Timeless Torah

Bilaam, seer of the ancient world and famous for his curses, was a sought after commodity. As always, the avaricious magician hired his services to the highest bidder. In this week’s Biblical reading, the client was Balak, King of Moav, who desperately sent his most honored ministers to the base and covetous prophet. Our Sages are critical of Bilaam. Here was a man blessed with gifts equaling Moses; an individual granted the keenest of insights into the ways that G-d rules His world. And what did Bilaam do with these spiritual skills? He sold them for a few shekels.
His character is so clearly defined that the Rabbis felt comfortable in declaring, “Whoever possesses these three traits are among the disciples of the wicked Bilaam: An evil eye, an arrogant spirit, and a greedy soul.” (Avos 5:19) Rashi (in our Torah section) comments that Bilaam’s greed was apparent from his statement, “Even were Balak to give me his houseful of silver and gold... I would not transgress Hashem’s word.”
What is intriguing, and somewhat problematic, is that a very similar statement was made by the great Sage, Rabbi Yosi ben Kisma who said: I was once walking on the road when a man…said to me, “Rebbi, would you be willing to live with us in our place? I would give you …golden dinars, precious stones, and pearls.” I replied, “Even if you were to give me all the silver and gold… in the world, I would dwell nowhere but in a place of Torah.” (Avos 6:9)
Obviously, Rabbi Yosi is not to be counted among the disciples of Bilaam, yet his response: that he could not transgress Hashem’s word no matter what the price seems startlingly similar to that of Bilaam.
Another difficulty: How did Rabbi Yosi know that this fellow’s city was not a place of Torah? What in the offer led the Rabbi to assume that the town was devoid of serious Torah study?
Mr. Isaac Friedman, a holocaust survivor, arrived in the United States in the early 1950’s. In order to keep Shabbos, Mr. Friedman scraped together just enough money to open a small drapery store in Philadelphia. Business was slow. Nonetheless, every Friday before sunset he closed his store to get ready for the holy day.
One Friday, just before closing, three people entered. “My name is Henry Ballod,” said the leader. “We’ve come from Wildwood, New Jersey, and we need drapes for our motel. It’s got eighty windows. Can you handle it?”
Realizing that such a large job would require many hours of material selection, Mr. Friedman knew it could not be completed before Shabbos. Politely but firmly, he said, “I’m a religious Jew and I don’t work past sunset on Friday. Please come back after the weekend. I’ll be glad to help you.”
“Are you mad?!” shouted Mr. Ballod. “We came from over a hundred miles away. We have no time to waste. We’ll go elsewhere.” And they stormed out.
“I’ll do a better job at a better price,” Mr. Friedman called after them. “Just come back after Shabbos.”
Monday morning, to Mr. Friedman’s great surprise, the men returned. Without mentioning a word about Friday’s incident, they chose their drapes. Mr. Friedman completed the job to their great satisfaction.
After that, business really picked up. Weeks before, he was an unknown penniless immigrant; now he had a booming business. Months later Mr. Friedman was in Wildwood, New Jersey, when he heard a voice from across the street. “Friedman - I sent them all.”
Mr. Friedman looked up and saw Mr. Ballod beaming at him. He told Mr. Friedman that at a recent hotel owner’s convention, he took the podium and told the whole audience about the store that closed for Shabbos despite the loss of a job. I told them I was impressed that you respected G-d more than money, and that your ethics were more important than the bottom line. And in the end, you did a good job for a good price. Someone like you, I told them, could be trusted!”
How did Rabbi Yosi know that the man came from a place devoid of serious Torah values? He tried to sway the Rabbi with money; as if the monetary gain of living among them would offset whatever losses he would suffer as a result of the move. He tried to “buy off” Torah. Using wealth as bait with which to lure a renowned Sage surely boded ill. True, dollars and cents would at some point be discussed, but that it should be first and foremost meant the city lacked true Torah appreciation.
In response to this proposal, Rabbi Yosi replied, “You presume to equate Torah with jewels and precious metals. All the money in the world could never sway my resolve and cause me to compromise my adherence to Torah and its principles!”
Bilaam’s response differed greatly. Balak’s offer made no mention of wealth. It was Bilaam that brought the, “Houseful of silver and gold” into the conversation. Also, Bilaam did not say, “Even were Balak to give me... I would not transgress Hashem’s word,” but rather, “I am unable to transgress the word of Hashem” The inference being that gold and jewels could indeed sway my resolve, but things might be beyond my control.
Those who fear the Almighty don’t give riches a second thought; those who love the ‘almighy’ Dollar can’t stop thinking about it. They say, “Money can buy anything.” Hopefully, that’s not true. Unlike Bilaam, make sure you are not for sale.