every person should stay where he is; no one should go out from his place on the seventh day. 12 The verses reads in their entirety: ו י אמ ר מ ש ה א ל ה ם א יש אל י ות ר מ מ נ ו ע ד ב ק ר: ו לא ש מ ע ו א ל מ ש ה ו י ות ר ו א נ ש ים מ מ נ ו ע ד ב ק ר ו י ר ם ת ול ע ים ו י ב א ש ו י ק צ ף ע ל ה ם מ ש ה: Moshe said to them, Do not leave any over until the morning. They did not listen to Moshe and some of the people left over some of it [the mon] until the morning and worms went up in it and it spoiled and Moshe was angry at them. 13 The verse reads in its entirety: ו י אמ ר ו א ל ה ם ב נ י י ש ר א ל מ י י ת ן מ ות נ ו ב י ד ה' ב א ר ץ מ צ ר י ם ב ש ב ת נ ו ע ל ס יר ה ב ש ר ב אכ ל נ ו ל ח ם ל ש ב ע כ י ה וצ את ם א ת נ ו א ל ה מ ד ב ר ה ז ה ל ה מ ית א ת כ ל ה ק ה ל ה ז ה ב ר ע ב: B nei Yisroel said to Moshe and Aharon, Would it be that our death would have been by the hand of G-d in the Land of Egypt when we sat by the pot of meat, when we ate bread to satiation; because you took us out to this wilderness to kill this entire congregation with hunger. 14 The entire verse reads: ו ה אס פ ס ף א ש ר ב ק ר ב ו ה ת א ו ו ת א ו ה ו י ש ב ו ו י ב כ ו ג ם ב נ י י ש ר א ל ו י אמ ר ו מ י י א כ ל נ ו ב ש ר: The [Eruv Rav] who joined Israel in their midst had a great desire and they cried and also B nei Yisroel and they said, Who will feed us meat? 15 The entire verse reads: ו י ה י ה ע ם כ מ ת א נ נ ים ר ע ב אז נ י ה' ו י ש מ ע ה' ו י ח ר א פ ו ו ת ב ע ר בם א ש ה' ו ת אכ ל ב ק צ ה ה מ ח נ ה: The people were as casting evil aspersions in the ears of Hashem; and Hashem heard and He was angered and He caused the fire of Hashem to burn them and it destroyed the edge of the camp.

9 and they left over. Two regarding the quail. The first, When we sat by the pot of meat and the second, The erev rav who gathered in their midst. One with the Golden Calf and one with those who cast aspersion and with the spies and that was the tenth. There it says, They tested Me these ten times and they did not listen to My voice. The Torah does not lie and does not sugar-coat. Hashem does see the iniquity in Israel. All of the subjects mentioned above in the Mishnah, and more, are the object of Hashem s seeing and His reaction to sin is not hidden. And, as Bartenura points out, the Ten Trials that are listed conclude with the Meraglim. Korach follows the Meraglim and included its own set of challenges against Divine rule. So, how are we to understand this verse that does not seem to be consonant with the reality that the Torah presents us? Most of the commentators that I saw interpret the words of Bil am in the context of the blessings that he bestowed and not in regard to the question that we are posing. They focus on the nature of the blessing that is implicit in the words that Bil am uses and do not necessarily comment upon them in light of the historical realities about which they were certainly aware. The only two Meforshim that I saw and understood 16 that related to my question were the Ibn Ezra and the Netziv. Ibn Ezra writes: לא הביט און - לפי דעתי, כי מזאת המלה למד בלק לשלוח נשי מואב במחנה ישראל. והטעם, כי אין השם כבן אדם שיתנחם, כי לא ראה און בישראל. והנה אם יהיה בהם און, לא יקום דבר השם, כי כל דבריו הם על תנאי... He did not see iniquity in Yaakov I understand this to mean that from [hearing] these words Bolok understood to send the Moabite women to the 16 See the very long essay of Meshech Chochmoh on his Posuk. It is an essay which is more of a philosophical treatise than a commentary on an individual verse. Even with the commentary of Rav Yehuda Copperman ZT L there is much that requires further elucidation. Additionally, Rav Copperman did not comment on the entire verse and thus some of Meshech Chochmoh writes remains even more elusive.

