The Power of Pilgrimage

BALAK THE POWER OF PILGRIMAGE Parashas Balak begins with King Balak of Moav commission- ing the gentile prophet Bilaam to curse the Jewish People. The parashah focuses on Bilaam’s repeated attempts to carry out this mission and Hashem’s persistent thwarting of his plans. Perhaps the most famous side character in this story is Bilaam’s donkey. The Torah describes that while Bilaam is riding this donkey on his way to curse the Jewish People, Hashem sends a sword-bearing angel to block his path on three consecutive occasions. The donkey responds to the angel’s presence in all three instances, either by moving aside or stalling. A frustrated Bilaam reacts by striking the animal and urging it to move forward.1 After Bilaam’s third blow to the donkey, an unprecedented miracle occurs: Hashem enables Bilaam’s donkey to speak. The donkey’s ability to speak was both supernatural and Divinely preordained. The Mishnah lists “the mouth of Bilaam’s donkey” among the ten miraculous phenomena that Hashem created 1 Bamidbar 22:22-27. 134 BALAK 135 on the very first erev Shabbos at bein hashemashos (twilight).2 Bein hashemashos possesses a unique mystical quality that we cannot fully understand. On the first erev Shabbos, in the spiritually charged moments between dusk and darkness, Hashem integrated ten specific miracles into the natural order of the physical world. Thus, the design of this miracle preceded the completion of the universe. If the speech of Bilaam’s donkey was a miracle of such primacy, then the donkey’s words must bear deep significance. Even the donkey’s very first words are mysterious: “Meh asisi lecha (What have I done to you) ki hikisani (that you have struck me) zeh shalosh regalim (these three times)?”3 Most noticeable about this pasuk is the atypical usage of the phrase “shalosh regalim,” which literally means “three legs.” Why does such unusual phras- ing emerge from the donkey’s mouth? What different levels of meaning are implied by the expression “shalosh regalim”? Why were these words used to initiate this special miracle of the talking donkey? The phrase “shalosh regalim” seems misplaced in this passage primarily because it is associated with the three pilgrimage festivals. On the holidays of Pesach, Shavuos, and Sukkos, the Jewish People would perform “aliyah leregel (pilgrimage)” to the Beis HaMikdash (Temple) to offer korbanos (sacrifices). Because of this, these three festivals are oftentimes grouped together and colloqui- ally referred to as the “shalosh regalim.” Rashi acknowledges the obvious allusion to the festivals in the donkey’s words and quotes a midrash: “[The donkey] hinted to [Bilaam], ‘You seek to uproot a nation which celebrates three festivals a year?’”4 2 Pirkei Avos 5:8. 3 Bamidbar 22:28. 4 Rashi on Bamidbar 22:28, quoting Tanchuma 9. 136 TORAH TAPESTRIES The Gur Aryeh offers additional proof that the donkey’s words allude to the pilgrimage festivals.5 He supports Rashi’s interpretation by highlighting a textual nuance. The donkey asks, “What have I done to you that you have struck me these three times?” One would expect the pasuk to use the common expression “shalosh pe’amim” (three times/occurrences),” especially since Targum Onkelos renders the Aramaic translation as “zimnin (times).”6 Instead, the Torah uses the term “regalim,” which is found in only four places in all of Tanach – and three of those four places are connected to this incident with Bilaam’s donkey.7 The other usage of the term “regalim” is in parashas Mishpatim: “Shalosh regalim tachog li bashanah (Three pilgrimage festivals will you cele- brate for me in the year).”8 According to Rashi’s interpretation, the words “shalosh regalim” hint subtly to the indestructibility of a nation that observes the three pilgrimage holidays. In light of the miraculous quality of the donkey’s words, there is a particular need to study Rashi’s comment further. Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch asks why the donkey’s rebuke to Bilaam alludes specifically to the pilgrimage festivals, as opposed to any other mitzvah. Why is it particularly the observance of the shalosh regalim that provides protection for Klal Yisrael from Bilaam’s curses?9 In this chapter, we will explore the significance of the festivals and analyze the correlation between observance of the shalosh regalim and Hashem’s gifts of security and protection. 5 Gur Aryeh, as quoted in the Artscroll Chumash (Stone Edition), p. 282. 6 Targum Onkelos on Bamidbar 22:28. 7 By noticeable contrast, the word “pa’am” is used (in different forms) over a hundred times in Tanach. 8 Shemos 23:14. 