The Weekly Shtikle - Balak

This Shabbos is the Yahrzeit of R' Yaakov Yitzchack Ruderman, zt"l, the first Rosh HaYeshivah of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel. 

This Sunday is the Yahrzeit of my wife's grandmother, Mrs Shirley Yeres, Chaya Sheindel bas Alexander.

Tuesday, Shiv'ah Asar B'Tamuz, is the Yahrzeit of R' Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg, zt"l, Rosh HaYeshiva of Ner Yisroel. The shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmasam.

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my Opa, Tovia Yehudah ben Yoel, a'h.

At the beginning of this week's parsha, we find that Moav is frightened of Bnei Yisroel because of what they did to Sichon. I was once asked a very intriguing question concerning Balak's entire approach to B'nei Yisroel. Sichon met his demise only because he started up with Bnei Yisroel. B'nei Yisroel clearly had no intentions of war with Sichon and he was the one who came out and attcked. As long as Balak avoids a confrontation, what does he have to be afraid of? If he simply leaves B'nei Yisroel alone, his country is in no danger whatsoever.

Perhaps what frightened Moav was that they observed that as soon as B'nei Yisroel requested a passage through Sichon's land, that is when everything started to go sour. Sure, Sichon started the war, but what was he supposed to do? How is a country supposed to see such a request as a friendly gesture? The way Balak saw it, as soon as B'nei Yisroel asks for permission to go through the land, it means trouble. Now in the parsha we are not told that any such request was sent to Moav. However, in the haftara of Chukas (Shoftim 11:17) we find that messengers were sent to Moav as well with the same request. Perhaps the episode of Balak happened after these messengers were sent and that is why he became frightened. When Balak saw his nation following the same course of events as that of Sichon, he felt threatened and saw fit to take pre-emptive action.

However, there is a much simpler approach to Balak's actions which teaches a great lesson. Perhaps Balak was simply misinformed and misguided. B'nei Yisroel's trouncing of Sichon's army had them looking like the aggressors at the end of the day. B'nei Yisroel began to be looked upon as a force of terror ripping through the region. Balak was not aware, or did not allow himself to be aware that B'nei Yisroel had no intentions of any involvement with him whatsoever. This whole parsha is therefore a glaring example of "ma'aseh avos siman labanim," a harbinger of events to follow for many generations. Throughout history, Jews have always been vilified on false pretenses. But in our days it is most glaringly evident. After the Holocaust there was an atmosphere of pity for the Jewish people and the State of Israel was a direct outgrowth thereof. Israel has been blessed by HaShem with the strongest and most successful of armies. With the Divine gift of power and might, they have crushed their enemies to bitter defeat. But suddenly, we are looked upon as aggressors. Each war was a defensive battle but yet, we are looked upon as instigators and subsequently, occupiers. In sweeping, defensive attacks against terrorists, we are seen as terrorists ourselves. And of course, the most recent events involving the flotilla are just another glaring example of how the world is constantly misjudging us.  As we see in our parsha, this is old news. As the generations pass it seems evident that the Jews will always be misunderstood and misjudged in the public eye. It is something we will just have to live with.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:
Dikdukian: The Dead of the Plague

AstroTorah: The Usage of Solar Dates in Talmudic Literature by R' Ari Storch

Please visit the new portal for all Shtikle-related sites, www.weeklyshtikle.com

The Weekly Shtikle - Chukas

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my Opa, Tovia Yehudah ben Yoel, a'h.

In this week's parsha, B'nei Yisroel approach two nations for permission to pass through their land. Both requests are rejected. The first encounter with Edom ends peacefully with B'nei Yisroel  avoiding an encounter by sidestepping their land. Their later encounter run-in with Sichon, the king of the Emorites had a less peaceful ending with B'nei Yisroel defeating them and conquering their land.

 

Aside from the difference in outcome, there is a noticeable difference in the approach that was taken to the two situations. When Edom is contacted, the request is preceded by a brief account of the past events. Then, they are asked, (20:17) "Nabera na be'artzecha," let us please cross through your land. When the messengers are sent to Sichon, they get straight to the point. They state, (21:22) "Ebera be'artzecha," let me cross through your land. The request (or demand) is in the singular and the word "please" is absent.

 

HaKesav VehaKabalah writes that the explanation of this discrepancy lies in the fact that B'nei Yisroel were given strict instructions not to wage war with Edom, whereas no such stipulation is made with regards to Sichon. Speaking of the nation in the singular form implies unity, the most famous example being at Har Sinai. B'nei Yisroel was to cross through Sichon's land together as a nation and ready to face war. They wanted to avoid such implications with Edom. The plural form implied that they would simply be a large group of individuals who would cross through the land with no threat of banding together to wage war. For the purposes of congeniality, Edom was approached with a softer tone and asked kindly. There was no need for pleasantries with Sichon.

