{"id":48171,"date":"2019-01-26T22:45:38","date_gmt":"2019-01-26T20:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=48171"},"modified":"2022-08-18T12:15:15","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T09:15:15","slug":"seeing-is-a-blessing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/seeing-is-a-blessing\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing Is A Blessing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[504,443],"acf":{"old_id":"48171","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":48172,"related_cahpter":"141","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Balaam lifted up his eyes - and then he truly saw","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Balaam, a non-Israelite diviner, has been commissioned by the King of Moab to curse the Israelites. Balaam looks out at the Israelites from a mountain, ready to deliver a curse. Instead, something shifts and he can only utter a blessing. This transformation happens after Numbers 24:2 where we read, \u201cBalaam lifted up his eyes and he saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe, and the spirit of God rested upon them.\u201d So why is this the turning point for Balaam?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Hebrew used in this verse is a formula that is repeated in the Torah during important moments of conflict. This formula leads the character out of that moment and into a space of openness, awareness, and peace. The formula is this: \u201c____ lifted up his eyes and saw ____.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We see it during a fight that Lot picks with his uncle Abraham about ownership of territory. Abraham does not want to fight and tells Lot that he can settle anywhere he likes. After this, \u201cLot lifted up his eyes and saw\u201d the place that he wanted to settle in, and there was no more fighting to be had.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We see this Hebraic formula during the binding of Isaac. An angel calls out to Abraham, stopping him from slaying his son. The angel\u2019s voice is a clarion call, underscored by the verse that comes right after it which reads, \u201cAbraham lifted up his eyes and saw a ram.\u201d Abraham becomes aware of what he\u2019s doing and sacrifices the ram instead of Isaac.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This formula is used again when Jacob and Esau are reunited for the first time after Jacob stole Esau\u2019s blessing, and it\u2019s used when Joseph meets his brother Benjamin for the first time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now Balaam, too, lifts up his eyes and sees the Israelite people. Once he has seen them, he cannot curse them. Instead, he offers them a blessing: \u201c<em>Mah tovu ohalecha Yaakov, Mishkenotecha Yisrael<\/em>\u201d &#8212; \u201cOh how good are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel!\u201d Balaam, like Lot and Abraham, Esau and Joseph, lifted up his eyes to see beyond himself and the job that he has been commissioned to do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seeing beyond our own narrow perspectives can be difficult to do and takes a great deal of work. But once we do, we can find an awareness of self. We can see the beauty in others. Then, our mouths will utter blessings.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":84724,"id":84724,"title":"ps63-eye seeing God","filename":"ps63-eye-seeing-God.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-mystical-moment\/ps63-eye-seeing-god\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ps63-eye-seeing-god","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":84723,"date":"2020-12-09 11:20:36","modified":"2022-11-27 12:33:16","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps63-eye-seeing-God-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Seeing Is A Blessing","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"Balaam lifted up his eyes - 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