Transcript
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At the end of Tractate Sukkah
the Talmud tells the story
of Miriam, daughter of Bilga,
bringing a lesson
from her story:
“Good is for the righteous, and
good will be for his neighbor.”
If such an important lesson
stems from her story
she deserves some reward.
What was the story of
Miriam, daughter of Bilga?
The Talmud tells us that
she abandoned Judaism
– the worst possible fall.
Then she married
a gentile Greek officer.
What else did she do?
When the Greeks
stormed the Holy Temple,
she pounded the Altar,
crying out:
“Wolf, wolf! You consume
the Jewish People’s wealth,
but you don’t answer them
in their time of need!”
– a minor offense compared
to apostasy and intermarriage.
She renounced her faith,
she married a Greek,
she joined the enemy who
conquered the Holy Temple
and who placed a profane
animal upon the Holy Altar…
Yet why was her
dynasty punished?
Because she struck
the Altar with a sandal.
But herein lies
a profound message:
The verse in Zephaniah states:
“You alone have I known from
all the nations of the earth;
therefore I will exact
judgment for your sins.”
God holds a Jew accountable
for his actions
precisely because of
His love for the Jew.
Only because God
loves His People
does it bother Him if they stray…
It may appear that a Jew
is cut off from everything…
Torah says: No!
Cut off? Not at all!
What you see is
only superficial.
Torah may speak of
“spiritual excision”, etc…
But the fact remains
– he is a Jew!
And so his every action, concerns
God Almighty Himself.
A Jewish girl who
renounced her religion
and married a non-Jew…
it matters to God how she acts
in the presence of the Holy Altar.
This, then, shows the
greatness of the Jewish soul:
no matter its outward
spiritual appearance,
even in the lowest spiritual abyss
– even during the sin itself,
the soul is bound to
God Almighty Himself.
It is not surprising, then,
that despite her tragic story
she teaches us:
“Good is for the righteous, and
good will be for his neighbor”
– of which Rashi writes, “the power
of good is infinitely greater.”
Through whom is this powerful
Torah teaching revealed?
Through none other
than Miriam bas Bilga.
And this is because
the Jewish soul is good
– only, as Maimonides writes,
“his evil inclination coerced him”,
even to such a pitiful state…
But to give up on a Jew…?
God forbid!
And if giving up is not an option,
the only choice is action –
and your action will
certainly succeed,
for the verse promises:
“not one Jew will be lost.”
This, then, is actually a
tribute to Miriam bas Bilga:
Her story illustrates
that even after she apostatized,
and intermarried,
and joined the enemy who
trod into the Holy Temple
– they were impure,
and certainly she was…
What bothered her?
“Why is the Altar not
protecting the Jews?”
Here we see what
a Jewish child is.
She married the Greek
who attacked her people,
conquered Jerusalem,
conquered the Holy Temple
and the Holy Altar;
and she accompanied him,
as his wife, all the way…
But when she sees her fellow
Jew suffering, she cries out:
“Wolf, wolf! Why don’t
you help the Jew?”
Why does the Talmud
tell us this story?
Not, God forbid,
to disparage a Jewess…
Quite the contrary:
the Talmud records it
to teach us what
a Jew really is.
What is the lesson
for all generations?
When you meet a
fellow Jew on the street
who does not appear to
live a Torah lifestyle
– and when you ask him,
he doesn’t even deny it…
You might be taken
aback and think:
“What connection
do I have with him?”
The Talmud tells you:
This Jew can reveal
the teaching
“Good is for the righteous, and
good will be for his neighbor.”
But it depends on you.
If you speak from the heart,
your words will penetrate
his heart, and affect him.
He will then become
<i>your</i> neighbor,
– and your lifestyle is one
of Torah and Mitzvos,
so you will both have good, as
we learn from Miriam bas Bilga:
“Good is for the righteous
and for his neighbor.”
Why be <i>his</i> neighbor,
of which the Talmud says,
“Woe to the wicked,
woe to his neighbor…”?
Instead, take this opportunity
arranged by Divine Providence,
and make him
into <i>your</i> neighbor.
You live a Torah lifestyle;
help him to emulate you
to follow the path
of Torah and Mitzvos.
