Bread of Lions – Balak
הֶן עָם כְּלָבִיא יָקוּם וְכַאֲרִי יִתְנַשָּׂא לֹא יִשְׁכַּב עַד יֹאכַל טֶרֶף וְדַם חֲלָלִים יִשְׁתֶּה. (במדבר כג, כד)
Parshat Balak is the third parsha in a "trilogy", whose main theme relates to the era of Mashiach. In this week's shiur I would like to focus on one of the central, but hidden, aspects of the Geulah, which if fully understood and applied, will hasten our Redemption.
The Mishna (אבות ה, ו) details ten things that HKB"H created on the sixth day of Creation, in the "twilight" hours before Shabbat, בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת. The first, פִּי הָאָרֶץ, refers to the abyss which swallowed up Korach and his followers in parshat Korach. The second, פִּי הַבְּאֵר, refers to the Well of Miriam, which we discussed in last week's shiur on parshat Chukat. The third, פִּי הָאָתוֹן, refers to the mouth of Bilam's donkey, in this week's parsha Balak.
It is not coincidental that these three concepts appear at the top of the list in the Mishna, nor is it coincidental that they are consecutive, both in the Mishna (ibid.) and also in our three parshiyot in sefer Bamidbar.
We are all familiar with the story of Balak and Bilam. Balak, the king of Moav was seriously intimidated by Bnei Yisrael's military success, the defeat of Sichon and Og, two of the most powerful kings on the face of the earth – brothers, giants, descendants of the נְפִילִים, the fallen angels עֻזָּא וְעָזָּאֵל.
Balak understood that Am Yisrael could not be bettered by military might alone, so he resorted to "non-conventional" warfare, commissioning Bilam to curse Am Yisrael and diminish our one true power – spirituality. Despite Balak's and Bilam's intention to inflict harm, HKB"H transformed Bilam's curses into blessings.
It is in many of these blessings that we discover the central theme of the parsha – a prophetic scenario of the coming of Mashiach and the Geulah. It is also here we find the origin of the phrase עָם כְּלָבִיא יָקוּם, which was recently used as the "codeword" for the military operation by the IDF in Iran, מִבְצָע עָם כְּלָבִיא, Operation Rising Lion. The fact that this was selected as the codename for this war is also not coincidental, as we will soon see.
Before we dive into the topic, I would like to preface by discussing the subject of "lions". As we all know the lion is the "king of the beasts" and for this reason is one of the legs of the מֶרְכָּבָה, HKB"H's Heavenly throne.
Yechezkel (פרק א) describes HKB"H's throne as having four "legs" (not physical legs, but rather metaphorical, spiritual foundations). The first incorporates the image of a man (יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ/דָּוִד הַמֶּלֶךְ), the king of all living creatures. The second is the image of a lion, king of the wild beasts. The third, the image of an ox, king of the domesticated animals. The fourth is the image of an eagle, king of the birds. Above all these, HKB"H, King of kings, Creator of all, "sits", as it were, on His throne.
The Shem MiShmuel (פורים יז:יח) explains how one leg of the מֶרְכָּבָה can reflect the image of a lion, which is an impure animal. Although the lion is impure, its "source", שׁוֹרֶשׁ, emanates from holiness קְדוּשָּׁה and can therefore elevate something impure to a higher level of purity.
Contrast this with Amalek, whose שׁוֹרֶשׁ is impurity, that can only diminish something pure to a lower level of impurity. Although a lion's basic instinct is predatory, it also embodies a measure of רַחְמָנוּת. (A lion does not kill out of malice, but out of a necessity to eat.
Once a lion has eaten his fill, he crouches on his haunches and other beasts, even those which are normally prey, can safely stroll past him and will come to no harm [אבן עזרא, בראשית מט ט]. Contrast this with a snake that attacks whether he is satisfied or not).
Chazal (סנהדרין צה, ע"א) refer to lions using six names (listed in order of age, not the order in the Gemara) –
כְּפִיר (שופטים יד, ה), so called because anyone who sees it, "forfeits" their life, כּוֹפֵר בְּחַיָּיו (ילקוט שמעוני, משלי פרק ל, תתקנט). A baby lion is called a גּוּר, a cub. A כְּפִיר is bigger than a גּוּר.