9 Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch, Ta’am VaDa’as, p. 117. BALAK 137 Have a Little Faith As mentioned above, “shalosh regalim” literally means “three legs.” The legs may be deemed a physical foundation, as they support the weight of the entire body. Thus, in the same way we physically stand on our legs, we also stand, in the spiritual sense, on the shalosh regalim. These three holidays correlate with fundamental principles of our emunah. In Sefer Ha’Ikarim, Rabbi Yosef Albo outlines three fundamental beliefs in Judaism, and Rabbi Pinchos Roberts finds a parallel between these beliefs and the three festivals.10 First and foremost, we must believe in the existence of Ha- shem. This belief includes the knowledge that Hashem created the world with purposeful design and that He continues to orchestrate the course of history directly. This first aspect of emunah is most manifest in the holiday of Sukkos.11 For a whole week, a Jew leaves the security of his house and lives outside in a temporary, fragile hut. In order to cope with the spartan sukkah environment, a Jew must subordinate his innate instincts to seek a safer, more protective shelter. Observing Sukkos triggers a natural sense of vulnerability, thereby offering a seven-day opportunity to trust in Hashem’s protection. Indeed, the Zohar refers to sitting in the sukkah as “yeshivah betzilah deheimanusa (sitting in the shade of faith).”12 Living in a sukkah reminds us that despite our free choice and boundless creative abilities, our lives are ultimately in Hashem’s hands. 10 Rabbi Pinchos Roberts, Through the Prism of Torah, pp. 197-199. 11 ibid., p. 198. 12 Zohar, Vayikra 103, as referenced by Rabbi Roberts, Through the Prism of Torah, p. 198. 138 TORAH TAPESTRIES A second fundamental aspect of our emunah, according to Rabbi Yosef Albo, is belief in the Divine origin of the Torah. This concept is most obviously marked by the holiday of Shavuos, when we commemorate Hashem's giving of the Torah on Har Sinai (Mount Sinai). Matan Torah (giving of the Torah) was not merely a historical event. Giving the Torah to the Jews represents an eternal and a continuing phenomenon. Hashem gave us the Torah then – and continues to give it to us now – as a guidebook to help us navigate our journey through this complicated world. Further and very importantly, Hashem promises that if the details of the Torah are scrupulously followed, then Hashem will provide the Jews with His security and protection forever. The third facet of our emunah, as detailed by Rabbi Yosef Al- bo, is the doctrine of reward and punishment. A basic element of Judaism is recognizing that Hashem holds us accountable for everything we do. There is a direct cause and effect relationship between our decisions and our circumstances. Hashem alone determines the nature and timing of the repercussions of our deeds. This concept is manifest in the story of Yetzi’as Mitzrayim (the Exodus from Egypt), which is commemorated on the holiday of Pesach. On the Seder night, we recount in great detail how Hashem punished the Egyptians for their cruelty and rewarded the Jewish People for their faith. The shalosh regalim are manifestations of the three fundamental parts of our emunah: belief in Hashem, belief in the Divinity of the Torah, and belief in reward and punishment. When Bilaam’s donkey explained that the Jewish People could not be cursed because they observed the shalosh regalim, it hinted at a profound idea. The mouth of the donkey spoke an eternal truth and re- vealed the essential secret of our nation’s invincibility. When the Jewish People hold fast to these three convictions, they justify the BALAK 139 creation of the universe and are rewarded with safety from their enemies. On a symbolic level, these three holidays represent our core beliefs. On a deeper level, however, observance of the pilgrimage festival demonstrates emunah in a very practical sense. Rabbi Sternbuch explains that in previous generations, the shalosh regalim were a genuine demonstration of faith in Hashem.13 Three times a year, a person abandoned his field and his house to travel to Yerushalayim. He trusted that Hashem would protect his property from theft or harm. The shalosh regalim represented emunah not as an abstract belief, but rather as an ethos put into concrete practice. Such authentic emunah is implied in the donkey’s warning message to Bilaam: You seek to harm the Jewish People?! Look at how they abandon everything they own just to make a pilgrimage! Can't you see their unwavering trust in Hashem? They merit a Divine protection that is impenetrable! Observing the shalosh regalim demonstrates far more than will- ingness to entrust physical possessions into Hashem’s hands. As explained by Rabbi Shmuel Borensztain, observing these festivals exhibits a Jew’s readiness to compromise his personal comfort in order to be close to Hashem.14 Aliyah leregel includes two challeng- ing components: leaving home and traveling.

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