To Stand Alone - Balak

Each time I read this sentence from our Torah reading, I inevitably find that its words resonate deeply.

 

The sentence comes from the evil anti-Semite Balaam who, in an effort to curse Israel , showers us with immense blessings. Amidst his blessings is this one:

 

Israel is a “nation that dwells alone and is not counted amidst the nations”

 

What’s so profound about these words, you ask me? Well, I’ll briefly share what I find in them - both in the macro and microcosm:

 

What does it mean to be a nation that “dwells alone”?

 

With a combined population of almost 3 billion, India and China have about 40% of the world’s population. Israel and the Jewish People, by contrast, number 7.5 million and 16 million respectively (we are about .002% of the human population).

 

Yet who is placed on the front pages of the world’s newspapers? Who is and continues to be center stage and at crossroads of history? It is Israel and the Jewish People. From The New York Times to the ‘Babylonian Post’, the world simply can’t seem to get enough of us.

 

Why all the attention? Why can’t we just be like everyone else?

 

Because, dear friends, we are a “nation that lives alone”. We are chosen for a unique and different mission; endowed with an inimitable Divine purpose.

 

The world – sometimes for good and for bad – inherently understands this. Indeed there are not 193 countries in the UN. There are 192 countries … and then there is Israel . (In this past decade approx. 80% of all UN resolutions criticizing a country were directed against Israel .)

 

But it’s much more than just the big picture.

 

For much of our history we have been in a state of exile from our homeland and subjected to alien cultures. At times we may be tempted to shirk our unique responsibilities. Sometimes it appears simpler to just blend into the woodwork, assimilate, and become invisible.

 

Herein, dear friends, lies the secret of this existential blessing of transcendence. We are a nation that “dwells alone”. Our Jewish identity, spirit, and soul, like oil on water, remains separate and forever bound with He who “dwells alone” - G‑d Almighty.

 

May we each tap into this powerful and potent blessing and have the courage to stand up tall and proud – Am Yisrael Chai!

 

Fruma and our children – Malka, Yankele, Shimi, Mendel, Mushka, Riva & Rachmiel –join me in wishing you a Shabbat Shalom!