A People That Dwells Alone?
Family Edition

The Summary

This summary is adapted from this week’s main Covenant & Conversation essay by Rabbi Sacks.

At a lunch some years ago, Rabbi Sacks and the other guests were discussing their concerns that things would soon get worse for Israel, with fewer of the surrounding countries supporting Israel’s right to exist.

One of the diplomats at the table, noting that the conversation had taken a pessimistic turn, sought to comfort them. “It was ever thus,” he said, and then quoted a famous phrase: “We aream levadad yishkon, the people that dwells alone.”

It comes from this week’s parsha. Bilam, hired to curse the Jewish people, repeatedly blesses them instead.

“From the top of the rocks I see... a people that dwells alone, not reckoned among the nations.”

Bamidbar 23:9

Hearing these words, Rabbi Sacks saw the potential for this phrase to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we define ourselves as a people who dwell alone, we are likely to end up alone. That is not a safe place to be.

Badad, or being alone, is not good place to be according to the Torah. The first time the words “not good” appear in the Torah are in the phrase Lo tov heyot ha’adam levado, ‘It is not good for man to be alone’ (Bereishit 2:18). When the book of Eichah seeks to describe the tragedy that has overtaken the Jewish people it says Echah yashva vadad ha-ir rabati am, ‘How alone is the city once filled with people’. Except in connection with God, being alone is rarely a blessing.

What Rabbi Sacks knew was how dangerous this Jewish self-definition had become. It also summed up the Jewish condition in the light of antisemitism and the Holocaust.

To be a Jew is to be loved by God; it is not to be hated by Gentiles. Our ancestors were called on to be “a kingdom of Priests and a holy nation.” The word kadosh, “holy,” means set apart. But there is a profound difference between being apart and being alone.

There is no suggestion in the Torah that Jews will live alone. God says to Avraham, “Through you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Avraham was different from his neighbours, but he fought for them and prayed for them. He was apart but not alone.

For some time now, Israel and Diaspora Jewry have faced growing isolation. Israel has been the object of a sustained campaign of delegitimisation. Meanwhile, shechittah is under attack in several countries, and brit milah in too. Battles we thought we had won for the freedom to live as Jews, individually in the Diaspora, nationally and collectively in the State of Israel, are now having to be fought all over again. These are important, good fights, whose outcome will affect more than just the Jewish People.

Jews have long been cast in the role of the ‘other’, the one who does not fit in with the majority, or with the prevailing culture. One of Judaism’s central themes is our right to disagree. Jews argue, challenge, question. Sometimes they do so even with God Himself. That is why the fate of Jews in any given time and place is often the best index of freedom for other groups of people in that time and place.

Therefore, when Jews fight for the right to be, whether as a nation in its historic home or as a religious group in other societies, they fight not for themselves alone but for human freedom as a whole. It was the Catholic writer Paul Johnson who wrote that Jews are “exemplars and epitomisers of the human condition… It seems to be the role of the Jews to focus and dramatise these common experiences of mankind, and to turn their particular fate into a universal moral.”To be different is not necessarily to be alone. Indeed, only by being what we uniquely are can we contribute to humankind what we alone can give. Singular, distinctive, countercultural – yes, these are part of the Jewish condition. But alone? No. That is not a blessing.

Around the Shabbat Table

1. What is the difference between being set apart and being alone, according to Rabbi Sacks?
2. What do you think we can learn about isolation - and facing challenges - from this piece?   
3. In your opinion, what makes the Jewish People unique?

Parsha in Passing

King Balak of Moav calls upon the prophet Bilam to curse Bnei Yisrael, in the hopes that this will weaken this people. Bilam is reluctant at first, aware that this is not God’s will. Eventually he agrees to the job. However, during his journey, Bilam’s donkey doesn’t exactly follow the path, because she who sees an angel sent by God is blocking their path. The donkey even talks to Bilam, and then he sees the angel too. Bilam is warned to only say the words God gives him. Three times, from three separate locations, Bilam attempts to utter curses, but each time, blessings emerge instead. Bilam also foretells the end of times and the arrival of Mashiach.

Bnei Yisrael succumb to the allure of the Moav women and are seduced into idol-worshipping Peor. When a prominent official openly brings a Midianite princess into his tent, Pinchas intervenes and kills them both, which ends a plague afflicting the people in punishment.

