Parshat Balak
Parsha Overview
Balak, King of Moav, is in morbid fear of the Bnei Yisrael. He summons a renowned sorcerer named Bilaam to curse them. First,
regarding what he is permitted to say and what he is forbidden to say about the Jewish People. When Bilaam arrives, King Balak makes elaborate preparations, hoping that Bilaam will succeed in the curse. Three times Bilaam attempts to curse, and three times blessings are issued instead. Balak, seeing that Bilaam has failed, sends him home in disgrace. The Bnei Yisrael begin sinning with the Moabite women and worshipping the Moabite idols, and they are punished with a plague. One of the Jewish leaders brazenly brings a Midianite princess into his tent, in full view of Moshe and the people. Pinchas, a grandson of Aharon, grabs a spear and kills both evildoers. This act brings an end to the plague — but not before 24,000 people died.
Parsha Insights
Serenity
“…a Nation that will dwell in solitude…” (23:9)
Our world becomes increasingly hectic, less and less private, as web crawlers and chatbots trawl our lives, our likes, our weaknesses and our politics.
More than 1 in 3 adolescents globally report symptoms of anxiety or depression (UNICEF, 2023). In the U.S., 42% of high school students felt persistently sad or hopeless in the past year (CDC, 2023). About 20% of U.S. high school students seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for individuals aged 15–24 worldwide.
Teens now average 7-9 hours of screen time per day, with increased screen use linked to reduced mental well-being. Around 60–70% of adolescents with mental health issues do not receive adequate treatment. Mental health services are often underfunded, especially in lower-income regions.
Why is it so much harder to find serenity today?
We struggle to make the voice of the soul heard above the constant digital noise. In secular society, social media creates comparison, FOMO, and overstimulation, and addiction. It becomes more and more difficult to find fewer quiet, disconnected spaces in our lives for reflection.
One of the great gifts of Judaism to the world is hitbadadut, which means seclusion, being alone with who you are, conversing with your soul, being in touch with yourself.
More than ever nowadays, where our whole environment tries to tear our attention hither and thither, this way and that, in a whirl of confusion and self-doubt, we need to set aside time to reflect, to contemplate on what it is that we are doing in the world, a time for introspection on what is really important to us and who we are.
The Mesilat Yesharim lists this as an essential part of the path to self-knowledge and closeness to Hashem.
“…a Nation that will dwell in solitude…”
The only way that we, the Jewish People, can be ‘a light to the nations’ is if we ‘dwell in solitude.’ We step off the treadmill of the digital world and spend serious time reflecting on our true destiny as individuals and as a Nation.