By Rabbi Laurence Malinger

This Shabbat, as we read Parshat Balak, the king of Moab, summons Balaam, a peasant soothsayer, to curse the Israelites after he sees them defeat other powerful nations in battle. While Balaam is on his way to Balak’s palace, Baalam’s donkey sees an angel of God and refuses to move any further. Balaam hits the donkey to urge him forward. In response, God speaks through the mouth of the donkey and tells Balaam NOT to curse the Israelites. After this command, Balaam continues on his journey, finally arriving in Moab, where he is taken to three places by Balak, so that he could curse the Israelites from three different viewpoints. Instead of cursing the Israelites, Balaam blesses them each time.

With eyes unveiled, Balaam sees a new reality. Instead of seeing a military threat, a foreign people to be feared — as Balak had seen — Balaam looks into the hills and sees a people who travel with God in their midst. He sees with mochin d’gadlut, his “big mind” or expanded consciousness, instead of mochin d’katnut, constricted consciousness. And in that moment of seeing, all he can do is offer praise. “How fair are your tents, O Jacob / Your dwellings, O Israel,” he says. In this blessing, the ancestor symbolizes the whole. Jacob is the earthly, embodied side of the ancestor, the aspect that inhabits physical spaces. Israel is the other side of the coin, the part of the ancestor which wrestled with the angel of God and came away blessed. Where Jacob has tents, Israel has dwellings — in Hebrew, Israel has mishkanot, like the holy dwelling-place of the indwelling Shekhinah (God’s divine Presence).

Here in beautiful Kunkletown, Pennsylvania, we are able to create an environment to see the “big picture.” At camp, there are those times when campers are homesick, or there is tension within friendships, feelings of hurt or feelings of being left out. As we begin our 60^th summer here at URJ Camp Harlam, we are reminded that things can get rough when living in community. People don’t always agree. Individuals in communities can even disagree with each other in a way that burns and destroys the community from within and without. There can sometimes be a sense of loneliness even when surrounded by multitudes. The question is how we deal with these tensions and feelings when they arise. Do we ignore them or address them head on in a positive and respectful way?

     Rabbi Malinger on Opening Day

Here at Camp Harlam, we are intentional about our community. We emphasize providing time and space for everyone’s voice to be heard. We dive right into our pluralism and what it means to live in a diverse Jewish community. Our counselors are tuned into making sure that every child is included and feeling part of our community. It is hard to describe what a summer at Camp Harlam is like. It’s the kind of thing that only those who have actually experiences it are fortunate enough to fully understand. Mah Tovu – how good it is – to be part of this very special community that is Camp Harlam.

Rabbi Laurence Malinger is serving on Faculty for his 18^th summer and also is the rabbi of Temple Shalom of Aberdeen, NJ. He is also camp parent!