There is no shortage of wisdom in this week’s double Torah portion, Chukat and Balak. But this year, I found myself returning to the teaching of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks of blessed memory, whose clarity often feels not only wise, but prophetic.

In Balak, the non Israelite prophet Bilaam is hired to curse the people of Israel. He stands above the Israelite camp, ready to harm them with words, and instead words of blessing emerge. Some of those words have become among the most beloved in Jewish tradition: “How good are your tents, Jacob.” We now prayerfully recite them when entering Jewish sacred space, often forgetting that they first came from a man who intended us harm.

But Rabbi Sacks reminds us........

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