Balak: 5785 - "Vayar Balak" (And Balak saw): How can it be that the weekly parsha is named after a wicked man? Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld, at the conclusion of the shiur of Rabbi Betzalel Mizrachi in Nachlas Har Chabad. Watch:

00:00 Speaker 1 Please.

00:02 Speaker 2 Last week we asked: Why is a parsha in the Torah named after a wicked person? Parshas Korach is named after Korach, who was wicked. We explained that there was something positive in Korach. His very desire to be the Kohen Gadol was positive. Every Jew wants to be the Kohen Gadol, and that is what will happen in the future. But this week we’re talking about a wicked non-Jew, in Parshas Balak. So the question is asked—and the Rebbe also asks it in a sicha—how can a parsha in the Torah be named after a wicked person? After all, we don’t mention the name of a wicked person; we don’t even say his name. When the Rebbe would refer to that person from World War II, he wouldn’t say his name, only “may his name be erased.” So how can a parsha in the Torah be named after a wicked person? The explanation is that there is something positive in this name. What is it? Balak is said to stand for “Love your fellow as yourself.” People asked: How does that work? The letters don’t quite fit. “V’ahavta” doesn’t begin with a beis, and “kamocha” doesn’t begin with a kuf. How does it fit? The answer is: You’re right, it doesn’t. Ahavas Yisroel isn’t only for when things fit. Even when they don’t fit, there must still be “Love your fellow as yourself.” That is the positive point in this name. But of course, the question remains: How is such a thing really possible? How can we ask and demand of a Jew that he love his fellow as himself? It goes against human nature. A person thinks about himself. So how can it really be done? And how can we demand that a person love his fellow as himself—literally as himself? This is what the Alter Rebbe explains in chapter 32 of Tanya, the heart of Tanya. How is it really possible? How can we demand of a Jew that he love his fellow as himself? The Alter Rebbe explains

02:07 Speaker 2 that every person naturally looks after himself first. That comes from the body. Since bodies are separate, it is clear that, by the nature with which Hakadosh Boruch Hu created us, each person looks after himself. But from the perspective of the soul, all Jews are brothers. There, the other person is part of himself: “They all have one Father.” That is how it becomes possible. When he cares for and loves another Jew, that Jew is not someone else, but part of himself. This is how the Alter Rebbe begins chapter 32: In light of what was explained above, one can truly fulfill the mitzvah to “love your fellow as yourself.” From the perspective of the body, those who make their bodies primary truly cannot have real love. But if the soul is primary, then from the perspective of the soul, all are compatible, and “they all have one Father.” This is what we ask for: “Bless us, our Father, all of us as one.” When we are all as one, then we can truly ask, “Bless us, our Father.” That is the special quality of unity among Jews and Ahavas Yisroel in receiving that blessing, and that is what is required of us. And with Hashem’s help, through Ahavas Yisroel, may we bring the Redeemer very soon. Have a good Shabbos, and may we hear good news.

03:25 Speaker 3 Amen, yes.