Parshas Balak (5785) Darach Kochav Mi'Yaakov - The Power of a Jew to Draw Down Blessings and Salvations

00:00 One chossid, Reb Avraham Frish, was a student at Tomchei Temimim in Lubavitch in the days of the Rebbe Rashab. In time, he became very close to the Rebbe Rashab, to the Frierdiker Rebbe, and to the Rebbe. Even before World War II, he was living in Eretz Yisroel: he had arrived a few years before the war, after leaving Russia with his family. That is a long story in itself. He lived with his family in Eretz Yisroel, but a few months before the war broke out, he traveled to America. Then the war broke out unexpectedly, and he was stranded in America while his family remained in Eretz Yisroel. Throughout the war, for several years, he stayed in America, while his family lived in Eretz Yisroel. During that period, the Frierdiker Rebbe also arrived in America, having escaped the war. Reb Avraham Frish was a member of his household. Throughout the time he spent alone in America, he was at home with the Frierdiker Rebbe and worked on matters connected with spreading the wellsprings, spreading Chassidus and spreading the Frierdiker Rebbe’s teachings, as can be seen in his maamarim and writings from that period. He was very close to—

01:36 the Rebbe’s household. One of the stories he told went like this: His family and children were living in Eretz Yisroel, and he was far away from them, corresponding with them by letter. At one point he heard that his poor children were unwell. He received blessings; the Frierdiker Rebbe blessed them that everything would be all right. But as time went on, it seems, the situation became more difficult and complicated. One of Reb Avraham Frish’s daughters, who was in Eretz Yisroel, became dangerously ill. Her condition kept worsening, until he went in for yechidus with the Frierdiker Rebbe and again asked for a blessing that his daughter recover and be completely healed. After presenting his request, he said hesitantly, with his face somewhat downcast: “Rebbe, after all, your word will not go to waste.” Meaning, if the Rebbe says something, it will certainly come to pass. He said it quietly, almost under his breath. The Frierdiker Rebbe heard him, looked at him very seriously and said firmly: “My word will not go to waste, neither Above nor below. And you have to say that with emphasis, not softly.” In other words, it had to be said with conviction, not hesitantly, with a downcast face,

03:12 and in a weak voice. The Frierdiker Rebbe said it forcefully and repeated his words several times, again and again: “My word will not go to waste, neither Above nor below. And you have to say that with emphasis, not softly.” He said it several times, and Reb Avraham Frish related that the words penetrated to his very bones and remained engraved in him for life. And indeed, thank G-d, his daughter recovered. In time, she became part of the Wolf family in Eretz Yisroel, one of the very prominent families of chassidim and shluchim in the Holy Land. Reb Avraham Frish would make an observation about today’s Torah reading, Parshas Balak, in connection with this story. He would say: Among the verses dealing with Bilaam’s blessings and the subject of blessings is the verse, “G-d is not a man, that He should lie, nor a mortal, that He should change His mind.” What is Bilaam saying? That Hakadosh Boruch Hu is not a human being. Could His words prove false? Could He go back on what He said? “G-d is not a man, that He should lie, nor a mortal, that He should change His mind”—Hakadosh Boruch Hu is not a person who has second thoughts. “Would He say something and not do it?” Hakadosh Boruch Hu speaks, and He will certainly fulfill it. [unclear] that, seemingly, a question arises: The wording of the verse is not clear. It says, “Not a man is G-d”

04:51 “that He should lie.” “Not a man is G-d, that He should lie.” That is, Hakadosh Boruch Hu is not a human being. What does this mean? After all, the wording of the verse is “Not a man is G-d, that He should lie”: Hakadosh Boruch Hu is not a man who lies. What does “Not a man is G-d, that He should lie” mean? The order of the words in the verse seems to be reversed. Rather, on the contrary, it can be explained in light of the story: This is specifically about Moshe Rabbeinu, about a tzaddik. The verse is not speaking about Hakadosh Boruch Hu directly; this is what it is alluding to. Bilaam wanted to speak about the greatness of Moshe Rabbeinu, and about “an extension of Moshe in every generation.” “An extension of Moshe in every generation.” It is speaking about Moshe Rabbeinu, about the tzaddik, about the Rebbe. And about this tzaddik it says that we must know: “Not a man of G-d, that he should lie.” The “man of G-d” is the tzaddik, who is called by that name. After all, it says, “A prayer of Moshe, the man of G-d”—a G-dly man. So, “not a man of G-d”: the man of G-d, the Rebbe, the tzaddik—when he gives a blessing for good, makes a promise for good or says a word, it certainly “will not prove false”; his word will not be nullified, G-d forbid. “Nor a mortal, that he should change his mind. Would he say something and not do it, speak and not fulfill it?” A tzaddik’s word certainly will not be nullified, neither Above nor below. And we must say that with emphasis, not softly, in relation to the verse “Not a man of G-d, that he should lie.” And in general, throughout this Torah reading, which is full of blessings, and

