From:          "Yeshivat Har Etzion's Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash"
To:            yhe-intparsha@vbm-torah.org
Subject:       INTPARSHA -40: Parashat Balak


                     YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
         ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
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               INTRODUCTION TO PARASHAT HASHAVUA

                      by Rav Alex Israel


                       PARASHAT BALAK



At first glance, this parasha looks like something
out of Dungeons and Dragons: We have blessings and curses,
talking donkeys, a frustrated demented king, and a traveling
wizard whose curses repeatedly turn into blessings. Bil'am  the
sorcerer and prophet is invited to curse the Children of Israel
and it all goes rather wrong.

We would like to focus this week on one central question
whose answer will radically affect our entire view of the
parasha: is Bil'am evil?

Chazal (our Sages) refer to Bil'am quite standardly as
Bil'am HaRasha (the wicked). He is seen as greedy, egoistic, and
a Jew hater. He attempts to subvert even God himself!   Was he
really such a villain?


THE POSITIVE VIEW

A number of commentators, the Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben
Nachman, Spain, 1194-1274) at the top of the list, view Bil'am
in a remarkably positive light. They bring convincing proofs for
their position from the text of the story itself. In fact, if
you would stop reading now, pick up a Chumash and read the
beginning of our parasha (Ch. 22 v. 2-20) you might begin to see
what they mean.

Bil'am's motto, a phrase which he repeats time after time
throughout the parasha , seems to be :

"Even if Balak gives me his house full of silver and
gold, I cannot do anything, big or little , contrary to
the word of the Lord my God"  (See also 24:13)

and in another variation:

"I can only repeat faithfully what the LORD puts in my
mouth." (23:12 and see also 22:7,13,38. 23:26.)

Bil'am appears as a paradigm of obedience and submission
to God. One can view almost the entire story from this vantage
point. At every step, Bil'am does nothing before he has
consulted with God. When God tells him not to accompany Balak's
ministers, he faithfully transmits God's message and refuses to
go along with them. Only when God allows him to go, does he
agree to their summons. Even when asked by King Balak himself,
he gives no assurances. He simply repeats his motto that he is
subject to the desires of God and that God is his sole
controller.

Bil'am comes over as a man of integrity. A good man.

This character appraisal of Bil'am would appear to be
accurate were it not for some strong contrary indications in the
text. After Bil'am forwards Balak's second request to God, God
allows him to go. However no sooner had he left, we read how

"God was incensed at his going and placed an angel of the
Lord in his way as an adversary." (22:22)

In addition, there is the story of the angel with sword drawn
coming apparently to stop Bil'am fulfilling his evil plan.

The Ramban (22:22) does not see in these verses refutation
of his overall view of Bil'am:

"God's desire, was to bless the people of Israel through
the prophet of the gentiles. Bil'am should have told
Balak's ministers explicitly 'I have been permitted by
God to accompany you, but only on condition that I do not
curse the people and that if God instructs me, I will
bless them"'... Now Bil'am in his eagerness to go with
them did not relate this message and said nothing at all.
'When he rose in the morning, Bil'am saddled his ass and
departed with the Moabite dignitaries' (22:21)... as if
he desired to do their bidding. God was angry at his
going because had he told them, they would not have asked
him to go. In addition there was the defamation of God in
that his leaving, as if by God's consent, gave the
impression that God had given permission to curse the
people...."

The incident with the angel is to correct this fault in
Bil'am's attitude. The angel tells Bil'am how he has distorted
God's permit allowing him to go to Balak (See the Ramban's
translation of pasuk 22) - he should have made his intentions
clearly understood. Bil'am repentingly offers to return home,
but God simply warns him a second time that he will say none
other than that which God instructs him to say.

Bil'am is still a good, God-fearing man; he merely made a
mistake, which he was prepared to correct when it was pointed
out to him (see 22:36).


BIL'AM HARASHA

Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzchak, France, 1040-1105) sees
Bil'am as a negative figure from the outset. We will review just
a few of his comments in this vein.

After the first approach by Balak's people, God tells
Bil'am (22:12) "Do not go with them. You must not curse that
people, for they are blessed." Rashi (quoting the Midrash
Tanchuma) reads this as an exchange between Bil'am and God: To
the command of God, "Do not go with them", Bil'am replies, "Then
I will curse them from here!". "You must not curse that people"
says God, to which Bil'am answers, "then I will bless them." God
says "They are (already) blessed," as one says of the hornet :
'not of your honey nor your sting.'

Bil'am replies to the Moabite messengers: (22:13) "The Lord
will not let me go with you". Rashi, quoting the Tanchuma again,
reads this phrase in an arrogant, self-centered tone:

"The Lord will not let me go with YOU - but rather with
ministers of a higher rank than you. We see from here 
his haughtiness. He didn't want to demonstrate that he
was under the authority of God, but rather used a proud
tone. Balak responded, (22:15), 'Then Balak sent other
dignitaries, more numerous and distinguished than the
first.'"