אַרְיֵה (בראשית מט, ט), so called because anyone who sees it, fears it - from the root of יִרְאָה (ילקוט שמעוני, שם).
לָבִיא (בראשית מט, ט), because it "captures" the hearts of men, חוֹטֵף לְבָבוֹת (ילקוט שמעוני, שם).
לַיִשׁ (ישעיהו ל, ו), because it "kneads" (chews) the flesh of men, בְּשָׂרוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם לָשׁ בְּשִׁנָּיו (ילקוט שמעוני, שם).
שַׁחַל (תהילים צא, יג), because anyone who sees it is petrified of it, שֶׁחָלִים לְפָנָיו (ילקוט שמעוני, שם).
שָׁחַץ (איוב כח, ח), because it bares/gnashes its teeth, מְשָּׁחֵץ בְּשִׁנָּיו (ילקוט שמעוני, שם).
A lion is a symbol of bravery, גְּבוּרָה, as it says in the Mishna (אבות ה, כ) - גִבּוֹר כָּאֲרִי. As a lion gets older it acquires more גְּבוּרָה (רד"ק שופטים יד, ה). One might think that the bravery in question, which Bilam referred to in his curses-turned-blessings, is physical bravery, courage in battle … but no.
Rashi (במדבר כג, כד) says that the גְּבוּרָה referred to is the fact that Am Yisrael bravely rise early in the morning to "grab" mitzvot - to put on a tallit, to read Kri'at Shma and to put on tefillin.
The Maharal (גור אריה במדבר כב, כא) contrasts Avraham Avinu with Bilam. With Avraham it says וַיַּשְׁכֵּם אַבְרָהָם בַּבֹּקֶר (בראשית כב, ג), while with Bilam it says וַיָּקָם בִּלְעָם בַּבֹּקֶר (במדבר כג, יג). Bilam liked to sleep late.
The Mashiach, which is descended from Yehuda, is compared to a lion in its various stages - גּוּר אַרְיֵה יְהוּדָה מִטֶּרֶף בְּנִי עָלִיתָ כָּרַע רָבַץ כְּאַרְיֵה וּכְלָבִיא מִי יְקִימֶנּוּ (בראשית מט, ט).
Rashi (ibid.) says that the גּוּר אַרְיֵה, the lion cub, is referring to David HaMelech, who began as a גּוּר cub, and later acquired royalty after Shaul HaMelech and became an אַרְיֵה.
The next stage כָּרַע רָבַץ כְּאַרְיֵה is referring to Shlomo HaMelech who built the Beit HaMikdash and the Ulam, the אֲרִיאֵל, in the shape of a crouching lion. The Sforno (ibid.) says that וּכְלָבִיא מִי יְקִימֶנּוּ is referring to the future Mashiach, who will crouch like a לָבִיא and will fear no-one.
We therefore see that the term לָבִיא is referring to the era of Mashiach.
I would now like to backtrack a little from parshat Balak, to parshat Vayeira. Avraham has just performed brit milah and HKB"H has mercy on him and sends no guests his way. Avraham is greatly distressed by this and HKB"H therefore sends three angels to visit him.
The Midrash (בראשית רבה מח, ט) says these were the angels Michael, Rafael and Gavriel. Michael came to give the news to Sarah that she would give birth to a son, Yitzchak. Rafael came to cure Avraham from the brit milah. Gavriel came to destroy Sdom.
Hang on a second, if Gavriel's task was to destroy Sdom, why did HKB"H send him to visit Avraham? We can understand why Michael and Rafael had to visit Avraham – their business was with Sarah and Avraham. Gavriel, however, is the odd one out, he seemingly had no business in Avraham's house.
The same Midrash (above) says that each of the angels were dressed up in a different "disguise" - one was dressed as a nomad, the second as a ship's captain and the third as a baker. Gavriel was dressed as the baker, Michael as the captain and Rafael as the nomad (in a previous shiur we explored a different variation). Why was Gavriel the baker? we will soon see.