06:31 these are all the themes in this sequence of verses. The greatest blessings in the Torah appear in this parsha. There are explanations of them, particularly in the inner dimension of Torah, that interpret them. One of the verses here is “Not a man is G-d, that He should lie,” and there is an interpretation of it from the holy Rabbi of Berdichev. It is well known that the holy Rabbi of Berdichev’s entire focus, his whole purpose, was to be an advocate for the Jewish people: to praise them and bring their merits to light in every situation. And we find that in this parsha he does so with several verses, revealing Ahavas Yisroel within them. He also dwells on this verse and explains what “Not a man is G-d, that He should lie, nor a mortal, that He should change His mind” means. He gives a very beautiful interpretation. He cites the Gemara in Tractate Taanis about the power of a tzaddik: “A tzaddik rules through the fear of G-d.” The Gemara says that a tzaddik has the power of one who is in charge: he “rules through the fear of G-d.” He directs, so to speak, Hakadosh Boruch Hu. He tells Hakadosh Boruch Hu, so to speak, what to do, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu listens to him. “A tzaddik decrees and Hakadosh Boruch Hu fulfills; Hakadosh Boruch Hu decrees and a tzaddik annuls.” A tzaddik has the power to direct events: he speaks, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu

07:59 invests Himself in the tzaddik’s words and fulfills his wishes: blessings, kindnesses and all the good things the tzaddik wishes for others. And this is the meaning of the verse here, as the holy Rabbi of Berdichev explains. Hakadosh Boruch Hu invests Himself in the tzaddik and in what the tzaddik wishes to ask for. For the tzaddik is entirely kindness, entirely compassion and entirely blessing, and he always wants to bestow good—and more than that, to speak in defense of the Jewish people, praise them and bless them. So Hakadosh Boruch Hu goes along with the tzaddik: whatever the tzaddik says, Hakadosh Boruch Hu invests Himself in his words, brings them into effect and draws down all the blessings as goodness that is visible and manifest. But when it comes to Bilaam, he wanted precisely the opposite. Bilaam wanted to go and curse the Jewish people, G-d forbid. He wanted to speak ill of them, cast an evil eye, Heaven protect us, upon the Jews, and say undesirable things. And when he wants to say things that should not be said, things that do not praise the Jewish people, Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not invest Himself in his words. When someone comes to speak in praise of the Jewish people, Hakadosh Boruch Hu helps—“A tzaddik rules through the fear of G-d.” But when he wants to speak in a way that is the opposite of praising the Jewish people, Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not help those words. This is what it says: “Not a man is G-d, that He should lie.” When he wants to speak ill of the Jews, Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not invest Himself in that man—“not a man of G-d”—to say things that are false. When he comes to speak falsehoods, Heaven protect us, lies or things that are the opposite of praise for the Jewish people, Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not do that.