10 camp of Israel. The reason is that Hashem is not like a human who changes His mind. He has not destroyed them because He did not see iniquity among them. [Bolok derived] Behold if there would be iniquity in them, then G-d doesn t have to keep His Word [to protect Israel] because His words to them are conditional. Thus, the way Ibn Ezra interprets our verse is, approximately: If Israel keeps My Word, I Hashem will be with them in companionship; if not, I Hashem will not be with them. This explanation, therefore, takes into account all of the evils that Israel did and the punishments they received 17. Because Hashem made Bil am express his words as a blessing, Bil am s blessing carried the implication about which Bolok took advantage. This idea expressed by Ibn Ezra is similar to the explanations of Bil am s blessing in this third attempt to curse Israel when we read (Perek 24/Posuk 5): מ ה ט ב ו א ה ל י ך י ע ק ב מ ש כ נ ת י ך י ש ר א ל: How good are your tents, Yaakov, your dwellings, Israel: Bolok understood that he could defeat Israel by undermining this praise of Israel and so too in our Posuk Bolok understood how he could undermine Israel. 17 Rabbenu Bachaye seems to have adopted this approach in one of the explanations that he offers. He writes: לא הביט און ביעקב. על דרך הפשט אין בהם און, שאלו כן לא תתקיים בהם הטובה שהרי דברי השם יתברך כלם על תנאי הם, ומפני שאין בהם און ועמל: He did not see iniquity in Yaakov According to a p shat interpretation it means, They have no iniquity because since Hashem s words are conditional, He would have punished them if they had iniquity. And therefore they exist because they have no sins among them.

11 Netziv has a different understanding of how the historical truths of Israel s misdeeds do not belie our verse. He writes: לא הביט און ביעקב. האון שישנו ביעקב אינו בעצם מושרש בלב יעקב, כמשמעות 18 לשון הבטה כמו שכתבתי לעיל פרשת חקת בפסוק )במדבר כא/ט ) והביט אל הנחש שהוא הסתכלות בתוך ופנים הדבר, וזהו דבר הכתוב הקדוש ברוך הוא לא הביט שהאון מושרש בלב יעקב, אלא כמו שאדם רוצה לעשות און על ידי רוח שטות שהיא טבע התאוה וכדומה... He did not see iniquity in Yaakov The iniquity that is in Yaakov is not inherent, rooted in the heart of Yaakov. Thus is the implication of the word seeing] as explained before in Parshas ראה staring [in contrast to,הבטה Chukkas in the verse one who looks at the serpent that means [since it used an expression of [הבטה staring into the object itself [and not seeing it only in a superficial manner]. And this is what this verse is saying: Hashem did not see that Israel s iniquity is rooted in the heart of Yaakov but the iniquities that are there are like when a person does something wrong because he is overtaken by a spirit of foolishness which is part of the nature of desires or the like. However, we may suggest an additional way to understand our verse in light of the reality that seems to stand in contradiction to its veracity. In Masseches Bava Basra, towards the end of the first Perek, there is a lengthy discussion about the various Books of Tanach and their authorship. As part of that discussion, we read there (14 b):...ומי כתבן? משה כתב ספרו ופרשת בלעם ואיוב The entire verse reads: ו י ע ש מ ש ה נ ח ש נ ח ש ת ו י ש מ ה ו ע ל ה נ ס ו ה י ה א ם נ ש ך ה נ ח ש א ת א יש ו ה ב יט א ל נ ח ש ה נ ח ש ת ו ח י: Moshe made the copper serpent and he placed it on a flagpole and any man whom the snake bit would stare at the copper serpent and live.

