* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr and Yehoshua Siskin
In this week’s Torah portion, we find a very special blessing regarding Jewish families: “How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel.” This is a blessing that describes the holy and intimate nature of Jewish family life.
Over the past nine months, we have glimpsed into the private lives of so many families who have suffered the devastating loss of precious family members. This was not due to voyeurism, but rather out of love for our fellow Jews and a desire to participate in their pain. And like Bilaam, we have found ourselves overwhelmed by what we have seen and amazed by these families’ nobility, courage, and goodness.
Here are some examples from this past week:
1) Yehudit Kauders, the wife of Sgt. Refael Kauders who was killed in a drone strike, posted pictures from the birthday party of their son, Hillel. In her post, she thanked her friends and neighbors and expressed her wish for “more happy times to come.” She also shared a phrase that has brought her comfort and which she hopes will bring comfort to others in her situation: “May our family know much more joy than sorrow.”
2) On that same day, the family of hostage Tamir Nimrodi publicized a note that he wrote to himself in his own handwriting. They discovered a yellow piece of paper among Tamir’s belongings on which he had written: “Try to help as many people as possible,” and also, “Do not cause harm to anyone,” two statements that capture the soul of a gentle person cruelly abducted by Hamas.
3) Also on that day, the Libman family publicized a new initiative in memory of Elyakim Libman: “El-yakim (which means, May God establish) Batim (homes) in Israel.” Elyakim, who saved so many people at the music festival before he was murdered, will not have the opportunity to build a family of his own. His family urges us to make an effort to fill this void. “Make a shidduch (match) in Elyakim’s merit. On Simchat Torah, so many homes were burnt and destroyed. So let us take upon ourselves to build as many Jewish homes as we can, to suggest possible matches, and to look around and see who might be appropriate for whom. We wish you much success!”
These are just three examples of individual families seeking to inspire out national family. Regarding these special families, we can truly proclaim: “How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob.” May we merit the fulfillment of all the magnificent blessings bestowed upon us in this week’s parasha.
4) On keeping some things to ourselves alone
Perhaps you are familiar with this question: “If a tree fell in the forest and no one heard it, did it make a sound?” Or, in today’s terms: “If two girls went to the mall but didn’t take a selfie, did they really go? ״ In other words, did something that was never publicized nor seen on social media actually happen?
Nowadays it sometimes seems that everything we do — and everything other people do — must be revealed. But it was not always like this.
As recorded in this week’s Torah portion of Balak, Bilam looks out at the tents of the children of Israel and blesses: “How goodly are your tents, Yaakov, your dwelling places, Yisrael.” To which Rashi comments: “For he saw that the entrances were not facing each other.” In other words, the entrances were situated in such a way that no one could peek into anyone else’s tent.
Bilam was part of a culture without personal boundaries, and suddenly he encounters respect for privacy. His blessing has accompanied the nation of Israel for thousands of years. What we read this week about the blessing of privacy, we might want to take to heart. Instead of clicking “publish” or “share” with every post, we might want to stop and click “don’t share,״ to keep some things to ourselves. Some of our experiences, impressions, and feelings should be ours alone.
