Balak son of Tzipor was then king of Moab…. He sent emissaries to Bilaam to summon him,
saying, "Behold, a people has come out of Egypt…come and curse this people
for me." Bilaam raised his eyes and saw Israel dwelling according to their
tribes and the divine spirit was upon him….
He declaimed his parable and said: "How goodly are your tents, O
Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel, stretching out like brooks, like gardens
by a river, like aloes planted by God, like cedars by water. Water shall flow from its wells and his seed
shall be by abundant waters."
(Numbers 22:4, 5, 6, 24: 2, 3, 5-7)
What is good and what God requires of you: Only to do
justly and love kindness and walk humbly with God. (Micha 6:8) 
When Solomon, descendent of Ruth the Moabite, was king of Israel, his wisdom linking eruv and n'tilat yadayim elicited Divine rejoicing. (Talmud: Eruvin 21b and Shabbat 14b)
N'tilat yadayim is a hand-washing ritual performed
each morning to celebrate the wonder of wakefulness and before meals to
sanctify life.
An eruv creates community while n'tilat yadayim
is a private act of holding up hands to reveal fingerprints that highlight
individuality.
Balak is a descendent of Moab, son of Lot who separated from
his uncle Abraham to live in Sodom where contempt for human diversity was
policy.
We surrounded a hill at the site of the demolished evil
Sodom with an eruv constructed from 7 telephone poles connected by rope
lintels.
Along the hill's ridge, 10 different hand-washing vessels
created by Miriam's students reflected the distinctive vision of each student.
Our environmental artwork teaches that the highest good is
reached when we create community that honors what is unique in every person.
Creating community that pays tribute to the emergence of
individuality and facilitates its free expression invites God's highest joy.
Rabbi Avi Weiss points out that we have come full circle.
Ruth takes heroic strides to embrace Abraham's family that Lot had left for
Sodom.