Sedra of the Week: Balak
Rabbi Mendel Kalmenson looks ahead to this week's portion of the Torah
Rabbi Mendel Kalmenson executive director of Chabad of Belgravia, London
The greatest insights into Jewish existence and continuity often come by way of history’s most notorious anti-Semites.
Take Balak, a Moabite king who tried to eliminate the Jewish people and failed. While at face value Balak seems like a typical anti-Semite, in fact, he is anything but.
He understood then what many philosophers would come to realise in subsequent millennia, that the Jewish people are governed by a unique destiny and are not subject to the normal rules of history.
Author Mark Twain called the Jews “immortal”, philosopher Nikolai Berdysev “metaphysical” and writer Leo Tolstoy “the symbol of eternity”.
Balak was a discerning and open-minded student of history. He recognised that divine intervention alone could wrest a group of downtrodden slaves from the ironclad grip of a mighty superpower, and recognised the thread of divine providence woven into the events that led up to, and followed, this people’s liberation.
Their invincibility, proven time and again, derived from a spiritual origin, and their source of strength and survival was unlike any other nation.
By attempting to manipulate and weaken the spiritual dynamic of this people’s destiny, he hoped to leave them vulnerable.
He would learn the hard way that God’s covenant with and commitment to this people was immutable and eternal.
Hence, the story of Balak serves as an annual reminder of that wonderful sentiment attributed to Ben-Gurion: “A Jew who does not believe in miracles is not a realist.”
Mendel Kalmenson is rabbi of Beit Baruch and executive director of Chabad of Belgravia, London
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
