In the Jungle, the Lion Slept Last Night!

In this week’s Torah reading we have the gentile ‘prophet’ Balaam’s inept attempts to curse our ancestors. As many of these declarations became blessings for the Jewish people, these verses themselves have become very famous, like ‘How goodly are thy tents, O Ya’akov’ (Bamidbar 24:5), which adorn synagogues everywhere. However, this year I’m most concerned with the extension of that particular blessing: He crouched and lay down like a lion; like a lioness, who can make her rise? The one blessing you will be blessed, and the one cursing you will be cursed (24:9).

This verse, of course, became the proud code name for our beloved Medina’s amazing attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran, from June 12 through 24. This remarkable offensive was entitled The Lion Rises or Rising Lion, which finds its source in our verse as recited by Balaam.

We don’t know much about Balaam. Was he a prophet, perhaps, on a par with Moshe Rabbeinu, as a famous Midrash claims, or was a charlatan soothsayer for hire. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. He did agree to curse our ancestors for a huge fee, but once on the job was inspired by the holy reality of the nation’s spiritual connection to God (Now, when Balaam saw that it pleased the Eternal to bless Yisrael, he did not resort to his ‘magic spells’ as before. 24:1). 

He was willing to be bribed, but couldn’t deny reality. God’s promise to Avraham (‘Those who bless you will be blessed; those who curse you will be cursed’, Breishit 12:3) was intact.

So, what was the actual content of this begrudging blessing? Rav Steinzaltz points out that  the previous verse was apparently referring to the power of God, fighting on behalf of His people (‘God Who freed them from Egypt is for them like the power of the RE’EM’s horns…, Bamidbar 24:8) the allegory now passes seamlessly to the might of Israel itself, received from God: It crouched, it lay like a lion. When the people are resting in their place like a lion and are not waging war, they have the magnificence and power of a crouching lion. And like a great cat, who shall rouse it? Nobody would dare provoke them.

The Ohr Hachaim expands on this literal approach about the awesome nature of the nation, even in repose, and asks: Why are there two different types of lions used to describe the nation? The answer refers back to the beginning of this blessing (How goodly are thy tents, O Ya’akov, your dwelling places, O Yisrael, verse 5). The nation can be divided into the average Jew (Ya’akov), and the elite of the nation (Yisrael). This second group, through dedication and devotion to the Torah and the people, keep our people alive, help us persevere.

I think that Operation Rising Lion is a prime example of the Ohr Hachaim’s point. As we are astounded by the details of this endeavor’s results, it’s hard not to hearken back to Winston Churchill’s summation of the RAF’s success in the Battle of Britain (1940’s victory over Hitler’s Luftwaffe): Never has so much been owed by so many to so few!

Ten million Israelis benefitted immensely from about 200 pilots’ efforts. The fact that no planes were shot down just adds to the sense of Divine Providence and, perhaps Bilaam’s blessing, at work in this enterprise. Just for comparison, it is claimed that 2937 (1542 were killed) pilots flew for the RAF in the Battle of Britain. 

We Israelis also owe a tremendous debt to the Pikud HaOref (Home Front Command), the operators of the various levels of our anti-missile command (Kipat Barzel, etc), and, of course, the amazing work of our Intelligence Community. 

Indeed, our nation rose as a lion in this time of need. But let’s look back at the verse. It begins: Like a lion, he crouches and lies down. Well, where’s the awesomeness in a resting lion? I remember going to the zoo and being very disappointed when those lazy lions just lay around getting a tan in the sun. I preferred to see them get up and roar for all their worth! 

By the way! There was a lion in Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo who would get up on this craggy rock and roar periodically. Now, that’s getting value for your entrance fee! This great performer, named Kamaia, passed away in 1923. Not everyone has our nation’s longevity. 

The Mei Shiloach asks this very same question about the lion at rest, and gives a famous response. That this impressive display of power while in repose is an historical reference to the Men of the Great Assembly. Their impressive display of power was their ‘returning the Crown to its former glory’, by making enactments which displayed the glory of the Jewish nation through our Torah observance and loyalty to ancient practices. Cool! And that expresses many centuries of Jewish intellectual history. Since we don’t act as full participants on the world stage, let’s remember our spiritual and intellectual prowess.

But Rav Shimshon Rephael Hirsch expresses what I believe is the literal meaning: After Yisrael defeats its enemies, it dwells among them in peace. This display of glory in repose is so impressive and compelling that no one dares to engage us in battle.

Wow! That’s the show of power which we beseech God for. I hope and pray that our rising from slumber that night will help bring us the peace we so ardently desire, and then the jungle around us will be quiet because the mighty lion sleeps there. Awheem Awhap; Awheem Awhap!