A curious portion this week. A talking donkey, blessings and a strange and frightening, in a way, ending. This is the portion where we meet Bilaam, who is asked by Balak, the King of Moab, to curse the Israelites. Eventually he blesses them with the famous line found in prayer books “mah tovu”. (24:5) Yet there is another verse in the portion that jumps off the page considering current events. In 23: 9 we come to a place where Bilaam observes the Israelites. In the text, God intervenes on Bilaam’s behalf (23:4) and, as he observes, he states that: “As I see them from the mountain tops, gaze upon them from the heights, there is a people that dwells apart, not reckoned among the nations.”
It is interesting that different Torah commentaries translate the key phrase differently. The Plaut from Reform Judaism has “hein am l’vadad” as “a people that dwells apart”. The newer Etz Haiim from Conservative Judaism has the same and the Art Scroll from Modern Orthodox has that phrase as “a nation that will dwell in solitude.” Is there a nuance between “that dwells” and “will dwell”. Is Bilaam’s statement a fact of his observance in that context (the Israelites were together as a separate group of tribes) or is it a prediction of Jewish futures and life?
This verse is very meaningful now. I imagine that many of us have had discussions with friends in recent months that speak to the challenge, given the war and the huge rise in antisemitism, of just how “different” the Jewish community is. The dream of fitting in and being just like everyone else seems to have been dashed. Are we destined to a people alone, apart, and forever seen as the “other”? This conversation around the limits of assimilation and the desire to become more “parochial” has captured the imagination of many in our community given the events of the past year. The world seems to keep reminding us that we are “apart”, despite our wishes, in many cases, to fit in. Will we see a return to a more observant and public affirming Judaism, or will there be, in this “free” society a continuation of a gradual drift from identification and observance? This issue is becoming more of a challenge for all of us. How we as a community respond to this challenge will go a long way in shaping what kind of Judaism evolves.
And there is yet another way to look at the phrase in question, a way that sees the key work not as “apart” or solitude” but “alone”. So, we can see in this translation, a statement of moral principle as the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote: “What does this phrase “a people that dwells alone” mean? It means a people prepared to stand along if need be, living by its own moral code, having the courage to be different and to take the road less travelled”
Do you feel part of a people “apart”? What would it mean to be a people that will dwell “in solitude”?
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Richard F Address
Rabbi Richard F. Address, D.Min, is the Founder and Director of www.jewishsacredaging.com. Rabbi Address served for over three decades on staff of the Union for Reform Judaism; first as a Regional Director and then, beginning in 1997, as Founder and Director of the URJ’s Department of Jewish Family Concerns and served as a specialist and consultant for the North American Reform Movement in the areas of family related programming. Rabbi Address was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1972 and began his rabbinic career in Los Angeles congregations. He also served as a part time rabbi for Beth Hillel in Carmel, NJ while regional director and, after his URJ tenure, served as senior rabbi of Congregation M’kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, NJ from 2011-2014.
Let’s look at the Hebrew as it appears in the Torah: ”הן עם לבדד ישכן ובגוים לא יתחשב”. Unlike much of the biblical Hebrew as it appears in the Hebrew Bible, this phase is unambiguous. Here is a direct translation: “They are a people that will dwell apart and will not be counted among the nations.” Note the future tense. That is, Balaam is giving a prophesy, not an observation! As the text tells us (23:5), these are not the words of Balaam. He is merely the messenger, mouthing words dictated by Gd.
The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks noted that at first glance this can be taken as a blessing. But, like most of the torah, it is ambiguous, and perhaps is better understood as a curse or perhaps as a warning.