“Ben Zoma said:Who is wise? He who learns from every man,” (Pirkei Avot 4:1). It is a commonplace observation that most of us today live in information bubbles or echo chambers, where our own point of view is reinforced, whether we are liberals/progressives who read the NY Times and listen to MSNBC, or conservatives/reactionaries who read the Washington Times and listen to Fox News. Whether this is really true or not there does seem to be a disturbing lack of dialogue between people who disagree.
In this week’s Torah portion we are introduced to Balaam, a prophet for hire, who is engaged by King Balak of the Moabites to curse the Israelites. In this Torah portion he comes across as vain, greedy, and foolish. He is the opposite of Moses, who is humble, wise, and dedicated to service.
But, we also learn that God communicates with Balaam and, ultimately, Balaam listens to God. He refuses to curse the Israelites and instead blesses them.
Perhaps our sages are teaching that no one person, or group, has a monopoly on the truth and that ultimately, we must listen to many voices – even the voices with whom we disagree – if we are to truly understand our world. As the old saying goes, God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.
Parashat Balak, Numbers 22:2-25:9 – Parashat ha Shavuah for Saturday, June 26, 2021
June 25, 2021 by Dean Kertesz • Drashot
“Ben Zoma said:Who is wise? He who learns from every man,” (Pirkei Avot 4:1). It is a commonplace observation that most of us today live in information bubbles or echo chambers, where our own point of view is reinforced, whether we are liberals/progressives who read the NY Times and listen to MSNBC, or conservatives/reactionaries who read the Washington Times and listen to Fox News. Whether this is really true or not there does seem to be a disturbing lack of dialogue between people who disagree.
In this week’s Torah portion we are introduced to Balaam, a prophet for hire, who is engaged by King Balak of the Moabites to curse the Israelites. In this Torah portion he comes across as vain, greedy, and foolish. He is the opposite of Moses, who is humble, wise, and dedicated to service.
But, we also learn that God communicates with Balaam and, ultimately, Balaam listens to God. He refuses to curse the Israelites and instead blesses them.
Perhaps our sages are teaching that no one person, or group, has a monopoly on the truth and that ultimately, we must listen to many voices – even the voices with whom we disagree – if we are to truly understand our world. As the old saying goes, God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.
~Rabbi Dean Kertesz