Balak, King of Mo‘av, is fearful of the Israelites and asks Bila‘am the sorcerer to curse them, for he believes this is the only way to defeat them in battle. He is afraid and therefore chooses to curse and belittle. In contrast, God transforms the curse into a blessing, for the Holy One knows only to bless. For God, there is no fear and where there is no fear there is no curse.
Immediately upon creating the world, the Holy One blesses it and builds into us the capacity to bless others. God assured Abraham that we will be a blessing. That‘s not so simple, for the baseline human condition is fear, survival. It is difficult to bless from a place of fear. The Holy One expects us to bless and to be a blessing.
If our internal voice is one of curse, a voice that seeks to weaken the “other“ (and thus ourselves) apparently fear rules over our lives. Under the surface there exists the opportunity to change, to adopt an approach of blessing and of life. Our world was created through blessing and has been sustained through blessing.
Come, let‘s embody blessing.
