We are about to enter the Three Weeks - the period of time between the 17th of Tamuz and the 9th of Av. (The 17th of Tamuz begins Saturday evening, July 7th, while the fast actually begins Sunday morning at daybreak and ends after sundown.) It is such an inauspicious period throughout our history that we are forbidden to perform weddings. It is a period of introspection with thoughts to correcting one's mistakes in life. During this period (though in different times of history) both of the Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed - the last, because of Sinat Chinam - wanton hatred. As Jews, we are obligated to rectify this by implementing Ahavat Chinam- by aggressively loving our fellow Jews.

But how can this be done when we have so little in common with Jews the world over - Jews from Yemen, from Israel, from Poland, from Argentina - even Jews from Afghanistan? The Messianic "in gathering of the exiles" that we are experiencing today, from countries like Russia and Ethiopia, should make every sensitive Jew aware of the miraculous nature of the historical period in which we live. We are truly experiencing the confirmation of the prophetic visions expressed more than 4,000 years ago. But in addition, there are specific Biblical verses that suddenly assume new meaning and significance when understood and considered against our contemporary landscape.

This week's Sedra of Balak, records an ancient prophecy delivered by a gentile prophet, a prophecy that actually describes the nation of Israel. Bilam, the leading oracle of that generation, is being offered a lifetime guarantee of fame, fortune and honor, if he would only agree to curse this People that Balak, the king of Moav, wants to eradicate. But it is to no avail.

“How shall I curse whom G-d has not cursed, and how shall I anger whom Hashem has not angered? For from the top of the rocks I see him and from the hills I behold him: It is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be regarded among the nations.” (Numbers 23:8-9).

We usually understand the language “M'Rosh Tzurim - from the top of the rocks” and “U'Migva'ot - from the hills” - to mean that we must view Jewish history from a much higher and longer perspective. Namely, that we must have the ability to be seriously retrospective and fully appreciate the depth and breadth of our history. Yet, the Midrash Rabba (20:16) quoted in Rashi, writes that the “top of the rocks” refer to the Patriarchs, and the “hills” refer to the Matriarchs. The implied message being that the Jewish people are rooted in their matriarchs and their patriarchs, and that makes them strong like rocks and hills.

Balak's response to Bilam's words is angry: “I took you to curse my enemies and behold, you have blessed them altogether” (23:11), but in re-reading the words of the gentile prophet, it is hard to locate exactly where the blessing is. In fact, the verse can be seen as an overall perspective on Jewish history, describing how the nation will suffer many persecutions; Balak could take some refuge in that thought. Describing a lone and friendless nation is hardly a great compliment.

The Midrashic interpretation takes the two expressed aspects of the landscape - the mountains and hills - and turns them into a metaphor for patriarchs and matriarchs. What the prophet perceives is that the Israelites are eternally rooted in their matriarchs and patriarchs, in the generations of sainted mothers and fathers who have preceded us. And because the Jews will never give up their traditions and will always remain true to their past - despite their many wanderings and travels, their persecutions and pogroms - Israel will remain as everlasting as the rocks and hills. Indeed, they will return to the very rocks and hills which originally nurtured their forbearers, the rocks and hills of the land of their matriarchs and patriarchs, the Land of Israel.

To be sure, the host countries will leave their imprint on the wandering Jews throughout time. The Jews will contribute to, and accept contributions from, the many different cultures and civilizations in which they will find themselves. But we must always be mindful of the Divine promise to father Jacob: “... a nation in a congregation of nations shall come forth from you.” (Genesis 35:11).

We will be different because of the many different experiences and cultures our exile has brought upon us; we will be a “congregation of nations.” But we will also be the same, we will always remain one nation, because we have the same father and mother, because we are all rooted in specific traditions, because we have all been born out of and are destined to return to the same rocks and hills, and the same mountains and valleys, of the Land of Israel.

And this, perhaps the deepest significance of Bilam's prophecy: We shall always remain a singular nation. And shall never be reckoned as separate nations, despite the differences which characterize our various strains and streams.

Walk the face of the Land of Israel today, it's amazing to see how commonplace it has become too observe a mix of American, Australian, English, Irish and South African Jews, who have joined the already existing Egyptian, Syrian, Moroccan and Yemenite Israeli population. But now we also have Russians and Ethiopians walking with us in these same rocks and hills; and here are two Jewish tribes who on the surface couldn't be more different. For what do Russian Jews, astrophysicists and students of Stanislavski, have in common with the Jews of Ethiopia, remnants of the ancient tribe of Dan? These people don't look alike, they certainly don't speak the same language, and their mentalities are completely different. Yet, we remain one nation. Why, or better yet, how?

It is none other than Bilam who provides us with the answer. The matriarchs and the patriarchs are the reason. For after all, who ever has the same father and mother must be brothers and sisters. This passage, then, points to our common grounding, our common past. In an age in which our strains and differences are all too often heightened and emphasized, it is important for us to remember from where we have all come. Shared memories and a shared past can give us a fundamental unity and strength. It is sad that it often takes an oppressor, an enemy, to bring us to realize that we in fact share a commonality. While when we are in the midst of plenty and blessing, all too often, we cannot see but our differences and cannot feel but enmity and discord.

Balak and Bilam, who are not "from our midst," and who came to oppress us from without, in the end leave us an important lesson about Jewish unity. And yet, while it sometimes might be a visitor who points out our blessings and our strengths, it behooves us to look inward and to recognize and realize that the source of our strength, the blessing of our people, is something that we might more easily see if we only made the effort and took the time to look and to appreciate the power of our past, the message of the rocks and the hills, our matriarchs and the patriarchs, which, when fully appreciated, can be the strength of our future.

Shabbat Shalom and have a meaningful fast,

Rabbi Yosil Rosenzweig