Of the three angels, Rafael's job ended at Avraham's house. Rafael's job was to cure Avraham after the brit milah. Michael and Gavriel's job began at Avraham's house, but it did not end there. After they were done at Avraham, the two continued to Sdom. Michael's job in Sdom was to rescue Lot and Gavriel's job was to destroy Sdom.
The three angels arrive at Avraham's house. What is the first thing Avraham does? He gives them water to wash their feet and then offers them bread. Avraham rushes to Sarah's tent and tells her to make bread for the three guests -וַיְמַהֵר אַבְרָהָם הָאֹהֱלָה אֶל שָׂרָה וַיֹּאמֶר מַהֲרִי שְׁלֹשׁ סְאִים קֶמַח סֹלֶת לוּשִׁי וַעֲשִׂי עֻגוֹת (בראשית יח, ו) - mazot (it was Pesach).
That is approximately 9kg of bread per angel (three se'ah of solet = 17kg + 11 liters of water [65% hydration ratio] = 28kg, divided by three). Each angel (if they would have got the bread – they didn't in the end because Sarah became nida when Michael told her about giving birth to Yitzchak), would have received the equivalent of one loaf of Lechem HaPanim each (approx. 9kg).
What is the story with the bread? Who can eat the equivalent of a loaf of Lechem HaPanim on their own anyway? And do angels eat at all? And why was Gavriel, the angel of גְּבוּרָה, dressed as a baker?
The saga with the bread does not end there. Michael and Gavriel continue to Sdom and Lot implores them to visit his house where he gives them – more matzot! Michael saves Lot and Gavriel destroys Sdom.
The first question to answer is why did Gavriel visit Avraham? Hint – it was not how to learn from Sarah how to bake – he was already a baker! Gavriel's job was at Sdom, not at the tent of Avraham. However, in order to fulfil his job in Sdom (or not), Gavriel had to make a pit stop at the Eshel of Avraham. Why?
The passuk says, וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו אַיֵּה שָׂרָה אִשְׁתֶּךָ (בראשית יח, ט). The angels (plural) asked Avraham "Where is Sarah your wife?" Why angels (plural)? It should have said angel (singular) – Michael, who came to inform Sarah about giving birth to Yitzchak. But no, it was two angels who asked – Michael and Gavriel.
What was Avraham's reply? וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה בָאֹהֶל, Sarah is inside the tent baking matzot. Then Michael says to Avraham וַיֹּאמֶר שׁוֹב אָשׁוּב אֵלֶיךָ כָּעֵת חַיָּה וְהִנֵּה בֵן לְשָׂרָה אִשְׁתֶּךָ. It says וַיֹּאמֶר not וַיֹּאמְרוּ. If both Michael and Gavriel asked where Sarah was, why didn't both continue to tell her about giving birth to Yitzchak? The answer is – because it was only Michael's job to tell Sarah about Yitzchak. However, both Michael and Gavriel had to hear Avraham's answer וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה בָאֹהֶל.
What is going on here? Where did the angels think Sarah was? It was obvious that she was in the tent. Sarah was a צַדֶּקֶת and fully observed the precept of כְּבוֹד בַּת הַמֶּלֶךְ פְּנִימָה. So, what kind of a question is that אַיֵּה שָׂרָה אִשְׁתֶּךָ?
The angels were not asking Avraham where Sarah was, they knew where she was. What they were doing was - asking Avraham a שְׁאֵלָה הִלְכָתִית in order to get a psak halacha! The reason the angels were asking that question was to find out whether they should continue to Sdom or not! Avraham's answer would determine whether they continued to Sdom or not.
The purpose of destroying Sdom and rescuing Lot had a single purpose – to establish the lineage of David HaMelech and the Mashiach. As we know, David was descended from Rut, who was descended from Moav, the (incestual) son of Lot and his daughter, after Sdom was destroyed.
