Alfred Nobel, the benefactor of the Nobel prizes may not have donated his wealth toward such a noble cause without first seeing his own obituary. Well, sort of.
Alfred invented dynamite, which drastically changed the nature of construction and mining. As a result, he became very wealthy.
Dynamite, of course, had other uses, and it wasn't long before military authorities began using it in warfare.
He found out what others thought of his invention when, in 1888, his brother Ludvig died. Somehow, Alfred’s obituary was printed instead, and he was scorned for being the man who made millions through the deaths of others. One newspaper commented that "the merchant of death is dead." The obituary went on to describe Nobel as a man "who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before."
Stunned by what he read, he became determined to do something to improve his legacy. Before he died he set aside the majority of his vast estate to establish the five Nobel Prizes.
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The impact of seeing and hearing what others think and feel about us is very powerful.
But what about all those things that people say about us, yet we never find out? Is it important to know what everyone thinks about us if it will have no impact on our lives? Do I care about the opinion of the cashier in the store, who I may never meet again in my life? Should I live life worrying about what others may or may not have said about me?
Or should I just live life on my terms and not worry about what might have been said about me? It’s one thing if I hear about it, but why worry about hypotheticals?
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In this week’s parsha, Balak, the Torah records in great length the fruitless efforts of Ballak and his hired verbal assassin, Bilaam, to curse the Jewish people. They tried many times, but all attempts were met with failure.
Ultimately, Bilaam ends up blessing the Jewish people.
Interestingly, the Jews never hear Bilaam’s blessings. They are oblivious to the whole episode. Only due to the Torah recording this event do we even know about it.
So, the obvious question is, why does the Torah tell us this story? Why is it important to know about the failed endeavors of others?
The truth is that some of the most powerful prophecies in the Torah are those that Bilaam foretold. He speaks of the greatness and character of the Jewish people. He reveals the secrets of the coming of Moshiach. Powerful stuff indeed.
But, if the Torah wanted to share this vital information with us, couldn’t we find a better messenger? And why not tell us directly? Why tell a tale of disproportionate lengths about failed attempts in order to share the great mystical virtues?
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The fact that the Torah wants us to know all about the sinister intentions and futile efforts of these anti-Semites is very purposeful. To better understand this, let’s look at what Bilaam promises.
He speaks of the End of Days, a time when there will be no war or famines. He talks about peace and tranquility. He revels in the beauty of spiritual bliss – a time when the spirit of impurity will no longer walk the earth.
This is indeed the entire purpose of creation – to create a perfect, holy space here on earth, a space where G-d Himself is comfortable.
It would be no feat for Moshe to talk about such a reality. This would be his most natural state, his dream of dreams. Yet, Bilaam and Balak were no friends to the Jews, nor to G-d’s mission on earth. To hear them talk about means a lot more. Not simply because of the exceptional novelty aspect. Rather, because to truly remove evil from this world, evil itself must acquiesce to holiness. When evil itself tells the tale of a perfect world, we have indeed effected true transformation.
These are not hypotheticals, they are the most important aspects of who we – and all of creation – are and can be.
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The world is getting closer and closer to a day when we will indeed see G-d’s hand in everything. Let’s do something extra to prepare ourselves.