09:52 “A man of G-d”—Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not become a “man.” When does Hakadosh Boruch Hu become a “man”? When someone comes to praise the Jewish people and speak well of them. Then it says, “A prayer of Moshe, the man of G-d.” As the Midrash says about “A prayer of Moshe”: Moshe Rabbeinu comes to Hakadosh Boruch Hu and says, “There is a city in ruins, and it is Yours; decree that it be rebuilt.” Moshe Rabbeinu asks Hakadosh Boruch Hu and tells Him that we are in exile. “There is a city in ruins” refers to the Jewish people; there was destruction, and there is exile. “And it is Yours”—they are Your Jewish people. “Decree that it be rebuilt”—an everlasting rebuilding, the complete Geulah after which there will be no exile. At the time of “A prayer of Moshe,” when Moshe prays, he is “the man of G-d.” Here Hakadosh Boruch Hu becomes one with the man, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu and the man become one, hand in hand, both in speaking in praise of the Jewish people and in blessing them. But when it comes to undesirable things, Hakadosh Boruch Hu says, “Not a man is G-d, that He should lie.” When Bilaam comes [unclear], Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not invest Himself in those words, and they have no effect, G-d forbid. Just the opposite—three blessings come from his mouth. And when we come to a situation of “Hashem is a man of war”—that is another verse—when there are wars surrounding the Jewish people, and the tzaddik prays and demands that Hakadosh Boruch Hu take vengeance on the enemies of the Jewish people, on those who want to harm them, then it is war, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu helps. “Hashem is a man of war.”

11:46 Hashem helps in the merit of the tzaddik’s prayers, as he prays that Hashem take vengeance on the nations and the wicked who harm Jews. Why does He do this? That is another point. Hashem is entirely kindness. The reason is “Hashem is His name”: all of this is kindness. The name Havayah represents the attribute of mercy. For when Hashem takes vengeance on anyone who harms the Jewish people, His name is magnified and sanctified throughout the world. Everyone, to the ends of the earth, sees it and praises Hashem. And they see that this is the glory of the Jewish people: whoever harms Jews, Hashem takes vengeance on him. “G-d of vengeance, Hashem; G-d of vengeance, appear!” This itself is “Hashem is His name”; all of it is kindness to the Jewish people. The vengeance Hashem takes on behalf of the Jewish people reveals their glory, and through it His name is exalted throughout the world. These are all things we can see plainly, especially in our time, recently, as we see the miracles and wonders taking place around the world, and in Eretz Yisroel in particular. This underscores that we must strengthen ourselves in all the blessings and promises of the tzaddik of our generation, who said that our generation is the generation of the Geulah, and that Moshiach is coming. We can openly see how Eretz Yisroel and the entire world are drawing closer and closer, at every moment, to

13:19 the time of the true and complete Geulah. Later in the verses of the parsha we find: “A star shall emerge from Yaakov, and a scepter shall rise from Yisroel.” Bilaam is speaking about Moshiach. Parshas Balak, too, is a parsha entirely concerned with the Geulah. As the holy Shelah says, the parsha’s opening, “And Balak saw,” indicates that King Moshiach would descend from him. Ruth the Moabite descended from Balak, King David descended from her, and the royal line continues until King Moshiach. The verses of the weekly parsha also speak about Moshiach, particularly the prophecy: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star shall emerge from Yaakov, and a scepter shall rise from Yisroel.” These are verses about the Geulah, as the Rambam writes at the end of Hilchos Melachim: from these verses we learn about King Moshiach and the details concerning him. He says, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near”—may we merit to see him. And seeing, as explained in Chassidus, is the nature of Moshiach’s revelation. The verse then says, “A star shall emerge from Yaakov, and a scepter shall rise from Yisroel”; this too refers to King Moshiach. As the Rambam says, “A star shall emerge from Yaakov” refers to David, while “a scepter shall rise from Yisroel” refers to Moshiach—the first Moshiach and the final Moshiach. The Ramban explains it differently, holding that the entire verse refers to Moshiach. And there is the well-known account in the Jerusalem Talmud concerning Rabbi Akiva, that—

14:51 Rabbi Akiva said, when he saw Bar Kochba, that he would be Moshiach, basing this on the verse “A star shall emerge from Yaakov.” In other words, the verse also refers to King Moshiach. The Rebbe once spoke about how the verse also relates to what the Me’or Einayim, Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl, cites in the name of the Baal Shem Tov: every Jew has a spark of King Moshiach within him, and every Jew can reveal and develop the spark of Moshiach in his soul. Through this, we will merit the complete Geulah. As the Rebbe once explained, this is alluded to in this verse. Regarding “A star shall emerge from Yaakov,” the Jerusalem Talmud relates that Rabbi Akiva said it refers to King Moshiach—that the star is Moshiach. The Gemara in Berachos, chapter nine, when discussing dreams, says that if someone sees a star in a dream, we tell him the verse “A star shall emerge from Yaakov.” From this we see that it relates to every Jew. This is also what the Rebbe discusses: everything has a source in the revealed teachings of Torah. That same verse, “A star shall emerge from Yaakov,” speaks about every Jew, about his mazal. And since “A star shall emerge from Yaakov” refers to King Moshiach, it means that every Jew has within him the star, the spark, the little star, the