The passuk says לֹא יָבֹא עַמּוֹנִי וּמוֹאָבִי בִּקְהַל ה' גַּם דּוֹר עֲשִׂירִי וכו' (דברים כג, ד). If someone descended from Moav can never be part of Am Yisrael, then how could Rut, who was from Moav, become a convert and give rise to David HaMelech and the Mashiach?
If such a thing was impossible, then rescuing Lot was not applicable - HKB"H would have organized a different lineage for David HaMelech and the Mashiach.
This was the question Michael and Gavriel were asking Avraham – is it both the males of Moav and the females, or just עַמּוֹנִי וּמוֹאָבִי, the males, who are forbidden to convert? Avraham's answer was וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה בָאֹהֶל, Sarah is inside the tent. She is not out here serving you. Why? מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהָאִישׁ דַּרְכּוֹ לְקַדֵּם וְאֵין הָאִשָּׁה דַּרְכָּהּ לְקַדֵּם. Women, out of humility, do not go out and serve male guests.
When Am Yisrael left Egypt, Moav did not come out to greet us with bread and water! Why would they? Simple hakarat hatov! Moav would not have existed if not for Avraham saving Lot, who subsequently gave birth to Moav. It was simple hakarat hatov to give Avraham's descendants, Am Yisrael bread and water. But no, they refused עַל דְּבַר אֲשֶׁר לֹא קִדְּמוּ אֶתְכֶם בַּלֶּחֶם וּבַמַּיִם בַּדֶּרֶךְ בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרָיִם (שם, ה).
For this reason, an עַמּוֹנִי וּמוֹאָבִי can never convert, because HKB"H never wants this foul character trait of כְּפִיּוּת טוֹבָה to exist in Am Yisrael. However, since the women were not obliged to go out and offer bread and water, they are not included in this ban - עַמּוֹנִי וְלֹא עַמּוֹנִית מוֹאָבִי וְלֹא מוֹאָבִית (יבמות עו, ע”ב).
Once Michael and Gavriel heard this psak halacha from Avraham, they knew they needed to continue on to Sdom and rescue Lot (Michael) and destroy Sdom (Gavriel) in order to allow for the emergence of Moav and Rut.
This is why Gavriel also had business with Avraham, not only Michael and Rafael. Gavriel needed to find out from Avraham whether to continue to Sdom or not
This whole episode revolves around bread (and water). Gavriel dressing as a baker. Avraham giving the three angels water and Sarah making a humongous amount of bread for the angels. The bread-related question about Moav (not giving bread to Am Yisrael). Lot giving the two angels bread.
Even the destruction of Sdom was connected to bread – the people of Sdom refused to give guests visiting Sdom bread (or any other kind of food – when guests resorted to catching birds in the trees to eat, the people of Sdom cut down all the trees).
When Lot's daughter Plotit had mercy on a poor man and fed him bread, they stripped and lathered her with honey and tied her to a post on the roof of her house. Thousands of bees came and stung her to death.
Bread and honey. That is why it is forbidden to offer chametz (Sdomite bread was chametz, like Egypt) and honey on the mizbeach in the Mikdash.
From all this we see that the establishment of the lineage of Mashiach is intricately linked to bread, at practically every stage (David HaMelech was born in … בֵּית לֶחֶם. When fleeing Shaul, David was forced to eat Lechem HaPanim in the city of Nov, reminiscent of the bread Sarah prepared for the angels). And the question is "What does Mashiach have to do with bread?"
The answer is that the Mashiach is the tikkun for the נָחָשׁ – the gematria of נָחָשׁ is מָשִׁיחַ. When the נָחָשׁ caused Adam HaRishon to sin, by eating bread from the עֵץ הַדַּעַת, HKB"H's perfect creation was damaged. To allow for this mistake to be repaired, to achieve tikkun,
HKB"H created ten things on the sixth day of Creation בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת. At the top of the list, three things. פִּי הָאָרֶץ to atone for the earth that gave rise to the עֵץ הַדַּעַת. פִּי הַבְּאֵר to atone for the water Chava used to mix the fruit of the tree (wheat) into bread dough. ,פִּי הָאָתוֹן the mouth of the materialistic "donkey(s)", Adam and Chava, who ate from the forbidden tree.
