Parasha: Balak · Aliyah: Fifth (Hod)

ויאמר אליו בלק לך נא אתי, Balak said to him: "please come with me, etc." On the one hand, Balak pleaded, i.e. נא; on the other hand he was authoritative as evident from the command וקבנו לי משם, "and curse for me from there!" We can understand this apparently contradictory behaviour by Balak in terms of what is written in Tanchuma 13 that Balak showed Bileam the place where Israel would become ordinary, i.e. after Moses would die there. Balak did not know what caused Israel to be נפרץ, to suffer such a breach. He thought this presaged sinfulness by Israel, but he did not realise that Israel would immediately repent its conduct which would cancel G'd's decrees against them. The word נא was a plea for Bileam to be quick and to seize the moment G'd would be angry in order to curse the Israelites. Balak wanted Bileam to even express the most powerful curse possible, קבה, while G'd would be angry with them.

קום בלק, "arise Balak, etc." Why did Bileam insist that Balak arise? According to our sages in Bamidbar Rabbah 20,20 that Balak made fun of Bileam who had become a toy in G'd's hands, Bileam wanted to annoy him. This is why he said to him: "get up and listen!" This leaves the question why Bileam added the word ושמע, "and listen" with the letter ו at the beginning? He may have wanted to tell Balak that he should begin to listen immediately, as soon as he stood up.

Alternatively, the reason was because G'd had told Bileam to return to Balak. Bileam interpreted this to mean that Balak had to personally hear all that G'd would have Bileam say the next time. If Bileam had said to Balak simply: "get up, listen, etc," this would have sounded as if the reason Balak was to get up was to enable him to hear what Bileam would say while he was standing. It would not have implied that Balak had to listen. All he would have to do was to be standing. The formulation chosen by Bileam made certain tha Balak understood that he had been commanded to remain standing and to keep listening.

One could also understand the exclamation "get up" as a compliment, i.e. it was an elevation for Balak to listen to what G'd had to say (through the mouth of Bileam). Bileam also wanted to make sure that Balak's ears would be properly attuned to what G'd had to say. Balak being granted the privilege of listening to the words of the living G'd, raised him above his previous status of divining the future by means of the צפור, the bird. This is why Bileam added: בנו צפור, "the bird is his son." Up to that time, Balak hade been the "son" of the bird, i.e. the bird had been the senior, Balak the junior. These roles would now be reversed with Balak becoming senior to the צפור.

There is yet another way of explaining our verse. We had described two evils Bileam had in mind. 1) He wanted to curse the people of Israel and would have done so had G'd not placed a bar in his mouth preventing him from saying what he wanted to say. 2) Even while he pronounced blessings he endeavoured to phrase them in such a way that they were potential curses. It required the Holy Spirit to translate these "so-called blessings" into the real thing. Bileam was aware that Balak suspected him of blessing the Israelites willingly; he wanted to demonstrate to him that this was not the case. This is why he invited Balak to listen closely so that he could detect in the very blessings Bileam pronounced details which were not beneficial at all. In this manner Bileam hoped to prove to Balak that he was acting under compulsion by a higher force. The letter ו before the word ושמע invited Balak to listen carefully to the double entendre in Bileam's blessings. He added the word האזינה in order for Balak to become aware every time the angel twisted the bar in his mouth to prevent him from cursing Israel outright.

לא איש א־ל ויכזב, "G'd is not like man who deceives, etc." Bileam described two attributes of man on two levels comparing them with parallel attributes of G'd. 1) Man makes promises to people concerning certain matters; 2) man tries to avoid becoming dependent on others in his dealings. Concerning the former, Bileam says that the essential difference between G'd and man is that G'd keeps His promises whereas man often deceives, disappoints the people who have been promised by him. Concerning the second attribute, Bileam says that whereas man may change his mind concerning matters he had planned which did not involve undertakings to his fellow man, he nonetheless is apt to have remorse, to change his mind before executing his plan. Not so G'd. When G'd decides on a course of action He will not change His mind even if such a change of mind does not involve a third party. The examples that Bileam had in mind were twofold. 1) G'd had said (to the patriarchs) that He would establish the Kingdom of Israel and deal favourably with that nation. 2) He had planned to give His Torah to His people, the people He considers holy. This latter plan was something G'd had not revealed as a promise to anyone beforehand. Bileam said that G'd does not renege on either of these two plans of His, i.e. the promises made to the patriarchs, nor to His plan to give the holy Torah to the Jewish people and to guide them to perform the commandments. If Bileam would be allowed to curse the Jewish people, G'd would have to renege on both of these two plans of His! How could He allow this to happen? [the important part of this approach is the transitive use of the word ויכזב, and the intransitive use of the word ויתנחם. Ed.]

