לֹ֤א תָאֹר֙ אֶת־הָעָ֔ם כִּ֥י בָר֖וּךְ הֽוּא (בלק כב, יב)
“You shall not curse the people, for it is blessed” (Numbers 19:11-12)
First Reading: The Strength in Weakness
Almost all of us have weak points, areas in which we repeatedly fail in the present or have failed in the past. Often, these weigh on our conscience and produce guilt feelings. These points are a significant factor in our mental state and how we conduct our lives. How should we properly address them? Two insights to this question arise from Parashat Balak:
“God is angry every day”
One possibility is hinted at in the words of the sages[1] regarding Balak’s ability “to know the knowledge of the Most High”[2]—for God is angry for a ‘moment’ each day, and if he curses during this time, the curse will be fulfilled. On a deeper level, this means that there is indeed a point of criticism towards every individual Jew, towards the entire people of Israel, and toward the whole world, but it is specific, momentary. Balaam’s intent is to take this point and make it central. Of course, Balaam’s perspective is the opposite of God’s intention, and we should not highlight points of weakness and make them central.
Rebuke versus Flattery
On the other hand, the sages[3] interpreted the verse, “He who rebukes a man shall in the end find more favor than he who flatters with the tongue”[4] as a comparison between Moses, who rebukes the people, but leads them on a straight and good path, and Balaam, who blesses them but ultimately causes them to sin in the severe transgression of Ba’al Peor.
In the deep writings of the Chasidic tradition,[5] it is explained that Balaam attempts to lead Israel through the following psychological process:
The main message of Balaam's blessings is that Israel is connected to the Holy Blessed One in such a deep and essential way that no sin or fall can sever them from Him. Of course, this is true, but the danger is evident: if one emphasizes the goodness at the root and the irrelevance of sin to this depth, one may lose sensitivity and caution against sinning and actually fail. This was indeed Balaam's hidden intention, and thus he caused Israel to sin with the daughters of Midian at Shittim.
Even in our personal reality, the blurring of weaknesses while emphasizing the deep good points can legitimize the existence of these weaknesses and block the process of rectification and repentance regarding them. Thus, Rabbi Nathan of Breslov states[6] that awareness of our good points is like the red heifer, which purifies the impure (those who are in despair and have fallen) but can defile the pure (those who avoid awareness of their shortcomings).
“Consider Yourself [as if you are] Wicked”
In a normal state—when one is not on the verge of despair—there is a need to develop the ability to face weaknesses rather than hide them. Specifically, the awareness that I must not deceive myself into thinking I am a tzaddik (righteous person) liberates me from much of the pointless effort of trying to hide my weaknesses from myself and others. This is explained at length in the Tanya, where the guidance of the sages, “Even if the entire world tells you that you are righteous, consider yourself as wicked”[7] leads one to tranquility and joy, rather than depression and despair as it might seem at first glance.
These principles are true first and foremost in the way each individual relates to himself or herself; it is also true with regard to the relationships between parents and children, and educators and students. Together with love, closeness, and connection, one must learn how to confront a child with his shortcomings and encourage him to progress on a path of genuine correction and advancement. Similarly, in counseling and therapy relationships, it is not enough to provide empathy, unconditional acceptance, and emotional support; it is also necessary to awaken in the individual an awareness of his deficiencies and weaknesses, and the responsibility to advance and engage in self-improvement.
“God Transformed the Curse into a Blessing For You”
Ultimately, it is important to remember the main point. Before and after a person's great efforts and extensive struggles in the realm of free choice, the deep root and inherent connection of the Jew with God cannot truly be severed.
Since Balaam's words were written in the Torah, they are absolute truth. After we make our own efforts toward correction and repentance, it becomes clear that God Himself is always with us everywhere, even in our greatest falls and in our efforts to rise from them. At every moment, He is connected to us with infinite compassion.
אִם־יִתֶּן־לִ֥י בָלָ֛ק מְלֹ֥א בֵית֖וֹ כֶּ֣סֶף וְזָהָ֑ב (בלק כב, יח)
“Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold…” (Numbers 22:18)
Second Reading: Balaam’s Three Traits
In the fifth chapter of the tractate of Avot, the sages compare Balaam to Abraham:
Whoever possesses these three traits, he is of the disciples of Abraham, our father; and [whoever possesses] three other traits, he is of the disciples of Balaam, the wicked: a good eye, a humble spirit, and a lowly appetite [psyche]—he is of the disciples of Abraham, our father. An evil eye, a haughty spirit, and a boundless appetite [psyche]—he is of the disciples of Balaam, the wicked.[8]
It is written in the Sefat Emet, that these three attributes of Abraham correspond to the three pilgrimage festivals:
A humble spirit represents the negation of desires and corresponds to the "bread of affliction" or “bread of poverty” (לֶחֶם עֹנִי) of the festival of Passover.