Rashi here illustrates Bil'am as egoistic, fortune seeking
and proud.

Rashi also accuses Bil'am of "an insatiable desire for
wealth and excessive greed." When Bil'am turns down Balak's
offer with the words "Even if Bil'am gives me his house full of
silver and gold ..." (22:18) Rashi reads between the lines
noting Bil'am's hidden agenda of wealth. Bil'am realizes his
market value if he could defeat the Israelites single-handedly
and save Balak the cost of a war. He therefore suggests that an
appropriate reward might be a house worth of gold and silver.

Rashi completes the picture of the evil Bil'am with a note
on the verse (22:21) "When he rose in the morning, Bil'am
saddled his ass and departed with the Moabite dignitaries." Why
would the proud, honor-seeking Bil'am do his own dirty work? Why
would he saddle his own animal? Rashi comments :

"We learn from here that intense hatred can distort even
ingrained character traits.... Here he saddled his ass
personally.
WITH THE MOABITE DIGNITARIES: his heart and their hearts
in unison."

There is one not insignificant question which threatens to
challenge this view of Bil'am. Why did God let Bil'am go? Why
did he not ban him from making the journey?

To this Rashi presents an answer that reflects our
principle of free-will as well as the determination of Bil'am
(22:33):

"A person is lead in the way in which he desires to go"

God helps people to travel along the path of their
desires. If Bil'am wishes to curse the Israelites, so be it. Let
him pay the cost of his crime at a later date. In the meantime,
God lets him follow his hearts desire.


UNDERSTANDING RASHI AND THE RAMBAN

When confronted with a difference of opinion of this type,
we must ask ourselves how two Bible scholars could come to such
contrasting conclusions based on the same text. What is the
textual basis of each opinion?

In a certain sense, the beginning of our parasha (Ch. 22)
seems to give two separate stories of Bil'am and it is the
disparity between the two stories which gives rise to the
ambiguity regarding the nature of Bil'am's character.

Let us explain. The story can be split into two discreet
sections. In essence, we see before us two 'stories':

The first about Bil'am being approached with an offer from Balak
and faithfully turning to God with each request, following His
word at every turn.

The second story is that of Bil'am and his ass. In this second
story, the Moabite dignitaries seem to be nowhere in sight (See
Ramban 22:33) and we witness Bil'am in his confrontation with
the angel who is apparently sent to stop him.

Interestingly enough, both stories conclude with almost an
identical phrase;(Compare verse 20-21 with verse 35. There are
some variations) that "Go with the men but you will only repeat
what I tell you. And Bil'am went with the dignitaries of
Moav/Balak."

The first 'story' seems to present a near perfect Bil'am.
He is God-fearing, loyal and obedient. When Bil'am accompanies
the Moabite emissaries, we know that it has full Divine
approval. We have no reason to believe that God should be angry
in any way

The second 'story', however, sets a different scene. Its
opening line is "God was incensed at his going" and it continues
with the strange story of the talking donkey. The impression one
draws from the story is definitely one of God's displeasure at
Bil'am.

This strange story is God's way of trying to get through
to Bil'am. What message is God sending him? God is expressing
to Bil'am the limits of human perception. Bil'am cannot see that
which his donkey sees. The human mind does not always see the
Divine. Bil'am has some thinking to do if he is to 'see' the
truth. Maybe, in addition, God is illustrating to him that the
power of speech is in the hands of God and not man. In the usual
order of things donkeys cannot speak, humans can. But if God
chooses, donkeys CAN speak and by the same logic, Bil'am
should realize that his speech is in God's hands. Important messages
for a man on a mission to curse an entire nation.

These two 'stories' are the background information that we
are told regarding Bil'am. It would seem that the RAMBAN takes
the first section of Chapter 22 as his starting point. Bil'am is
basically good. He slips up. Honor and glory get in the way of
his better side. God gets angry, Bil'am apologizes, and we move
on. And, in the final analysis, Bil'am comes through. Bil'am
blesses the Jewish people rather than cursing them. He deviates
not a letter from what God has told him to say.

Rashi however, seems to rely on the second story as the
defining factor regarding Bil'am. The first half of Chapter 22
is read with the prior knowledge of the latter half. God is
clearly angry with Bil'am for going. Bil'am never seems to get
the message that God is displeased, maybe because he doesn't
want to accept its implications.

Bil'am acts like a child nagging his parent for something
that the child wants contrary to his parent's better judgment.
Bil'am seems persistent in asking God repeatedly, and when he
hears a positive response, jumps at the chance. He seems not to
notice that God isn't exactly 'smiling' at him and that from an
outsider's perspective, it would be clear that God would prefer
that he stay at home.

It is in this light that Rashi interprets the entire first
section of the Chapter. Bil'am is painted with foreboding
colors.


BIL'AM'S SECOND ATTEMPT

If this were the only information at our disposal, it
would be difficult to understand why Bil'am is so widely
perceived in a negative light. Both Rashi and the Ramban have
logic and support behind their positions.

