Judaism: The Faith that Looks After Everyone

Pirkei Avot (1:19) famously teaches: 

"Whoever possesses these three things, he is of the disciples of Abraham, our father; and [whoever possesses] three other things, he is of the disciples of Bilaam, the wicked. A good eye, a humble spirit and a moderate appetite he is of the disciples of Abraham, our father. An evil eye, a haughty spirit and a limitless appetite he is of the disciples of Bilaam, the wicked. What is the difference between the disciples of Abraham, our father, and the disciples of Bilaam, the wicked? The disciples of Abraham, our father, enjoy this world, and inherit the world to come, as it is said: “I will endow those who love me with substance, I will fill their treasuries” (Proverbs 8:21). But the disciples of Bilaam, the wicked, inherit Gehinnom, and descend into the nethermost pit, as it is said: “For you, O God, will bring them down to the nethermost pit those murderous and treacherous men; they shall not live out half their days; but I trust in You” (Psalms 55:24)."

Repeatedly, the sages teach that the non-Jews had their chance. They even had a prophet greater than Moses, the Midrash teaches. Yet, when looking at the above mishnah from Pirkei Avot it seems like the gentile world was doomed for disaster. A self-interested man, haughty at heart, who had an insatiable appetite for self-aggrandizement. 

Interestingly - and this is a teaching I've quoted before - the Gaon of Vilna taught that each and every one of us resembles, or better yet, embodies, a particular character from the Tanach; and furthermore, we have each and every one of the characters inside of us. 

As I write this, I find myself remembering a retort my grandfather, my Saba, of blessed memory used to use. Sometimes we'd say to him, "That's not nice!" and he would say, with a glimmer in his eye, and a somewhat sardonic smile, "I'm not a nice person." He obviously meant it in a tongue and cheek way, and he, more than anyone having been calloused to a lot of other's suffering because of his own at the hands of the Germans, tried in his own right to inure us to a lot of the world's difficulties by teaching us to stand on our own two feet. I remember when I first moved to Israel I needed a check in shekels to pay for something - maybe rent, or some other expense - and he, wanting to teach me foresight and independence, gave me a dollar check (I paid him back within a week), and said, "Go break your head!" And I did! I wound up going to Mizrahi Tefahot, and it happened to be a mortgage bank - not a regular bank - and they made me fill out a form, and copy 20 digits, and then wait a whole week to transfer the money to the other bank, and believe you me, I never took another check from my grandfather; I broke my head, and learned to not have to rely on others, the very message he tried to teach me. 

My grandfather took things to an extreme - though, I miss him saying, " 'Y' is a crooked letter" when we would ask him "why this?" or "why that?" and yet, when it comes to Bilaam his particularistic approach to life - and attempt to see the details, rather than the larger picture, were what made him the antithesis of Avraham Avinu. 

Rabbi Faivelzon, the Rosh Yeshiva of Pitchei Olam, and close disciple of Rabbi Moshe Shapira, shared a story about the latter yesterday which exemplifies this very duality and contradistinction. Once, upon entering the office of Rabbi Shapira Z"L, Rabbi Faivelzon saw a sefer on his desk written and given to him by someone considered an extreme zealot - a kanai - and Rabbi Faivelzon asked him, "Why would you read that?" and he answered, "He may be a zealot, but to reject him because of that is an even bigger form of zealousy."

And, that's what Bilaam tried to do. We all have here and there an evil eye - the Talmud (Baba Batra teaches that a landowner needs to put up a fence at harvest time so other don't look into his threshing floor with an evil eye), and a modicum of haugtiness, and sometimes, we fail to see others because of an insatiable appetite. The question is can we check those things by having disciples who honestly reflect to us what we have taught them. Bilaam, according to the Torah's account, did not have disciples; and here, is the juxtaposition. Both Avraham and Bilaam hastily readied their donkeys in the morning, they both brought two lads with them; Avraham did so to do God's bidding by setting out to sacrifice his son, Bilaam contravened God's desires. Avraham spoke to his lads, was not cruel-hearted to his donkey, and spoke to his son, comforting him and appeasing him on the way, calling him "my son." 

Bilaam sought out strategic places to apply his evil eye, trying to see only the particular, the edge of the Jewish encampment - and when he finally saw the full scope of the people, perfectly and humbly alligned, each tribe with its own place and role, the encampment in its entirety, he was overwhelmed by God's grandeur and His love for the Jewish people and praised them as the one who could teach the world and better it, speaking to our eternity and invicibility and message for the nations. 

That didn't stop him from advising Balak to foil God's intent using Midianite women's sexual appeal to get am yisrael to worship idolatry, but, for a brief moment, when Bilaam tossed away all of his sorcery and mysticism, he saw the Jewish people for their true colors, a people uniquely designed to humbly care for others and better the world through compassion and love for one's fellow man.