Let's try this from another angle

You know the line about  "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again"? That must have been Bilam's leading principle. I assume his favorite book was "The little engine that could".  Because, really, how many signs does one need to realize this is not going to work?

But I'm not being fair. Many people have faced failure after failure and kept going despite it. Many of them are considered heroes. If people gave up after two or three failures, we may not have had modern medicine, home computers or Harry Potter (horrified gasp from my oldest daughter.) We actually admire perseverance. Especially in the face of many failures. Especially after it ends well, of course. We applaud the hero who fights against all odds (When he wins, naturally. Who cares about the losers?)

So here is a man who faced not only divine resistance but actually experienced failures as he was told he would, by G-d Himself. And yet he did not give up. Why are we not admiring him?

Well, duh. Because he was against us. Fine. But why do other people not admire him? Because I doubt anyone reads the story and says to themselves "Wow, that Bilam, what staying power, awesome, dude." Why not?


Because he failed. Besides the fact that he was trying to curse our ancestors (so we are glad he failed), people don't admire losers. The saying "if at first..." works because it assumes that you will succeed at the end. But what if you don't? Is there any advice to those who have tried really hard, gave it their all, did not give up, did not lose heart, and yet, did not succeed? Does anyone remember the losers? Never mind celebrating their efforts, does anyone remember them at all?

Well, yes, actually. Bilam is very well remembered and he was, without a doubt, a complete and total failure in his mission.

I am not saying the Torah applauds his actions. But maybe, just maybe, there's a lesson here about failure, about the worth of the effort itself, about how we should look at failures. Because, while Bilam did fail in the eyes of everyone who heard about it, he had done exactly what he was destined by G-d to do.

Last time I gave you  a recipe for chicken that needs to be baked in the oven. Hubby reminds me that once the temperature outside gets above 80 degrees, turning the oven on is not the wisest choice I can make. So let's try this from another angle. This recipe is not exactly the same but it's close. And you don't have to turn the oven on.


Chicken Thighs with Plums and Cranberries

8 thighs (bone in, can be skin on or skinless)
16 fresh plums (use different varieties for a prettier presentation and better flavor), pitted and quartered.
1 whole head of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 Tbs fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
5 Tbs honey
2 Tbs Balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
3 Tbs olive oil
5 small onions, sliced
1 cup semi dry white wine
1/4 Lb dried cranberries


Combine the first 8 ingredients and marinate for 1 hour in the fridge. Drain and reserve marinade liquid.
Heat the oil in a large pan or dutch oven and brown the chicken (carefully, the honey makes it more likely to burn so watch it.) Remove chicken and keep warm.
In the same pan, saute onions until golden. Add plums and stir fry for 5 minutes.
Return chicken to pan.
Mix reserved marinade with wine and pour into pan (should cover chicken and plums.)
Sprinkle cranberries on top (do not mix in.)
Bring the a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 25 minutes.
Remove cover and continue cooking another 10 minutes.
Cover again, turn heat off and let stand for another 10 minutes.
Serve over plain rice.

Serves 6-8.



So Bilam failed. Well, of course. Who can win against the Israelites? Or the Israelis? Take me, for example. For years, my family and hubby's family were pestering us to come to Israel. They tried everything, those wily Israelis. And in the end, I could not win. So for the next two months or so, I'll be blogging 'on site'. This is so great: I gonna have so much to complain about. Yippee!!