However, the story does not end with Bil'am returning home
(24:25). He reappears later in Sefer Bemidbar in two places.

The story of Bil'am and Balak is followed immediately (Ch.
25) by an epidemic of promiscuity and idol worship in the camp
of Israel. A plague ensues leaving 24,000 dead. The apparent
perpetrators of the immorality are the Midianites - the same
people who originally called on Bil'am's services.

God says (25:7) "Assail the Midianites and defeat them for
they assailed you by the trickery they practiced against you
...." Apparently, there is some element of underhand activity
which has been deliberately planned to ensnare the Israelites in
an orgy of idolatry and immorality.

Who is behind it all?

The children of Israel go to war against the Midianites
(31:8-15)

"They killed BIL'AM BEN BEOR by the sword ....And Moses
said "Why have you left the women alive? They are the very
ones who, on BIL'AM'S advice, induced the Israelites to
trespass in the matter of Peor and the community of the
Lord was struck by the plague."

It would appear that Bil'am is the mastermind behind a
scheme which caused serious damage to the fabric of the
Israelite camp. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 106a) describes Bil'am's
thinking:

"Bil'am said, "Their God despises promiscuity and they
(the Israelites) enjoy fine cloth. Let me suggest a plan.
Set up stalls selling fine cloth. Place an old woman at
the door and a young prostitute inside." They set up the
stalls ... When the Israelites came  to the market, the
old woman offered fine cloth at a high price, the younger
girl offered it for less, time after time."

The Talmud continues as to how this familiarity was used
to offer the Israelites wine, leading to sexual activity which
after some time was conditioned on idol worship.

The Talmud continues:

"And they killed Bil'am by the sword (31:8). [He had
already gone home (24:25) so what was he doing there?].
He had returned to receive his payment for causing the
plague of 24,000 dead amongst the Israelites."

In the light of this information, it is difficult not to
see Bil'am as a cunning, greedy and downright evil. He is a
dangerous man. The Mishna in Avot (5:23) states :

"He who has an evil eye, greed and haughtiness are is
following the hallmarks of the wicked Bil'am."


POTENTIAL AND FULFILLMENT

It would seem that we have reinforced Rashi's perspective.
Rashi builds his opinion based on the wider context and looks at
the totality of what we know about Bil'am before making a
judgment. He realizes that a mind which can devise and  activate
a plan to bring Israel into disfavor with its God must have a
motivation. That motivation is one of three: pure wickedness,
pride, or greed. God would not let Bil'am curse the Jewish
nation so Bil'am found another way to cause harm.

But what of the Ramban? The Ramban, certainly, is truer to
the language of the beginning of the parasha. How might he fit
into the wider context?

Maybe we can offer the following thought. Bil'am is a
prophet. Indeed Bil'am is seen as the Gentile equivalent of
Moses, the greatest of the prophets (Sifrei).

According to the Jewish tradition, prophecy comes only to
those with perfected intellect and character. A controlled,
ethical temper is a prerequisite for prophecy. The Ramban is
unwilling to define Bil'am as evil from the start because his
gift of prophecy would indicate otherwise.

Indeed, Balak testifies to Bil'am's exceptional power:

"whom you bless is indeed blessed and who you curse is
cursed" (22:6).

Only one other figure in the Bible is described by a
similar epithet. It is Abraham. God tells Abraham

"I will bless those who bless you and curse him that
curses you" (Genesis 12:3)

However, with prophecy, as with any Divine given talent,
comes responsibility. How does Bil'am deal with the
responsibility of being the greatest Gentile prophet? How does
he actualize his spiritual potential?

Whereas Abraham uses his power to promote kindness, faith
in God, honesty, and justice, Bil'am promotes immorality and
idolatry. Bil'am abuses and wastes his spiritual potential to do
good, by turning to evil. [In fact, the Talmud (Sanhedrin 106a)
picks up on this point and notes that originally Bil'am was a
prophet, but later on, is referred to as merely a sorcerer.]

"A person is lead in the way in which he desires to go."

Every person, no matter what his or her background, can
determine their life. We can choose good and we can choose bad.
We can build or destroy. Only we decide. And God lets us be the
way we want to be. Even the greatest past does not necessarily
secure a great future.

Whether Bil'am started off good or bad is of less
relevance to us. What is important to us is that he goes down in
history as Bil'am Harasha - the wicked Bil'am - because of the
course of action that he chose. The questions that this parasha
leaves us with relate to direction, potential and fulfillment.
The man with the greatest potential seems to squander it.

This is a parasha where donkeys see more clearly than
humans. God signals to Bil'am what is right and Bil'am is
determined to close his eyes, going his own way. Maybe the
lesson for us is to follow the clues that God leaves on our path
and to let that pathway lead us towards God and goodness.

Shabbat Shalom.


YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH
ALON SHEVUT, GUSH ETZION 90433

Copyright (c) 1999 Yeshivat Har Etzion
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