July 1, 2023

Kiddush for my Father’s 21st Yahrzeit

Torah on Parshas Balak

Walked to Chabad of East Lakeview.  It was over 70 degrees when I left the house at 8:30 AM.   I made it to Shul at 10:30 AM before Shemona Esra.  I leined the Haftarah.  Eli, Sholem, and Tzvi came for the Kiddush.  It was a pleasure to see them.   The Rabbi asked that I say a few words about my father and boy did I say a few words.  I spoke about my father, his life before the war, the war years, the Chicago years and the LA years.  I also mentioned that he married my mother, a marriage that should never have happened.  I said that my family says it is always about me and I will talk about me.  I disrespected my father.  When I got to yeshiva at age 14, I was embarrassed to tell people that my father had a feather business and that he drove a cab.  I barely understood it.  I remember the big bales of feather that had large vacuums, vacuuming up the feather.  My father went to farms and also purchased old pillows and comforters for the feathers. My first mistake was that any job performed with honesty, where someone went to work to provide for his family is one to be proud of.  I also did not realize that in Europe, in the city of Kielce, my father’s wife’s parents had a feather company from which they exported throughout the world and were very wealthy. My father saw the potential of turning his company into what he saw in Europe. This was my immaturity and took me many years to understand my father in this aspect of his life.

At 2:00 PM I gave the class at our Dr. Leonard Kranzler Memorial Class and spoke over Rabbi Meir Yakov Soloveichik’s lecture on “The rabbinic Roots of the Gettysburg Address.”

At 3:40 PM I walked home and got home at 5:40 PM.  It was over 80 degrees and very humid.  It drizzled lightly most of the way and I came home soaked.

At 7:15 PM I learned the first Medresh in Balak.  I thought about it and tied it into President Abraham Lincoln and Rabbi Soloveichik’s lecture.

First Midrash on Parshas Balak:

וַיַּרְא בָּלָק בֶּן צִפּוֹר (במדבר כב, ב), זֶה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב (דברים לב, ד): הַצּוּר תָּמִים פָּעֳלוֹ כִּי כָל דְּרָכָיו מִשְׁפָּט, 

“And Balak son of Zippor saw”: The Torah says (Deuteronomy 32) “The Rock–perfect is His work for all of His ways are justice.”

לֹא הִנִּיחַ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְעוֹבְדֵי כּוֹכָבִים פִּתְחוֹן פֶּה לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא לוֹמַר שֶׁאַתָּה רִחַקְתָּנוּ, מֶה עָשָׂה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁהֶעֱמִיד מְלָכִים וַחֲכָמִים וּנְבִיאִים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, כָּךְ הֶעֱמִיד לְעוֹבְדֵי כּוֹכָבִים. הֶעֱמִיד שְׁלֹמֹה מֶלֶךְ עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל כָּל הָאָרֶץ, וְכֵן עָשָׂה לִנְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר, זֶה בָּנָה בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ וְאָמַר כַּמָּה רְנָנוֹת וְתַחֲנוּנִים, וְזֶה הֶחֱרִיבוֹ וְחֵרֵף וְגִדֵּף, וְאָמַר (ישעיה יד, יד): אֶעֱלֶה עַל בָּמֳתֵי עָב.

 Hashem did not give the non-Jews an opening to say in the future “You have distanced us.” What did Hashem do? Just like He set up kings and sages and prophets for the Jews, He set these up for the non-Jews. He set up Shlomo as a king over the Jews and the entire earth, and He did the same for Nebuchadnezzar. This one built the Beit Hamikdash and said “How many praises and supplications there are!” and this one destroyed it and scoffed and said (Isaiah 14): “I will ascend to the heights of the clouds.”

 נָתַן לְדָוִד עשֶׁר וְלָקַח הַבַּיִת לִשְׁמוֹ, וְנָתַן לְהָמָן עשֶׁר וְלָקַח אֻמָּה שְׁלֵמָה לְטָבְחָהּ. 

 He gave David riches, and he took his house for His Name. And he gave Haman riches, and he took an entire nation to be slaughtered.