16:14 spark of Moshiach, which is a star that illuminates the world. The Alter Rebbe says that the word kochav, “star,” contains the letters of the numbers 26 and 22. Twenty-six points to Hashem—the numerical value of the name Havayah is 26—while 22 points to the 22 letters. By speaking the letters of Torah and the letters of prayer with his mouth—having the “star in his mouth”—a Jew has the power, through his 22 letters, to affect the 26, Hashem. A Jew can, so to speak, have an effect Above, with Hashem, as it says, “A tzaddik rules through the fear of G-d.” A tzaddik’s power is that, through his speech, he can have an effect Above, so to speak, and change matters according to his will, drawing down blessings, deliverance and success for all the Jewish people. That is how he explains “A star shall emerge from Yaakov”: through the 22 letters that leave his mouth, a Jew can affect the name Havayah, 26. The 22 letters affect the 26, bringing Geulah, deliverance and rescue to Jews wherever they are. This is how the Alter Rebbe interprets the verse. The Rebbe connects this with a teaching of the Maggid of Mezritch. The Maggid of Mezritch says about “A star shall emerge from Yaakov, and a scepter shall rise from Yisroel”: Rashi explains “star” as mazal. A star represents mazal. The Maggid of Mezritch asks: Mazal? How can we speak of mazal for Jews? After all, “Israel has no mazal”! The Maggid gives the well-known explanation of “Israel has no mazal”: it does not mean, G-d forbid, that Israel has no mazal;

18:10 rather, natural mazal does not apply to Jews. But the ayin, the Infinite—that which is Above, beyond our source and beyond nature, the name Havayah—that is Israel’s true mazal. And that is the star spoken of in “A star shall emerge from Yaakov”: there is a mazal, the true mazal, the “ayin is Israel’s mazal,” which Jews possess. And the word “emerge,” darach, can be understood as in the expression “treading a bow”; it describes drawing something forth, like a shooting star. The tzaddik draws it down; he has that power: “A star shall emerge from Yaakov.” Even an ordinary person—and that is the significance of “Yaakov,” related to the word for “heels”—even a simple Jew, through his simple acceptance of the yoke of Torah and mitzvos, has the power to “tread the bow,” to draw down from the “ayin that is Israel’s mazal.” A Jew possesses this mazal; he has the power of the ayin within him, and he can bring about good blessings. The verse then says, “And a scepter shall rise from Yisroel”: this refers to the tzaddikim among the Jewish people. “A tzaddik rules through the fear of G-d”; he is a scepter, a leader with authority. As a scepter signifies sovereignty and authority, his blessings and actions have an effect Above, and this has an effect below: he draws down blessings, deliverance and rescue for Jews. And when we read Parshas Balak, we also remember that we are only a few days away from 12–13 Tammuz,

19:44 the Festival of Liberation. As the Rebbe said several times, through these days becoming a Festival of Liberation, the darkness of Tammuz, a month of exile, was transformed into Geulah, into the light of Geulah. This gives us the strength to look at our time, in which Jews, through the Rebbe’s work and its continuation, and then through the ongoing work of “spreading your wellsprings outward”—spreading Chassidus and Yiddishkeit throughout the world and preparing the world for the Geulah—will merit, [unclear], to see “G-d is not a man that He should lie, nor a human being that He should change His mind.” May the things the Rebbe said—that in our generation Moshiach is about to come—be fulfilled for every one of us, with Hashem’s help. Through this, we will strengthen ourselves in studying matters of Geulah and Moshiach, in studying Torah, and in studying subjects that strengthen our faith and trust in the Geulah. And we will see it immediately, very soon, in “I see him now” and “I behold him.” “A star shall emerge from Yaakov, and a scepter shall rise from Yisroel,” and “Yisroel shall act valiantly.”