July 20th, 2019 — Shabbat Balak
From the fantastical story of Balak and Bilam in the Book of Numbers, our Rabbis warn: when an enemy proclaims that he is your friend, it may feel like a blessing, but the burden is on you to discern his true intentions. Today, in the politics not only of polarization and division, but of monsterization, the Jews are being used. The weaponization of antisemitism is a strategic manipulation of our trauma, and it endangers our democracy and our lives. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6). Let us not be deceived.