SEEK NO ALLIES!!!! 1989

Kahane on the Parasha Rabbi Meir Kahane- Parashat BalakSEEK NO ALLIES!!! To be alone is the destiny of the Jew ever since it was decreed "Hen, am l'vadad yishkon," "Lo, itis a people that shall dwell alone" (Numbers 23:9). But the word"hen," which is generally translated as a poetical "lo," ismuch more than that, since the Torah isn't primarily a book of poetry. So theRabbis, noting that the Hebrew word "hen" is composed of the lettershei and nun, state: "Take all the letters andyou will find [that if one wishes to add two of them together to get the sum of10] each letter has a partner, but hei [the number 5] and nun [the number 50]have no partners. [For example, the letter aleph (one) and tet (nine) add up to10; bet (two) and chet (eight) add up to 10; gimel (three) and zayin (seven)add up to 10; daled (four) and vav (six) add up to 10. Only hei (five) has nopartner [except for a second hei. Similarly the letter nun (50) has no partnerother than another nun to get the sum of 100]" (Yalkut, Balak 23). This remarkable Midrashemphasizes more than anything the halachic injunction of isolation. Not only must the Jew not be afraid of being isolated, he is commanded to chooseisolation. THAT IS WHY ALL JEWS MUST LIVE IN ERETZ YISRAEL- SO AS TO BE ISOLATED FROM THE NATIONS AND THEIR CULTURES!!! In the words of the Rabbis:"separated from the nations of the world and their abominations"(Mechilta, Yitro, Bachodesh Hashlishi 2:3). But there is another lesson to belearned from the requirement of isolation, and that is that the Jew is NOTALLOWED to seek allies- that the very act of seeking allies is one offaithlessness to G-d. Thus, we find the prophet Isaiah condemning the Jews ofhis time for turning to Egypt for aid against the Assyrians who werethreatening them: "Woe to the rebellious children, says the L-rd, who takecounsel, but not from Me; and who prepare a plan, but not of My spirit, inorder to add sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt but did not inquire of MyMouth, to seek strength in Pharaoh's stronghold and to take shelter in theshade of Egypt!" (Isaiah 30: 1-2). And again: "Woe to those whogo down to Egypt for help and who rely on horses; they trust in chariotsbecause they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but theylook not to the Holy One of Israel, neither do they seek the L-rd" (Ibid.31:1). Consider the words of theprophet, and the context in which they were said. Assyria, the mightiest empireof its time, the empire that had vanquished nation after nation, is descendingon Israel. Is it not normal to seek allies? What would religious Jews andrabbis say today about seeking help from the United States? Surely they wouldall cry out the need for "practicality." But the prophet does not. Hecondemns it. And the great Biblicalcommentator, the Radak, explains: "It is not enough that they have sinnedand erred, but they add the sin of asking besides me help from someone elsewithout My permission? And this is a great rebellion of the servant against hismaster, as he places his trust in someone else besides him" (commentary onIsaiah 30:1). The fear of man, of human fleshand blood, rather than trust in the Almighty, has ever been the cause oftragedy for the Jewish people! Let's consider the national tragedy that befellthe Jewish people when its kingdom was split into two after the death ofSolomon. Why did this occur? Because Solomon sinned by marrying Pharaoh'sdaughter who turned his heart from G-d, as it says (1 Kings 11:11), "Andthe L-rd said to Solomon, 'Since...you have not kept My covenant and My statueswhich I commanded upon you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and willgive it to your servant.'"But why such a harsh punishmentfor marrying Pharaoh's daughter? It hardly, at first glance, seems to fit thecrime. The Seder Olam writes that theoriginal decree was only to last 36 years "in line with the 36 years thatSolomon was married to Pharaoh's daughter...The Kingdom was due to have beenrestored in the reign of King Asa...but Asa ruined it by sending a bribe to theking of Aram [when he was attacked by Basha, King of Israel], not relying onthe Almighty but on the king of Aram." The Radak cites the Seder Olam andwrites similarly, "The decree was that the kingdom should be split for 36years corresponding to the 36 years that Solomon was the son-in-law ofPharaoh. "Consider the odd language of theRadak: "the son-in-law of Pharaoh." Why not say: "the husband ofPharaoh's daughter"? Because the real sin was that Solomon married thewoman in order to be the son-in-law of Pharaoh! Egypt was the most powerfulnation of its time and Solomon hoped to neutralize her and make her an ally bymarrying the monarch's daughter, a common method of diplomatic alliancethroughout history. Solomon feared man, not G-d, and sought through thismarriage to guarantee his kingdom. Therefore, the Almighty punished him withthe perfect and most fitting punishment: the splitting of his kingdom. And that is the reason for thefollowing remarkable statement in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 21b): "WhenSolomon married Pharaoh's daughter, Gabriel came down and struck a reed in thesea which gathered about it a sand-bank upon which was built the great city ofRome." The point made by the Rabbis is clear. On the day Solomon showedfear of man rather than faith in G-d and made an alliance with Pharaoh to savehis kingdom, the ultimate destruction of the Kingdom- Rome- was born. What aremarkable underlining of the foolishness and sin of trusting in humans whenall flesh is in the hands of G-d! What a remarkable example of how history iscreated and guided by G-d!"Lo, it is a people thatshall dwell alone." L'vadad! Alone! THAT IS THE JEWISH WAY! The Jewish Press, 1989 Shabbat Shalom Barbara Kahane on the Parsha can bepurchased at Amazon.com Anyone reading this Rabbi MeirKahane article and is not on my personal list to receive the weekly articleswritten by Rabbi Kahane / Rabbi Binyamin Kahane and would like to be, please contact me at barbaraandchaim@gmail.com  To view articles written by RabbiMeir Kahane and Rabbi Binyamin Kahane go to blog: www.barbaraginsberg-kahane.blogspot.com   Facebook:Barbara Sandra Ginsberg