12 Who wrote them? Moshe wrote his book, Parshas Bil am and the Book of Job. Rashi explains: Parshas Bil am His prophecy and his parables. ופרשת בלעם - נבואתו ומשליו... Of course, the question begs to be asked why would Chazal find it necessary to tell us that Moshe wrote the Torah and the section of Bil am, since that section is part of the Torah. Rashi answers that question in his continuation: אף על פי שאינן צורכי משה ותורתו וסדר מעשיו. Moshe wrote Parshas Bil am even though it was not a necessity for Moshe or his Torah or for the order of the events that occurred. Ritva argued with this very difficult concept that seems to distinguish Parshas Bil am from the rest of the Torah. Ritva tells us that Parshas Bil am is not what we might think. The Parshas Bil am to which the Gemara refers is not the one that we read in this week s Parshas Bolok; it something else: נראין דברי האומרים שאין זו פרשת בלעם שכתובה בתורה דההיא הקדוש ברוך הוא כתבה כשאר התורה, אלא פרשה בפני עצמה היא שכתב והאריך בה יותר והיתה מצויה להם. It appears like those who say that this not refer to the section of the Bil am that iswritten in the Torah. That section was written by Hashem like the rest of the Torah. Rather, Moshe wrote a separate treatise called Parshas Bil am, and expanded upon the event. That volume was available then. In his commentary on Masseches Basra, P nei Shlomo, Rav Shlomo Ganzfried, author of the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, teaches us that a similar Gemara is found at the end of the fifth Perek of the Yerushalmi Masseches Sotah. He refers us to the Gemara and the commentary of Mareh HaPonim there. The Gemara writes:

13 משה כתב חמשה ספרי תורה וחזר וכתב פרשת בלק ובלעם... Moshe wrote the Five Books of the Torah and then returned and wrote Parshas Bolok ubil am. Mareh HaPonim writes: כלומר, אחר שגמר חמשה חומשי ספרי תורה מלבד פרשת בלעם, חזר אחר כך וכתב לזה. This means to say that after Moshe completed the Five Chumashim without Parshas Bil am, he went back and wrote this [i.e. Parshas Bil am]. Perhaps 19 the explanation is as follows: If we take our verse as an example: לא ה ב יט או ן ב י ע ק ב ו לא ר אה ע מ ל ב י ש ר א ל ה' א... ל 'קיו ע מ ו ות ר וע ת מ ל ך ב ו: G-d did not look at iniquity in Yaakov and did not see toil in Israel; Hashem its G-d is with him [the People Israel] and friendship of the King is with the People. Moshe Rabbenu was confronted with a conflict. The Torah is true, without any deviation from the truth. In Masseches Shabbos (55 b) we read: The seal of Hashem is truth. חותמו של הקדוש ברוך הוא אמת. This is derived from the letters that seal (i.e. the final letters) of the first three words of the Torah: form the word emes. בראשית ברא א...ל'קים 19 We have no question that we are unable to fathom the full meaning of this Gemara. It is a mystery to such an extent that Ritva says that Parshas Bil am is not what we always mean by that phrase. Nonetheless, we will attempt to have some grasp as to its meaning.

14 We say and believe as is brought in Midrash Tanchuma (11) to Parshas Korach: Moshe is true and his Torah is true: משה אמת ותורתו אמת: How then could Moshe write our Posuk, and similar ones in this section verses that seem to contradict these fundamental principles of our belief? On the other hand, these verses had to be written. HaKodosh Boruch put these words into the mouth of Bil am as the Torah clearly states. The answer may be that after contemplation, Moshe found a way to write the Posuk in the Torah, the Word of G-d, and be faithful to the truth at the same time. Our Posuk concludes: And friendship of the King is with the People. ות ר וע ת מ ל ך ב ו: That is, תרועה here has the root of רעה which means a friend like in the Posuk (Vayikro Perek 19/Posuk 18): לא ת ק ם ו לא ת ט ר א ת ב נ י ע מ ך ו אה ב ת ל ר ע ך כ מ ו ך א נ י ה': Do not take revenge and do not bear a grudge against the members of your nation; you shall love your friend like yourself; I am Hashem. However, it is most likely that when we hear our verse for the first time that the word תרועת conjures up a different meaning completely the teru ah sound of the Shofar. And, many commentators explain it thus referring to the Majesty of G-d which is with Israel, like the trumpets that herald the arrival of royalty. However, since there are two Shofar sounds that the Torah mentions: teki ah and teru ah, we must wonder why the Torah used the word teru ah here and not teki ah.