With this understanding it is most puzzling to find the wording switched in this week's haftarah. When Yiftach gives the king of B'nei Ammon a history lesson, he recounts that Edom, Moav and Sichon were requested permission to pass through their land. With regards to Edom, he says they were asked, (Shofetim 11:17) "Ebera na," and with regards to Sichon, "Nabera na." Further, in the Torah it is written that Moshe sent the messengers to Edom and Yisroel sent the messengers to Sichon. Here, both sets of messengers are said to have been sent by Yisroel. Why did Yiftach switch the wording?

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: Yahtzah, what is your real name?

AstroTorah: Facing the moon for Kiddush Levanah (See also http://baltimorejewishlife.com/torah/ask-the-rabbi.php . You have to scroll to find it.)

AstroTorah: Oh Heavens! Seven or Two? by R' Ari Storch

Please visit the new portal for all Shtikle-related sites, www.weeklyshtikle.com

The Weekly Shtikle - Korach

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my Opa, Tovia Yehudah ben Yoel, a'h.

At the beginning of this week's parsha is the episode of Korach and his rebellion against Moshe. A famous question that is asked on the episode of Korach is why Moshe did not pray on the behalf of Korach and his men that they not perish like he did for other groups of sinners.

I heard the following answer from R' Elie Wolf but I do not recall the origin. Rashi tells us (Shemos 20:2) that when B'nei Yisroel sinned with the Golden Calf, Moshe's argument to HaShem was that when He commanded the first two of the Aseres HaDibros, he spoke only to Moshe as the verb used is in the singular, and not to the rest of the nation. Here, (17:3) Rashi explains that Korach's argument was that Moshe was no better than anyone else for everyone heard "Anochi HaShem" at Har Sinai. This very argument uproots Moshe's defense of all of B'nei Yisroel and would retroactively incriminate them. Therefore, Moshe could not pray on his behalf.

Have a good Shabbos and Chodesh Tov.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: Just do it! ... again

AstroTorah: Korach's Calendar by R' Ari Storch

Please visit the new portal for all Shtikle-related sites, www.weeklyshtikle.com

The Weekly Shtikle - Shelach

A very special Mazal Tov to my brother-in-law, Aharon Yeres, upon his recent engagement to Rachelle Stark of Lawrence, NY. 

As a follow up to last week's Mazal Tov, we named our new baby daughter Michal, for my great aunt, Lady Amélie Jakobovits.

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my Opa, Tovia Yehudah ben Yoel, a'h.

Of course, the most significant of events that takes place in this week's parsha is the sin of the spies.Ten of the spies delivered bad reports about Eretz Yisroel while only Yehoshua and Calev delivered positive reports.  My Zadie, R' Yaakov Bulka, z"l, points out, though, that if you look at the positive components of each of the reports, there doesn't seem to be much difference.  In pasuk 14:8 Caleiv describes Eretz Yisroel as "Eretz zavas chalav udvash" But the ten spies also describe it as such in 13:27 "vegam Eretz zavas chalav udvash hi". What is the difference? Also, why did the ten spies use the word "vegam".

My Zadie answers that we see in next week's parsha (16:13) that part of Dasan and Aviram's complaint to Moshe was "hame'at ki he'elisanu mei'eretz zavas chalav udvash", this referring to Egypt. We see clearly that they considered Egypt to also be an "eretz zavas chalav udvash". Therefore, the spies are rebuked for saying "vegam..." because what they meant was that Eretz Yisroel is also nice, like Egypt, but no better. Caleiv, however, worded it differently, saying "eretz zavas chalav udvash hi" IT is an eretz zavas chalav udvash like no other.

To add to this, we see a similar concept in the gemara Sanhedrin 104a which the Daf Yomi cycle just recently passed. The gemara describes how Sancheirev was rewarded for praising Eretz Yisroel and Bnei Yisroel were rebuked for speaking badly about it. The gemara goes on to explain the specifics, that when Bnei Yisroel were exiled and they came to their new lands they said "This is just like we had in Eretz Yisroel". The lesson learned from all of this is a great one. For we know that the principal lesson in this week's parsha is the gravity of the sin of talking badly anout Eretz Yisroel. It is obvious that this includes direct criticism of Eretz Yisroel, but now we see that even putting other lands on the level of Eretz Yisroel is a grave sin which falls under the same category.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

AstroTorah: Yam Suf 7 or 8 Days after Exodus? by R' Ari Storch
AstroTorah: Solar Powered Giants or Orion's Belt Loosened? by R' Ari Storch
AstroTorah: Spies in the Skies by R' Ari Storch

Please visit the new portal for all Shtikle-related sites, www.weeklyshtikle.com