A lowly spirit, humility, corresponds to Shavu’ot when we commemorate receiving the Torah. The Torah is likened to water that descends from a high place to a low place, and to merit receiving the Torah on Shavu’ot, one needs a lowly spirit.
The festival of Sukkot is “the time of our joy” and corresponds to a good eye. It is on Sukkot that we look favorably upon the nations of the world. We have a good eye towards all of humanity, towards the entire world, and therefore we draw abundance for everyone by sacrificing the 70 oxen, one for each of the nations, thereby drawing physical abundance for all the world. We can add to this that the word for “eye” in Hebrew is the name of the letter ayin (ע), whose value of 70. Thus “a good eye” alludes to “goodness for all 70 [nations].” Even today, there is this mindset, that we want to bestow physical goodness to everyone, even to any non-Jew who needs it. It is said that this is the first attribute of our forefather Abraham, a good eye, and it is mainly revealed at the time of our joy, the festival of Sukkot.
The Good Eye Attracts Converts
A good eye is thus something very Messianic—to bestow goodness to everyone, and consequently, by doing so, to also elevate and bring all the sparks of holiness closer. By doing so, we encourage whoever is worthy to become a convert. The worthy converts are awakened and come to take shelter under the wings of the Divine Presence.
If we look at the order of these three traits, they are a good eye, then a humble spirit, and finally a lowly appetite or psyche. This order corresponds to the order of the soul’s three lower levels: “a good eye” corresponds to the soul (נשמה). Then we have a humble spirit (רוח). Finally, there is the lowly appetite or psyche (נפש). This correspondence is upheld by all the commentators, not just the Sefat Emet, even Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin in his commentary Ruach Chaim on Avot, also explains simply that these three attributes are soul-spirit-soul. In relation to the “good eye” and the festival of Sukkot, this correspondence reveals that joy depends on the soul, and indeed the level of the soul corresponds to the sefirah of understanding whose inner experience is one of joy.
What is the Difference?
From here we move on to the famous interpretation by the Ba’al Shem Tov to this mishnah from Avot. The Ba’al Shem Tov relies on the next sentence in the mishnah:
What is the difference between the disciples of Abraham the patriarch and the disciples of Balaam the wicked?
The Baal Shem Tov asks how it is possible to ask, "What is the difference between them?" It should be clear that there is nothing similar.
This is actually a very typical question coming from the Ba’al Shem Tov who foresees that there will be a time—particularly in our generation, the tenth generation from the Ba’al Shem Tov—when the good and the evil will be indistinguishable from one another.
The Ba’al Shem Tov answers that the reason it has hard to tell them apart is because both groups of disciples use all three traits and their opposites. The disciples of Abraham use the negative traits of Balaam the wicked for the service of God, and the disciples of Balaam the wicked use all the good traits of Abraham our father to commit transgressions and justify their behavior. When you look at their behavior from the exterior, you cannot tell the difference. The entire difference is—in the words of the Ba’al Shem Tov—between material and spiritual.
For example, if Balaam's disciples have a boundless appetite materially, then Abraham's disciples should have a boundless appetite for the spiritual. Regarding a boundless appetite, he quotes the sages’ expression, “no one dies with even half of his appetite fulfilled.” If it concerns the disciples of Balaam the wicked, the desire is material; he has a hundred, and he wants two hundred, he has no satisfaction.
For the righteous, the dissatisfaction is with the spiritual. The Lubavitcher Rebbe often writes that being content with one’s lot is a good trait only materially, but it is negative regarding the spiritual. Clearly, the explicit source for the Rebbe’s approach is this teaching of the Ba’al Shem Tov.
The same applies to an evil eye. Abraham views himself with an evil eye spiritually, feeling that he is worth nothing and has not achieved everything.
The same applies to a haughty spirit, which becomes important in situations when the evil inclination comes and tells Abraham and his disciples that the task they want to undertake is too big. To combat this argument, you need to have a haughty spirit that is not afraid of taking on a big spiritual task.
There is a similar explanation regarding the red heifer. The evil inclination comes and says to you, "This act is too much for you, it will never work, you will never succeed,” whenever you are about to perform a holy action. Against the inclination that wants you to lower your head when it comes to holiness, you need a haughty spirit.
Thus, says the Ba’al Shem Tov, the righteous person needs to know how to use all the traits of the disciples of Balaam the wicked when it comes to spiritual matters.
The reverse is also true. All the good traits of Abraham regarding the material are used by Balaam the wicked and his disciples regarding the spiritual. First, Balaam is pleased with himself; he is content when it comes to the spiritual. He does not need more at all. On the contrary, he always has enough, the opposite of what we said earlier.
