Balak: Beware politicians who talk much, but do little

There are two things to know about war in our modern, ultra-connected era. War today is a lot more than soldiers shooting at each other on a battlefield. A nation at war needs to fight for its reputation, its standing in the world, its moral state, its image among citizens of other nations, and more.

This, unfortunately, is the kind of war Israel is engaged in today. Besides seeking to eliminate terrorism on its northern and southern borders, Israel is fighting for its standing at the UN, in the International Criminal Court, at universities, and even at the supermarket.

We see these issues in this week’s Parsha, Balak, where the infamous gentile prophet Bilaam makes it his mission to curse the Jewish people. Fighting the Jews is an exercise in futility – as the Amorite kings Sichon and Og discovered at the end of Parshat Hukat. Instead, Bilaam advocates for a “soft war:” If we can’t get them on the battlefield, we can get them through speeches, sacrifices, and other non-physical efforts that might possibly cause them damage – indeed, similar to the propaganda, political and economic being waged against Israel all over the world now.

But God banned that form of warfare as well – telling Bilaam that he couldn’t curse the people, because “they are blessed.” Why would Bilaam go through this elaborate ritual with Balak, asking for money, honor, and an important government post if he knew he couldn’t “deliver the goods?” Why else other than for the process – the honor, money, and other bonuses that come with being a Very Important Person?

Three times Bilaam tried to curse the people, with his efforts thwarted by God each time – and if Balak had not run out of patience (and possibly money), telling Bilaam that it was enough already, there might have been a fourth, fifth, or sixth time. That he couldn’t win the war was irrelevant to Bilaam; what was relevant was that he could keep the game going, gaining more money and honor as it progressed.

I think that the Torah is trying to warn us against this type of politician - interested merely in the process; the red carpet, the applause and the honor, the conferences, the speeches and the panels. The process, yes; but at the end of the day he knows he will not be able to deliver.

A political leader who fit that bill to a tee – and whose legacy we are still suffering from – was Yassir Arafat, the father of the PLO. When push came to shove and an agreement for the establishment of a Palestinian state finally worked out, Arafat balked; instead of following in Ben Gurion’s footsteps and creating a state for his people, he engaged in terror and mayhem.

The October 7th Simchat Torah terror attack continues this Bil’amic tradition; Hamas speaks of negotiations, of Palestinian independence, of creating a state - but they are actually doing just the opposite. Instead of creating an independent state in Gaza they have turned it into a terrorist haven, bringing calamity on their Israeli neighbors and themselves.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and his ilk were convinced that using the civilian population as human shields was a tactic that would work against the IDF – as it has worked in generating sympathy for their cause, with millions protesting what Israel is doing to those Gaza civilians. But they were mistaken; the terror attack was ten times more successful then they themselves anticipated, with over one thousand Israeli victims, and it changed totally the paradigm of Israeli response to terrorism.

They tried to lie, and using words like Bil’am did, tried to deny the massacre of the 7th of October. But we, and increasingly the world, aren’t buying it; you can fool some of the people all of the time or all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.

They indeed tried to unleash unprecedented terror and antisemitic attacks against Jews all over the world, in the streets of Europe and in the universities in the US. But we now see ia backlash in the US and in Europe against those who supported terror and attacked Jews. This backlash is severe and it appears that many innocents will also have to pay a price.

Egypt was a challenge to us, and so was Bil’am. As we did thousands of years ago, rising to the challenge and fighting our enemies by arms and by words, so shall we do now as well. At the end of the day the curses of Bil’am were changed into blessings.

Now also we are being cursed for protecting our families and fighting back terrorism, because some people would like to see us Jews tremble, like the millions killed in a pogroms and other countless attacks on our people. But that will not happen; the world needs to know that that time has passed; there will be no peace in the holy land until all the hostages are returned and Hamas lays down its arms.

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