Community Magazine June 2021

14 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Words of Rabbi Eli J. Mansour לעילוי נשמתם של משה בן עליזה, יצחק הלל בן עליזה, והנרייט לאה בת עליזה, דוד בן גילה, רבקה בת גילה, יהושע בן גילה, משה בן גילה, שרה בת גילה, יעקב בן גילה, ואליאנה בת גילה. ולרפואה שלמה ליוסף בן אהובה מסעודה, שילת אהובה בת עליזה, ודניאל בן עליזה. “Who are these people?!” If we come home to find strangers sitting there, this is the question we are likely to ask our family members who are there. This month, we will read about this question being asked by – surprisingly enough – Gd Himself. A delegation sent by Balak, the king of Moav, arrived at the home of Bilam, a gentile prophet, bringing him an urgent message from the king. Beneh Yisrael had just conquered large swaths of neighboring territory from two mighty empires, and Balak feared that they might do the same to his country. These fears were completely baseless, as Beneh Yisrael captured the territory only after being attacked unprovoked, and they gave absolutely no indication of seeking to wage war against Moav. Regardless, Balak devised a plan to summon Bilam to place a curse upon Beneh Yisrael so the entire nation would perish. Bilam told the delegation to remain overnight as he awaited Gd’s response. Sure enough, that night, Gd spoke to Balak, asking, “Who are these people with you?” Bilam explained to Gd who these men were, and Gd told him in no uncertain terms that he should not go to curse Beneh Yisrael . We all know the end of the story – Balak sent an additional delegation to beg Bilam to come place a curse on Beneh Yisrael , and Bilam again awaited Gd’s response. This time, Gd allowed Bilam to go, and He then transformed Bilam’s curses into blessings. There is much to discuss about this fascinating story, but we will focus our attention here on the initial exchange between Gd and Bilam – when Gd, mysteriously, asked Bilam, “Who are these people?” and Bilam told Him who they were. The Midrash comments that this is one of four instances where Gd asked someone a question, and he gave the wrong answer. Let us briefly look at the other three: 1) “Where are You?” After Adam sinned by eating fruit from the forbidden tree, he and Havah heard Gd’s voice, and they tried to hide. Gd then spoke to Adam and asked, “ Ayekah – Where are you?” Adam answered: “I heard Your voice…and I was frightened…so I hid.” Gd informed Adam that he and all mankind would be forever cursed because of his sin. 2) “Where is Your Brother?” The second instance is Kayin, who committed the first murder in human history, killing his brother, Hevel. Gd called out to Kayin, “ Eh Hevel ahicha – Where is your brother, Hevel?” Kayin then replied, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?!” Gd informed Kayin that he would be punished for his crime, and would be forced to wander the eath. 3) “What Did These People Say?” The final instance is far less known, and involves King Hizkiyahu, a righteous king who reigned toward the end of the period of the first Bet Hamikdash . We read in the Book of Melachim II (20) that Hizkiyahu became gravely ill and was told by the prophet, Yeshayahu, that he would soon die. Hizkiyahu pleaded to Gd, and he was miraculously cured. Not long thereafter, the king of Babylonia sent a delegation to visit Hizkiyahu in his palace in Jerusalem. Hizkiyahu proudly showed him all his kingdom’s riches and treasures. Gd then sent the prophet Yeshayahu back to Hizkiyahu, and the prophet asked him, “What did these people say? From where did they come to you?” The Three Most Difficult Words I was wrong