We are all in His hands

Rabbi Avraham Vigler

Orange Grove Hebrew Congregation

 Have you heard about the speaking donkey? Yes, a donkey who speaks to his boss. You probably laugh and think to yourself: “Ohi shrek, this can only happen in the movies…”

In this week’s parsha we meet a real donkey, an ass who spoke to her master.

The Torah tells us the fascinating episode of Balak, king of Moav and his profound fear of the Jewish nation. Balak had good reason to fear.

In a burst of inspiration Balak decided to fight this people with a different sort of weapon. Conventional warfare was nothing before this blessed nation. He decided to attack not with his hands, but with his mouth – the power of prayer, or more specifically, the power of the curse.

To this end, he hired the most celebrated sorcerer of the day, Bilaam, who is probably one of the first-known anti-Semites.

Miraculously, his curses were never articulated as they were intended, but as blessings; indeed, some of the most wonderful blessings the Jewish people ever received were from this Bilaam.

Bilaam asked G-d for permission to go and curse the Yidden. He got a “no”. He asked again and this time he got a “yes”. The Talmud says that “chutzpah is effective even against heaven itself”.

On the journey with all the entourage sent by Balak, Hashem wants to teach Bilaam a lesson. Three times he sends an angel: First time, the donkey turns into a pathway, second time it crushes his foot into a wall and the third time with nowhere to go, the donkey crouches down. In return, Bilaam strikes her three times.

And then, “vayiftach Hashem et pi Ha’aton” – Hashem created a miracle and the donkey was given the power of speech. She said: “Meh asiti lach”? What have I done to deserve being hit by you?” Bilaam answered: “Because you made fun of me!”

The Gemorrah says that the donkey then said: “If you can’t kill me without a sword, then how can you kill an entire people with your tongue alone?”

Disgraced, Bilaam tries to disown the donkey, but then she answers: “Halo ani atoncha… But I am your faithful donkey over so many years.”

The message was loud and clear: The power of speech was entirely controlled from above. Nothing would happen without G-d’s consent.

In our generation too, we have our enemies who are trying to use their speeches to intimidate us, such as Iran and the UN. The lesson we learn from the donkey is that all is in the hands of Hashem… We have to put our trust only in Him; our enemies have no more strength than this donkey; when we follow His commandments we can be sure that everything will be fine in the end!