כָּל גְּדֻלָּה שֶׁנָּטְלוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל אַתְּ מוֹצֵא שֶׁנָּטְלוּ הָאֻמּוֹת כַּיּוֹצֵא בָּהּ, הֶעֱמִיד משֶׁה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, וּבִלְעָם לְעוֹבְדֵי כּוֹכָבִים. רְאֵה מַה בֵּין נְבִיאֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לִנְבִיאֵי עוֹבְדֵי כּוֹכָבִים, נְבִיאֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מַזְהִירִין אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל מִן הָעֲבֵרוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יחזקאל לג, ז): וְאַתָּה בֶן אָדָם צֹפֶה נְתַתִּיךָ וגו’, וְנָבִיא שֶׁעָמַד מִן הַגּוֹיִם הֶעֱמִיד פִּרְצָה לְאַבֵּד אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת מִן הָעוֹלָם, וְלֹא עוֹד אֶלָּא שֶׁכָּל הַנְּבִיאִים הָיוּ בְּמִדַּת רַחֲמִים עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל עוֹבְדֵי כּוֹכָבִים, שֶׁכֵּן יִרְמְיָה אוֹמֵר (ירמיה מח, לו): לִבִּי לְמוֹאָב כַּחֲלִלִים יֶהֱמֶה, וְכֵן יְחֶזְקֵאל (יחזקאל כז, ב): בֶן אָדָם שָׂא עַל צֹר קִינָה, וְזֶה אַכְזָרִי עָמַד לַעֲקֹר אֻמָּה שְׁלֵמָה חִנָּם עַל לֹא דָּבָר. לְכָךְ נִכְתְּבָה פָּרָשַׁת בִּלְעָם לְהוֹדִיעַ לָמָּה סִלֵּק הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ מֵעוֹבְדֵי כּוֹכָבִים, שֶׁזֶּה עָמַד מֵהֶם וּרְאֵה מֶה עָשָׂה.

 All the greatness that the Jews took, you find that the nations took. Another example: He set up Moshe for the Jews and Bilaam for the nations. Understand what the difference is between Jewish prophets and non-Jewish prophets? Jewish prophets exhort the people about their sins, as it says (Ezekiel 3): “And you, son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman etc.” And the prophet from among the nations caused a breach to drive the creations from the world. Not only this, but all the prophets were [given prophecy] from the attribute of mercy on the Jews and the non-Jews, as Yirmiyah said (Jeremiah 48): “My heart to Moav is as pipes moan.” And as Yechezkel said (Ezekiel 27): “Son of man, lament for Tyre.” And this cruel one stood to uproot an entire nation for no reason. Therefore the passage of Bilaam was written, to make it known why Hashem took away the holy spirit from non-Jews, for this one was from them and see what he did.

Analysis:

The below Medresh tells us that God gave kings, prophecy and riches to both the Jewish people and the non-Jewish people.  Shlomo Hamelech built a place to worship God, to bring blessing to the world.  The non-Jewish king, Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed the temple.  Jews built, non-Jews destroyed.  Understand what the difference is between Jewish prophets and non-Jewish prophets? Jewish prophets exhort the people about their sins, as it says (Ezekiel 3): “And you, son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman etc.” And the prophet from among the nations caused a breach to drive the creations from the world. Not only this, but all the prophets were [given prophecy] from the attribute of mercy on the Jews and the non-Jews, 

It is true that there were bad kings and false prophets in Israel. In fact when corruption became rampanet and the people did not live up to Jewish ideals as espoused by the Torah and its righteous men, God destroyed both temples and exiled its people.  The DNA of Jews and the Jewish leadership is rooted in faith in God and to do righteousness.  The Jewish people’s DNA starts with King David  and Shlomo.  Both were rooted in justice.  As it says about King David that he ruled with justice for forty years.    The Israeli government and its people’s DNA goes back to Dovid Hamelech and all of its great leaders who promote justice and fairness.  Israel just wants to do good.   In 1948 Israel was willing and able to export its know-how in agriculture and other industries to third world countries.   Israel does have to protect itself in a world where being nice and conciliatory is viewed as a weakness, so it has to be harsh.  However, Israel is a leading country in improving the world with its cutting edge technology, research, and an open society.

The DNA of the non Jewish world are kings who were dictators, evil people.  Look at the kings and queens of the dark ages. 

 Today we have three basic forms of government in the world; democracy, Communism, and dictatorships.   Democracy in America is rooted in our founding fathers and Abraham Lincoln.  They were religious men who believed in following the goodness of God and the creed that all men are created equal.  They were wrong about slavery and it took a courageous President in Abraham Linoch and a civil war with over 550,000 dead Americans to get it right and we still have work to do. Despite everything, America is a great country.  

The next system of government is communism rooted in the evil Stalin. Their DNA is death and destruction.   There is nothing redeeming and there will be nothing redeeming about communism.   

The third is dictatorships, military control, and despots.   Their DNA is the worst in human nature.  Their willingness to exercise raw naked power, kill or torture anyon who gets in your way.  

Look at the Arab world.  The Arab world which wants to destroy the world and uses their billions not to improve their own people’s lives, but in attaining weapons to control their own people and to destroy others.  Be a woman or a gay person in the Arab world.  Be a regular person in the Arab world. 

This is the lesson of the medresh.  We have to tap into our righteous DNA, the DNA of justice, freedom.  This Is the DNA of America brought to its ultimate by President Abrahm Lincoln.