The entire sin of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת was one of גְּבוּרָה, in other words כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי עָשָׂה לִי אֶת הַחַיִל הַזֶּה (דברים ח, יז). The "baker" – Chava – thinking she could improve on HKB"H's Creation - כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי – taking the fruit of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת, grinding it into flour, mixing it with water, kneading it into dough, leaving it to rise, אַל תִּקְרָא "הִשִּׂיאַנִי" אֶלָּא "הִשְׁהַנִי" (מאיר פנים פרק טו, עמ' קסד) and baking it into a chametz bread.
To do tikkun for this, you need an angel of גְּבוּרָה, Gavriel, dressed as a baker, to destroy Sdom, who sinned with not giving bread to the poor. You need the angel Michael, dressed as a ship's captain (who represents the Lechem HaPanim סְפִינָה רוֹקֶדֶת), to rescue Lot, to give rise to David HaMelech from Beit Lechem, who is intricately connected to the Lechem HaPanim.
You need Sarah to make (non-chametz) bread – matzot, in the tent, performing Hafrashat Challah to atone for Chava, the errant baker. You need Rut to atone for Moav who sinned with bread and water.
It is all bread related. Bakers began the "war" with גְּבוּרָה and it will take bakers to end the war and do tikkun, also with גְּבוּרָה. The three disguises of the angels are the stages of exile. Rafael the nomad, restless Jew (requiring healing) wandering from place to place and from plague to plague. Michael the ship's captain, the gedolei hador, navigating our people through stormy seas to a safe shore. Gavriel the baker heralding the Mashiach with גְּבוּרָה.
What does this have to do with lions?
Which of the names of the lions refers to Mashiach? The answer is לָבִיא. Of all the six names of lions, why davka this one to symbolize the Mashiach? The answer is that לָבִיא in gematria is חַלָּה.
Balak is the third in the trilogy of the פִּיּוֹת (פִּי הָאָרֶץ, פִּי הַבְּאֵר, פִּי הָאָתוֹן).
After the first – Korach, פִּי הָאָרֶץ, what was the first thing Moshe taught Am Yisrael? Two bread-related mitzvot. Nesachim in the Mikdash – embellishing the korbanot with flour (mixed with oil into dough) and wine. Hafrashat Challah at home רֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵכֶם חַלָּה תָּרִימוּ תְרוּמָה (במדבר טו, כ).
After the second - Chukat, פִּי הַבְּאֵר, the episode of the Well of Miriam, we have a repetition of Adam and Chava's bread related sin, Am Yisrael referring to the Mann as לֶּחֶם הַקְּלֹקֵל. As a result, HKB"H sent a plague of snakes and Am Yisrael had to do tikkun by looking upward to HKB"H and acknowledging Him as our source of sustenance.
And now – Balak, פִּי הָאָתוֹן. Balak, king of Moav is in a panic. He sees that one of his descendants is Rut and David HaMelech – the Mashiach. What does Balak do? He sends for Bilam. Where does Bilam live? In Petorah. Onkelos says that Petorah is the Aramaic word for Shulchan (וְתַעֲבֵיד פָּתוּרָא, שמות כה, כג) - the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim, surrounded by a crown – belonging to David HaMelech.
The Ari z"l says that Balak saw the Shulchan Lechem HaPanim in his dream, that he was going to give rise to Mashiach ben David, so he sent for Bilam to try to stop it.
Bilam tried, but HKB"H foiled his efforts and instead Bilam ended up prophesying all about Mashiach הֶן עָם כְּלָבִיא יָקוּם. It began with a bread related sin and it will end with a bread related tikkun.
It is not coincidental that the IDF military operation in Iran was named עָם כְּלָבִיא, Rising Lion. The IDF named it thus to symbolize the courage of Am Yisrael, rising up against our worst oppressors and defeating them militarily.
