"It's not the mouse that is the thief": Balak 5785

Although Bilaam is the major villain of the piece in this week’s parsha, we should not overlook Balak’s nefarious role in events. Balak is the instigator of the plot to curse and destroy the Jewish people. He finances Bilaam and is most persistent in pursuing his evil goal—even after Bilaam apparently despairs of the success of his mission and tells Balak so. Balak nevertheless insists that Bilaam continue, in case he might yet be able to curse the people of Israel.

Often in Jewish history we find this scenario repeated, with those behind the scenes persistently encouraging the masses to destroy the Jews while they stay a pious distance behind, causing, but somehow apparently not participating in, the murderous mayhem. As hate-filled as Bilaam is, he cannot operate alone. He needs financial and social backing for him to do his worst. As Balak’s hired hand, Bilaam is eventually killed by the very people he attempted to destroy. But Balak lives on, to try again to accomplish the destruction of the Jewish nation. Balak never makes peace with the idea that the Lord does not allow him his goal. His tenacity for hatred and his evil behavior are the true hallmark of his identity. 

Centuries later, the prophet reminds us of Balak’s scheme and of his advice to Bilaam; he warns us not to overlook Balak’s role in this story of aggression and unreasoned hatred. By invoking the original Balak, the prophet informs us that we will be better able to identify and deal with his successors in deceit and hatred throughout the ages. 

The suicide bomber (Bilaam) is not the only guilty party in terrorist attacks. It is the Balaks who send them and support them that are certainly equally as guilty. The self-righteous human rights organizations that promote only hatred and violence under the guise of doing good deeds are also responsible for the loss of the precious lives of innocents, killed by those whom such organizations nurture and support. The Talmud stated this reality by coining the famous Jewish aphorism: “It is not the mouse alone that is the thief. It is rather the hole in the wall that lets the mouse in that is the real thief.” It is the persistence of those that are determined to undermine the Jewish people and the State of Israel that places them as direct descendants of the immoral Balak. 

In the Pesach Haggadah we read that in every generation we face this challenge. No matter how many Bilaams we dispose of, Balak somehow survives to continue to try again. The words of the prophet in this week’s haftorah—to remember Balak’s role in the story of the Jewish people in the desert of Sinai—are addressed to us and to our times as well. We should not be shocked, though our sadness over this fact is understandable, that the malevolence against Jews of the 1930s can repeat itself in our time too. For as long as Balak remains a force in the world, the Jewish problem will not go away. 

Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Berel Wein  

To read Rabbi Wein's devar Torah for this parasha last year, "Who is the real villain?", click here.