Courtesy of Chabad.org
A WEEKLY TORAH THOUGHT FROM RABBI MORDY
We live in the age of social media. There is so much happening on WhatsApp, Instagram and “X” that if some of us go a day without checking these sources, it feels as though we’ve been completely out of touch, regardless of how “with it” we may actually be. We find something in this week’s Parsha (Balak) that resonates in an age like ours. Why? Balak was a king who, despite his great potential as a leader, was obsessed with vanquishing the Jewish people as they ventured to Israel. Instead of a classical victory, he sought to curse them, and to effect this, he contracted Bil’aam, a non-Jewish prophet. However, the plan backfired. Badly. Bil’aam was only able to prophesize the messages which G-d placed in his mouth; despite his ill intentions, only blessings emanated from his mouth. In fact, some of these beautiful blessings are even incorporated into our liturgy! I’d like to focus on one of his blessings that we say in our morning prayers: “How goodly are your tents, oh Jacob…” where he compliments the Jewish people based on how their tents were situated. How was that? Commentaries tell us that the natural order would be for tents of various families to face each other, thereby allowing others to naturally see in while the tent is open even for a brief moment, the Jewish people’s were not situated that way. They camped in a way that would not allow others to even glimpse even briefly into their tents. What is the big deal here? They were super secretive and didn’t want others in their business? So what?
Our sages tell us something interesting: Tremendous negative forces enter when we look in awe at something of someone else’s that is supposed to be private. Jealousy, envy, lust, all come when we follow our curiosity and peek into the private lives of others. When I think of social media, especially during the summer, filled with pictures of vacations, swimming pools, cool clothing, it seems this sharing is solely meant to get us – the viewers – to desire those very things! Sure there are benefits to social media but certainly very harmful aspects as well. So let us do our best to face our “tents” away from others—and resist that urge to peek when someone else’s is open. This in turn should allow us to lead better, more productive and “blessed” lives. Good Shabbos!
