Balak: A Woman’s Dream

Streamer, gardener, learner, cedar…

It is every Jewish woman’s dream. It is our desire to build true homes of Torah, to lead lives of Torah and to raise the next generation of Torah stars. As we pray by the candles each Friday at sundown, ‘May they illuminate the world with Torah and good deeds…’ But what does this dream look like practically? What does it mean to live a life of Torah? And how can we get there?

Surprisingly, the source of our answer is none other than Bilam. The infamous prophet, appointed by King Balak of Moav, to curse the Jewish nation. Bilam was a sorcerer who planned to use his powers to calculate the precise moment that Hashem would be angry with the Jews, and attack them when they were at their weakest. Under the master plan of Hashem, the renowned sorcerer is forced to admit his powerlessness and is physically unable to curse the Jewish people. As he declares, ‘How can I curse when G-d has not cursed?’ (23:8) Hashem speaks through Bilam and instead of hurling insults and curses, Bilam is forced to praise and bless the Jewish people. These words are so powerful that when a Jew walks into shul (synagogue), the first words we pronounce are Bilam’s eternal blessing ‘How goodly are you tents, O Jacob!’ (24:5), referring to the beauty of the Jewish people’s houses of study and prayer.

Bilam continues with the next blessing, painting a beautiful image of plenty and serenity:

‘כִּנְחָלִ֣ים נִטָּ֔יוּ כְּגַנֹּ֖ת עֲלֵ֣י נָהָ֑ר כַּֽאֲהָלִים֙ נָטַ֣ע ה כַּֽאֲרָזִ֖ים עֲלֵי־מָֽיִם’

(24:6) ‘They spread out like streams, like gardens by the river, like aloes which Hashem planted, like cedars upon the water.’

What do these images mean? Why are there so many references to water? And what is the blessing behind these poetic words?

Let’s delve into the explanation of the Ohr HaChaim. The Ohr HaChaim explains that this blessing is not a physical blessing. Rather, each of the four images represent one of four different righteous lifestyles. The first group refers to those who are ‘spread out like streams.’ These are the people who actively go out and teach Torah. They spread out and extend themselves; nourishing those around them with the waters of Torah which they desperately thirst for. Those in the second group are compared to ‘gardens upon the river.’ This represents those who are learned. They do not actively go out to teach, rather people come of their own accord, to pluck the sweet fruits of their garden. To gain from the Torah knowledge which they have acquired. 

It is the woman who brings the desire and love for Torah into the home. It is the woman who brings the excitement and passion for the mitzvot. As King Shlomo said (Mishlei 1:8) ‘Listen, my son, to the discipline of your father, and do not abandon the Torah of your mother.’ What is the Torah of the mother? It is the love of Torah she brings into the home. This is what impacts her children to cling to the Torah’s ways.

The third group are likened to ‘aloes which Hashem planted.’ The word ‘aholim,’ aloes, can also be read as ‘ohalim,’ ‘tents.’ This image depicts those who are able to sit in the tents of Torah all day long. To just sit and learn, undisturbed, in sweetness and holiness. The final group are the ‘cedars upon the water.’ This group of tzadikim (righteous people) do not disseminate Torah. People do not approach them to learn from their wisdom. They are not sitting in learning. A cedar is a tall tree and it represents those who are blessed with wealth and  have the means to support Torah learning. A cedar is not a fruit, people are not coming to gain Torah insight from them. Yet, they too are founded on the waters of Torah.

The entire verse is a blessing to the Jewish people, to live lives of Torah. But there are different ways to fulfill this lofty goal and all four of these pathways are holy and beloved to Hashem. All four of these pathways are founded on water, and as the Gemara tells us (Bava Kama 17a), ‘Ein mayim ela Torah,’ ‘there is no water but Torah.’ Water is always symbolic of Torah.

What unites all of these different life paths is the centrality of Torah. The foundation of each of these lifestyles; whether someone is in a teaching position, inspiring others, learning alone or financially supporting institutions of Torah, are all one. They are all centered around the Torah, built on its holy waters. This means that however we create our homes, whatever our day job is or isn’t, if our lives are rooted in the waters of Torah, our choices are praiseworthy and precious. We can be a Rebbetzin, we can be involved in outreach. We can be an accountant, we can be a doctor. Whatever the title is, the label says ‘Torah.’

It is the woman who brings the desire and love for Torah into the home. It is the woman who brings the excitement and passion for the mitzvot. As King Shlomo said (Mishlei 1:8) ‘Listen, my son, to the discipline of your father, and do not abandon the Torah of your mother.’ What is the Torah of the mother? It is the love of Torah she brings into the home. This is what impacts her children to cling to the Torah’s ways. And how do we bring love of Torah into our homes? By cultivating our own love for Torah. Through desiring Torah more and more, and founding our lifestyle on Torah, may we merit to see the answer to our prayers, to see the actualisation of our dreams to build true homes of Torah.