War By Other Means

1 Elul 5785
Rosh Chodesh Bet

The Bila'am Plan

When Balak built his altars overlooking the Israelite camp, it was the beginning of his war on Klal Yisrael, but they had no inkling of it as yet.  Not a shot had been fired because this war was being fought in the spiritual realm.  

"...please come and curse this people for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I will be able to wage war against them and drive them out of the land, for I know that whomever you bless is blessed and whomever you curse is cursed." (Bamidbar 22.6) 

Balaam said to Balak,  "Build me seven altars here...."  (Bamidbar 23.1) 

Rashi says these seven altars corresponded to the seven altars built by our Patriarchs - Avraham Avinu built four; Yitzchak Avinu built one; and, Ya'aqov Avinu built two.

Bila'am's plan was to cause Klal Yisrael to sin via immorality and idolatry [the two usually go together], thereby provoking God's wrath and removing their Divine protection in preparation for the fighting war.  (See Bamidbar 25, Sanhedrin 106a)

The Blessing and the Curse 

This past Shabbat's parsha began with the subject of blessing and curse. 

"Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse.  The blessing, that you will heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today; and the curse, if you will not heed the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn away from the way I command you this day, to follow other gods, which you did not know.  

And it will be, when the Lord, your God, will bring you to the land to which you come, to possess it, that you shall place those blessing upon Mount Gerizim, and those cursing upon Mount Ebal.  

It's notable that within this admonition about the curse in parashat Re'eh, it takes care to emphasize idolatry in the context of binging upon us a curse.

How interesting, too, how the Chr*stian enemy is obsessed with the Abrahamic promise: 

 "... I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you." (Breishit 12.3)

But, the similarities don't stop there.

Hayovel built their center of Chr*stian worship davka, as they like to boast, on Mount Gerizim.  Where blessing was meant to sprout, a curse has taken rooted!!

Additionally, the late Chr*stian Dominionist leader Jack Hayford built four altars across the Land to mimic Avraham Avinu, apparently not realizing that these are more in line with Balak's altars!

"...On the prayer pilgrimages I have led in Israel, we built four altars based upon God’s Word to Jacob (Gen. 35). At each one we sang, worshiped, and prayed...."  (Source)

They are now places of pilgrimage for Chr*stians to practice their avodah zarah.  These are their locations...

• Western Altar - Caesaria National Park (GPS: 32.515472, 34.898285)
• Northern Altar - Tel Fakher (GPS: 33.225250, 35.691055) 
• Eastern Altar - near Argaman Industrial Area (GPS: 32.16041, 35.51267) 
• Southern Altar - near Wadi Rahby Camping Area (GPS: 31.283020,35.369217)

I've been told that this year, the International Chr*stian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) feast tour will worship at the four altars!

Consider this account from one of the participants at the October 2023 ICEJ feast tour:

ICEJ brought over 600 Christians on a solidarity visit to this very kibbutz [Be'eri] just two days before the Hamas invasion. While there, we dedicated the new “Christian Embassy Nature Park” and planted trees and tulips only 150 meters from the Gaza border to re-green burned parts of the Be’eri Forest. Yet this very spot is where scores of terrorists broke through the security fence and carried out the massacres at Kibbutz Be’eri and the nearby music festival close to Re’im. So we feel a special obligation to help the stunned residents of Be’eri to recover and rebuild their lives.

And back to the scene of the crime in 2025: 

"This year, the Feast of Tabernacles will open with a gathering near the Gaza border to honor those fallen and encourage rebuilding the communities."

"There is nothing sweeter than worshiping at Biblical landmarks…"

We have the Torah record as proof that the Bila'am Plan works!  And here is the proof that it continues to be used against us up until today!!

Thousands upon thousands of Chr*stian pilgrims descend upon us in an invasionary force every year at the Fall "Feasts" just like GoguMagog is meant to do.  

Is it possible that their avodah zarah at the four borders of our land are bringing a curse upon us, leaving us open to a greater invasion yet to come, God forbid!!!

From the Stone Edition Chumash commentary on parashat Re'eh...

To illustrate "those who stray" [Devarim 11.28], the Torah cites idolatry, because one who worships an idol is considered as if he had repudiated the entire Torah (Rashi), for idolatry is a rejection of God.  

However, we also learn from the kibbutz who locked their gates to preserve the sanctity of Shabbat and escaped the curse and remained blessed.  So may every Jew and Jewish family and Jewish community survive and thrive despite the attempts to bring us down.  

After all, the curse only had its effect when we fell prey to their schemes.  Our fate is in our own hands.  It's OUR choice - the blessing or the curse.