The Torah portion, Balak, which we read this past Shabbat, is among the most amazing in the Torah: Bil’am emerges, a prophet not of the Israelite people, and pronounces deeply true things about us. He sees the people Israel in the desert, and ostensibly delivering a curse, he blesses: How good are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel,” “There is a people that dwells apart, not reckoned among the nations,” “Lo, there is no augury in Jacob ….” And continues to prophecy regarding the nations: ״A leading nation is Amalek; But its fate is to perish forever.״ Bila’am sees all of human history, with Israel at its center. And see, his vision comes to fruition in our time, at a moment when the State of Israel holds a central place in world history. Here fateful events take place for many nations. The people of Israel have been assaulted by the followers of a radical Islam, which threatens all human civilization, but particularly the west. Western countries should be aware that the same could happen to them. Over and over, events bear witness to the eternal life of the people Israel … standing both above and at the center of human history. We understand this, and the west also needs to understand in order to effectively fight against evil that may rise in any generation.
