Parshas Balak
“Moav became deathly afraid of the people of Israel” (Bamidbar 22:3). “Now the Israelites will lick up everything around us just like a bull licks up all the vegetation in the field.” Moav saw how the Jews had captured many of its neighboring countries, including the land of the Amorites from its king, Sichon, and the land of Bashan from its king, Og (Bamidbar, chapter 21). Moav felt surrounded by the Jews and feared they would invade it too.
But why was Moav scared? Did they not know that G-d had forbidden the Jews to wage war with Moav (Devarim 2:9)? True, but Moav understood how G-d himself had helped the Jews circumvent that prohibition in two stages. First, G-d caused Sichon to wage war against Moav and conquer the Moabite city of Heshbon and its suburbs, all the way down to the River Arnon in the south (Bamidbar 21:25). Then G-d helped the Jews fight Sichon and capture the lands of the Amorites which now included some of the lands of Moav. G-d said, “Let Sichon, the Amorite king, come and conquer the land from Moav and let Israel then come and conquer it from Sichon” (Chullin 60b).
Now, Moav and Midyan were constantly at war with each other fighting over disputed territories on their border. Balak, who was a Midianite general, understood that he was in a no-win situation. If Midian would lose its border wars with Moav, that would certainly be bad. But if it would win the war with Moav and appropriate land from Moav, that would be bad too. Because, once the disputed land of Moav would be in the hands of Midyan, the Jews would be permitted to invade it, just like they were permitted to invade the cities of Moav after Sichon had captured them from Moav. In addition, Balak understood that the land of Moav had been promised by G-d to the Jews and there was no way Balak could prevent that from happening.
So Balak realized that Midyan and Moav, the erstwhile enemies, would have to make a truce and gang up as allies against Israel. But since G-d was on Israel’s side, there was no way he could prevent the Jews from ultimately taking over the land. But perhaps he could delay the inevitable. After all, the Jews were meant to have conquered Moav 40 years earlier, but because of their sins, G-d held them back. Perhaps, Balak argued, we could get them to sin again, or remind G-d of their previous sins and get Him to delay the invasion of Moav for a few more years.
The person who could help Balak with this strategy was the prophet Bilaam. The Midrash tells us that Bilam was a descendant of Lavan (22:5). He knew the weak spots of the Jews. He also had prophesied in the past that Sichon would win the war with Moav, so he had a solid reputation of predicting the future.
Bilaam was a man who listened to omens. He should have understood that the sudden refusal of his donkey to transport him where he wanted to go was a bad sign. He should have understood that what was standing in his way was the covenant that Lavan, his ancestor, had made with and Yaakov at Galeid. This covenant forbade Lavan and his descendants from passing the rock of Galeid if their intention was to cause harm to the Jews (Bereishis 31:47). Chazal tell us that the wall that the donkey feared to go beyond (Bamidbar 22:25) was the rock of Galeid. But Bilaam missed all of these signs because he was consumed by hatred.
Initially, Bilaam tried to appeal to G-d with various korbanot (23-13). We are told, “Vayelech shefi” (23:3), He went alone. The word “shefi” is used in the Torah to describe a snake (Shemos 49:17). The snake was a carrier of slander (Rashi to Bamidbar 21:6). Snake like, Bilaam intended to spoil the special relationship between G-d and the Jews by finding something bad to say about them and cursing them.
But he soon realized that any curse would only come true if it were the curse of G-d and G-d was not prepared to curse the Jews. “How can I curse if G-d has not cursed?” (23:8). Besides, whatever I think might be a curse, might turn out to be a blessing. If I curse them to lose a battle, they will repent and afterwards be victorious. In the end, G-d will always protect the Jews by turning a curse into a blessing.
And so Bilaam had to find some fault with the Jews that would anger G-d so much that He would curse them Himself
First, he took Balak to the top of the mountain where Moshe would die. Clearly G-d was angry at Moshe for hitting the rock and this was a good place to curse them. But that did not work either. G-d does not look at the past sins, (23:21) of Moshe or anyone else, because sinners of yesterday can repent today.
So he took Balak up to the top of Pe’er where the Jews would ultimately sin in the future by having illicit relations with the women of Moav. But G-d was not interested in sins of the future. He judges people by who they are today (Bereishis 21-17).
Having failed to anger G-d with past sins and future sins, Bilaam turned to the desert (Bamidbar 24:1) and reminded G-d of the present sin of the golden calf. Chazal tell us that what motivated the Jews to worship idolatry was the lust for forbidden relationships (Shemos 32:6). That sin was in the present, it had happened only a very short while ago. But then Bilaam caught sight of the tents of Israel, which were configured in such a way as to prevent any thought of sexual impropriety. This vision stopped him in his tracks.
He saw that the Jews had repented from their licentious ways. “How good are your tents Yaakov; your tabernacles Israel; they stretch out like streams like gardens by the river” (Bamidbar 24:5). The word “mishkenosecha” refers to houses of learning and worship. Bilaam understood that even if temptation would come their way, there was always a way to defeat it by dragging the yetzer hara to the house of worship or the house of learning, by which time the burning desire would abate (Kiddushin 30b). He also understood that the Torah acts like a river that purifies one of one’s sins.
Having struck out three times, Bilaam realized the truth of what he had been warned. He would be allowed to go with Balak, but he would have no control over what he would say. In the end, he had to do what G-d wanted. He had to bless the Jews, not curse them.