Obviously, they named it thus because HKB"H made them name it עָם כְּלָבִיא, because it has little to do with military victory and physical courage (although that was also a part of it). The essence is, however, that it heralds the emergence of Mashiach, a process we see unfolding before our very eyes.
The rest of the world sees the Israeli air force flying thousands of kilometers and refueling mid-air to bomb the hell out of Iran. They see Trump's B52 bombers with bunker busters obliterating (we hope) Fordo.
What we see, is not only those outward manifestations, but also the hidden essence of that process, the גְּבוּרָה related sin at the beginning of time and the גְּבוּרָה related tikkun at the end of time, right now, in our days.
So, what can we do to speed things up? We cannot personally fly bombing missions to Teheran or conduct infantry attacks on Han Yunis. For that we have brave pilots and soldiers on the front.
What can we do, all the rest of Am Yisrael? What is our contribution to the war effort? How do we empower our soldiers' hishtadlut, guaranteeing their success on the ground, defeating our enemies and returning our hostages safe and sound?
Right now, we must intensely concentrate our hishtadlut specifically on bread related mitzvot.
Increase the number of times we do Hafrashat Challah with a bracha during the week. After doing Hafrasha, in addition to praying for the ill, for parnasa and for finding a shidduch, etc. - we must all add a special prayer beseeching HKB"H to send the Geulah and the Mashiach now! אָנָּא אַב הָרַחֲמִים, שְׁלַח נָא אֶת הַגְּאֻלָּה וּמֶלֶךְ הַמָּשִׁיחַ בְּקָרוֹב.
The mitzva of Hafrashat Challah has protected us for almost two millenia in exile, even outside Eretz Yisrael. How much more so now that the arrival of the Geulah is imminent and Am Yisrael are not yet out of harm's way. It is an incredibly powerful mitzva and a tremendous zchut for Am Yisrael.
Be makpid to do Netilat Yadayim correctly before Hamotzi. Filling up the washing cup in the right hand, transferring it to the left hand which pours water first over the right hand. Switching the cup to the right hand to pour water over the left hand, and switching once more, so that there are two pourings in total on each hand (ending with the second pouring over the left hand).
Before saying Birkat HaMotzi, grasp the bread/challahs with all ten fingers touching the bread, symbolizing the ten bread-related mitzvot in the Torah (Leket, Shichecha, Pe'ah, Kilayim, Truma, Ma'aser Rishon, Ma'aser Sheini, Hafrashat Challah, Not plowing with an ox and donkey together, Allowing an animal to eat the produce it makes).
Birkat HaMazon - up the number of times a day we recite Birkat HaMazon. Reciting Birkat Hamazon from print- a siddur or a birkon, not from memory, being makpid with each and every word. It is one of the few mitzvot de'Oraita we have the privilege to perform every day and is a very powerful mitzva.
Eating bread for Lechem Mishneh at Seudah Shlishit on Shabbat. The summer days are longer now and enough time has passed since lunch, to eat bread at the third meal with appetite. We need to be machmir and eat bread for Seudah Shlishit and not cop out with eating only mezonot!
Seudat Melaveh Malka, the fourth seudah, on Motzei Shabbat – to do netilat yadayim and eat bread as part of this seudah. Chazal (זוהר, חלק א', דף קל"ז, ע"א) say that this fourth meal primarily nourishes one specific bone in our spine called עֶצֶם הַלּוּז. This bone is the point of origin from which we will all be reconstituted in תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים. The gematriya of לּוּז = לָבִיא = חַלָּה.
And so on.
Is this going to help us hasten the Geulah? What connection can there possibly be between bread mitzvot and geopolitics? By reading Birkat Hamazon from a siddur, how will that influence what Trump does, what the Iranians do, what Netanyahu does?
It is the blessing of Bilam הֶן עָם כְּלָבִיא יָקוּם, grabbing as many mitzot as we can, and specifically now - those mitzvot that are Geulah related - the specific tikkun that will bring about the Geulah. This is the true power, the hidden fuel that dictates the news on TV. Instead of passively watching TV, let us make our own "TV".
Am Yisrael Chai.
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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