15 We know that when the Torah commands us regarding the Shofar of Rosh Hashanah it only uses the word teru ah. We derive the teki ah sound from other verses. But when it comes to Rosh Hashanah the Torah writes in next week s Parshas Pinchos (B midbar Perek 29/Posuk 1): וב ח ד ש ה ש ב יע י ב א ח ד ל ח ד ש מ ק ר א ק ד ש י ה י ה ל כ ם כ ל מ ל אכ ת ע ב ד ה לא ת ע ש ו י ום ת ר וע ה י ה י ה ל כ ם: In the seventh month on the first of the month it shall be a holy convocation for you; do not do any melachah of labor; it shall be a Day of Teru ah for you.,רוע referring to the sound of a Shofar, has at its root the word,תרועה The word bad 20. In context, teru ah means an alarm, as we read a few weeks ago in Parshas B ha alosecha (B midbar Perek 10/Posuk 9): ו כ י ת ב א ו מ ל ח מ ה ב אר צ כ ם ע ל ה צ ר ה צ ר ר א ת כ ם ו ה ר ע ת ם ב ח צ צ ר ת ו נ ז כ ר ת ם ל פ נ י ה' א... ל 'קיכ ם ו נ וש ע ת ם מ א י ב יכ ם: When you will come to war in your land against the oppressor who is oppressing you, you shall sound an alarm with the teru ah sound with the trumpets and you will be remembered before Hashem your G-d and you will be saved from your enemies. This alarm is given expression by Rambam who writes in Hilchos Teshuva (Perek 3/Halachah 4): 20 I did not find a source for רעו being the source for the word teruah in any of our Sefarim. In the authoritative Even Shoshan dictionary, there are two suggestions for the root of teruah, the first being רעו which he also writes as the root of the word רע evil. However, see the Mandelkern Concordance that also lists the root as being רעו and explains, in Latin, that it means a alta voce clamare a high clamoring voice.

16 אף על פי שתקיעת שופר בראש השנה גזירת הכתוב רמז יש בו כלומר עורו ישינים משנתכם ונרדמים הקיצו מתרדמתכם וחפשו במעשיכם וחזרו בתשובה וזכרו בוראכם... Even though the sounding of the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah is a decree of the Torah, it contains a hint as if to say: Awaken sleepers from your sleep And those who slumber from your drowsiness Search your deeds Repent And remember your Creator. Moshe Rabbenu returned and wrote Parshas Bil am in our Parshas HaShavua and did not mislead us in the least. It is true that Israel has sinned; it is true that Israel has been punished and will be punished again if they sin. But it is also true that residing within the Jewish neshama is the pintele yid that has not shut itself off from the Voice of G-d or from hearing His Mitzvos and being faithful to them. That inner soul that we all possess has not closed itself off hermetically from the Word of G-d and has not placed an infinite distance between Am Yisroel and HaKodosh Boruch Hu. As long as Israel retains the potential to be responsive to the word of G-d, as long as we respond to the Divine warning of the teru ah, Hashem has not given up on us; He has not forsaken us and we can hope that the תרועה of Divine friendship will remain with us. Even when accosted by the Boloks and Bil ams of the world, even when the situation of the Jewish People appears to be hopeless, G-d sees past the surface of our transgressions and keeps His door open for us to listen to His call.

17 The alarming תרועה can inspire us to seek the תרועה of Divine companionship so that He will be our,רועה shepherding us with love throughout our lives. Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Pollock