Parsha People

Bilam: Bilam’s curses turned into prose; from his darkness, blessings rose.

Balak: King whose plan to cause a blight was thwarted by Divine oversight.

Bilam’s Donkey: The donkey saw what others missed: Divine intervention in their midst.

Bnei Yisrael: The Jewish people were unaware of schemes and curses in the air.

Parsha Practical

Parshat Balak offers profound insights into the nature of blessings and curses. What’s meant to hurt us actually helps - and what is meant to help is really a curse.

At the end of the parsha, some of the Israelites make the grave error of falling into the practice of idol worship. And with regards to idol worship, there’s no grey area. But in our modern day, it’s not so simple! We must critically examine aspects of life that seem like a blessing but may be detrimental to our spiritual and emotional well-being - modern day Avodah Zarah. Phones, TVs, and social media, for instance, promise connectivity and entertainment but can lead to addiction and isolation.

Career success and the promise of wealth may appear as paths to fulfilment, yet they often result in neglect of family and spiritual growth. While seemingly productive, the convenience culture and constant busyness of our times can erode our resilience and capacity for meaningful reflection.

Just as Bilam’s intended curses became blessings, and vice versa, we must look beyond surface appearances in our own lives.

• How can we approach modern-day “idols” with discernment?

Parsha Playoff

Let’s play “Opposite Rules”. Players divide into two groups: instructors and recipients. Instructors give simple commands using everyday words, but the recipients must perform the opposite action. For example, “yes” means “no,” “go” means “stop,” “up” means “down,” “left” means “right,” “sit” means “stand,” “open” means “close,” “laugh” means “cry,” and “fast” means “slow.” Instructors create sequences of 3-5 commands, which recipients must follow correctly by doing the exact opposite! Team players switch roles after each round.

Parsha Philosophy

What does the line “a people that dwells alone” (am levadad yishkon) really mean? Is it a blessing? Is it a curse? Rabbi Sacks says that this phrase, often seen as defining Jewish identity, can be dangerously misunderstood as a call for isolation. Here’s the thing: Jews are meant to be distinct and set apart, but this doesn’t equate to being alone or isolated. Instead, Jewish uniqueness should serve a greater purpose of contributing to humanity and fighting for universal freedom. Whether isolation is truly a blessing or perhaps a potential curse brings us to the conclusion of the essay.

Rabbi Sacks argues that Jewish people must engage with the broader world while ultimately maintaining their distinctiveness. We need to carry our own identity and traditions and hold tight to them - while simultaneously being champions for human freedom and dignity in the wider world.

• What does it mean to you to “engage” with the wider world while simultaneously maintaining your Jewish identity?

Parsha Parable

Malkie’s Gift

In the kingdom of Etisoppo, Malkie received a peculiar gift the day she was born: a spell was cast that she must obey any direct order given to her. As she grew up, this made her life challenging in the extreme.

She never knew when she was about to be magically compelled to act against her will. Once a mischievous boy shouted, “Let’s jump in the muddiest puddle!” and she had no choice but to jump, ruining her favourite dress and getting into deep trouble.

Determined to break the spell, Malkie set out to find the fairy who had cursed her, befriending a talking donkey along the way. The donkey could see clues she could not, and never gave her any orders, so she was free to be herself with him, and they helped and supported one another as true friends.

At last they tracked down the fairy. She was a most unusual creature, who seemed to live her life backwards. She insisted that this spell was a gift. The donkey was disappointed that after all their questing to find her, the fairy would not undo the magic, but Malkie was thoughtful. She was realising that the only way to break its hold on her was to see the curse as a blessing. Then Malkie had an idea: whenever she was forced to obey a command, she would find a way to include saying something kind to someone else.

Remarkably, this approach worked. Once she transformed her curse into an opportunity for kindness, Malkie broke the spell.

Though now free to make her own choices, she continued her new habit of encouraging others, ensuring that her words always inspired those around her to be their best selves.

Parsha Puzzle

Question: Who was the only person in the Torah to clap their hands?

Answer: King Balak clapped his hands in frustration when Bilam blessed Bnei Yisrael instead of cursing them (Bamidbar 24:10).

This question has been adapted from Torah IQ by David Woolf, a collection of 1,500 Torah riddles, available on Amazon.

Parsha Ponderings

What Would You Do...

...if you overheard a teammate spreading a potentially harmful rumour about another team member?

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