Balaam has a lowly appetite with respect to spiritual matters. He will never initiate something significant in the service of God because he is lowly in what his spirit desires. Likewise, with respect to a humble spirit; when it comes to spirituality, he has no desires at all, he has a humble spirit.
Thus, says the Ba’al Shem Tov, spiritually the wicked person has and uses all the good traits of Pirkei Avot, and spiritually the righteous person has all the bad traits of the wicked. This is why we can easily mistake them for one another.
(from a class given on the 20th of Shevat 5751)
מָ֣ה אֶקֹּ֔ב לֹ֥א קַבֹּ֖ה אֵ֑ל וּמָ֣ה אֶזְעֹ֔ם לֹ֥א זָעַ֖ם י-הוה (בלק כג, ח)
“How can I curse those whom God has not cursed; How can I bring anger upon those whom God is not angry at?” (Numbers 23:8)
Fourth Reading: The Space Between the Frames
Balak was the Moabite king. He watched as the Jewish People miraculously overcame the neighboring nations and he was afraid. There was some spiritual power working for the Jewish People. He realized that despite his own prowess at sorcery, overcoming it was beyond his capabilities. He decided to hire Balaam to help fight his cause.
Balaam was a non-Jewish prophet. Instead of utilizing his talent for positive purposes, he exploited it for personal interest. His expertise was to capture the one instant in the day when God is wrathful. Balaam knew that cursing a nation at that instant would bring about their downfall. This made him a well sought-out commodity for nations at war. A profitable trade, indeed.
After initially declining Balak’s request to curse the Jewish People, Balaam eventually acquiesced. Well, Balak had considerably raised the price. He could only gain from the attempt…
How Long is a Wink?
Filmmakers know that for the human brain to register the projection of frames in a movie as a moving continuum, they must be projected faster than twenty-three frames per second. At this rate and no slower, persistence of vision blends the frames together, producing the illusion of a moving image.
Unlike our standard division of an hour into 60 minutes and 3600 seconds, the Torah divides an hour into 1,080 parts. Every part (חֵלֶק) of an hour is also set as equal to 76 instants (רֶגַע). This means that if we bridge these two standards for chronicity, we would find that each Torah-instant is approximately one twenty-third of a second. In Hebrew, a synonym for the measure of an instant is “an eye-wink” (הֶרֶף עַיִן). This is the smallest quanta of time that we can experience visually.
Seeing Creation
One Chasidic innovation regarding time is that God reproduces creation at every moment. As the actors and the audience in God’s ongoing “movie,” we experience creation as a continuous flow. Creation and hence our lives move too fast for us to note each individual frame. If we could capture the space in between the individual “frames” of life’s movie, we would discover the “nothingness” hidden in the background. Then we could see creation coming into being ex nihilo at every moment.
Balaam proclaimed, “I am the man with the open eye.”[9] The sages[10] teach us that he had only one eye, and it was outstandingly evil. Like a black hole that engulfs all energy within its horizon, Balaam’s eye could swallow anything out of existence. He prided himself that he could see that empty space in between frames. He was the master-visionary who could observe any nation or individual, freeze the movie of their existence, and focus on their darkest elements. Balaam found the blemish in whatever he saw and enlarged it out of all proportion until all else disappeared from view.
The profound teaching that “God is wrathful every day,”[11] implies that everything has its bad points. In His great loving-kindness, God has limited His wrath to no longer than an instant each day.[12] As such, it is usually imperceptible.[13] This was the moment that Balaam sought.
When it came to the Jewish People, Balaam was in for a surprise. When he zoomed in between the frames, he could see no darkness, no sinister conniving, nothing negative at all! Instead, he was repeatedly confronted with how much God loves the Jewish People under all circumstances and ignores all our flaws. Or, more precisely, He views them as beauty spots.
The Secret of the Contraction
Kabbalah teaches us that before God created the world, His infinite light, i.e., His revelation filled the universe. To make room, as it were, for Creation, God contracted His light and created an empty space. Balaam tried to tune into this black spot that preceded reality. However, Chasidut teaches us that the contraction of God’s light is not to be taken literally. Even in the apparent darkness, God’s infinite light is fully present. There are no dark spaces in between frames. Balaam’s attempt proved that the Jewish People are always in touch with God’s Infinite Light.
(from inner.org)
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
[1]. Berachot 7a.
[2]. Numbers 24:16.
[3]. Devarim Rabbah 1.
[4]. Proverbs 28:23.
[5]. Tzidkat HaTzaddik 151.
[6]. Likutei Halachot, Hashkamat HaBoker 1.
[7]. Niddah 30b.
[8]. Avot 5:19.
[9]. Numbers 24:3 and 15.
[10]. Rashi on Ibid.
[11]. Psalms 7:12.
[12]. See Ibid. 30:6.
[13]. See Isaiah 26:20.