Why are the two words ויכזב and ויתנחם both preceded by the conjunctive letter ו? Bileam means that G'd is unlike איש and unlike אדם. It is inconceivable to suspect G'd of acting in a fashion which is despicable even if a mere human being acts in such a fashion. When man deceives or reneges this is considered a serious flaw in his character. How could Balak expect G'd to become guilty of such a character flaw by asking him to curse these people? He would have to descend to the level of human beings to even become capable of acting in such a fashion! The reason Bileam once uses the word איש and once the word אדם, is because when one makes promises to others one is perceived as important, i.e. איש; whereas when one merely plans something which does not involve making undertakings to outsiders, the term אדם is more appropriate.

ההוא אמר ולא יעשה, "when He said something, is He not going to do it?" According to the plain meaning of the verse the subject is man. It is, however, possible to understand the verse with the subject being G'd. The meaning would be that in contrast to man, G'd merely has to utter a word and such instructions are turned into deeds all by themselves; man, on the other hand, needs to implement instructions physically in order to accomplish plans he has articulated. When we treat G'd as the subject in our verse the word ההוא refers to the G'd who was mentioned earlier in our verse. Just as G'd created the universe by merely giving verbal directives such as "let there be light," so Bileam refers to G'd's ability to say something which will automatically be done. According to Avot 5,1 the whole universe was created by 10 verbal directives from G'd. ודבר, ולא יקימנו, "and once He has spoken, (given a directive) the resultant action will surely endure." In this part of the verse Bileam differentiates between two different kinds of utterances by G'd each of which is automatically translated into a deed. If the utterance of G'd is אמירה, the action resulting from it may not endure; if it was דבור, however, it will most certainly endure, i.e. יקימנה. Compare Job 26,11 "the pillars of the heavens are trembling, astounded at His blast." [When G'd created the universe in 10 directives the Torah employed the word אמירה, i.e. ויאמר to describe these directives. This is why they were not yet of an enduring nature. Ed.] Chagigah 12 explains that the "blast" mentioned in the verse we quoted from Job means that G'd "blasted" the heavens in order to make them durable. When Bileam uses the term דבר here he refers to G'd making sure that what He brings about by such an utterance will endure on its own.

הנה ברו לקחתי, "Behold, I am bidden to bless, etc." According to our explanation of 23,5 that the word דבר there meant "a thing," i.e. that G'd inserted something inside Bileam's mouth which would insulate the Holy Spirit from Bileam's unworthy mouth, he referred to this when he said לקחתי. This "thing" must have been spiritual in the sense that it was abstract. This may be what the Yalkut Shimoni had in mind when the author called it a מלאך, an agent of G'd. The author of the Yalkut however, does not give the same reason that we gave but says that this מלאך was inserted in Bileam's mouth to prevent him from uttering a curse. Basically, what the Yalkut says and what we have said amounts to the same idea. When Bileam referred to this alien presence in his mouth as הנה, "a presence of some kind," he described this presence as the source of the blessings he was forced to utter. The repeat of the word ברך means that not only did G'd put the potential blessing in his mouth but He made him utter it. The whole verse is Bileam's attempt to show Balak that he acts under compulsion. He adds: ולא אשיבנו, "I cannot even retract it."

לא הביט און ביעקב, "He has not seen iniquity in Jacob, etc." We must try and understand this by reference to a part of the Zohar called Raaye Mehemenuta volume 3 page 265 where we are told that when man sins, the sin leaves a physical impression on the part of his body with which he committed the sin. Our sages consider such parts of the body as being blemished. The meaning of the word און is the name of the physical blemish which results from the commission of a sin. Proverbs 30,20 describes the adulterous woman as saying לא פעלתי און, "I have not done any wrong." We find the same expression in Psalms 125,5: "The Lord makes them go the way of evil-doers." Bileam says that he could not detect any physical blemishes on the body of the people called Jacob which would bear testimomy to their having committed evil. We have already explained that Bileam described the "average" Israelite as יעקב, whereas he described the spiritual elite as ישראל. He meant that though, intellectually speaking, the Israelites had erred on occasion, the result never was serious enough as to leave a blemish on their bodies. Bileam took his cue from the description of the Jewish people in Song of Songs 4,7: כלך יפה רעיתי ומום אין בך. "You are completely fair My beloved, you are totally free from any blemish." The sins the Israelites had been guilty of from time to time did not leave a permanent blemish, nothing that could not be cleansed by a thorough washing. Shir Hashirim Rabbah on Song of Songs 1,5 "I am black and yet beautiful" echoes this sentiment. ולא ראה עמל בישראל "neither has He seen perverseness in Israel." The word עמל usually means toil. Bileam means that G'd did not even find amongst the elite of Israel the kind of temporary blemish which can be scrubbed away only laboriously.

Alternatively, the word און refers to sins of an intellectual nature, similar to Psalms 66,18: "Had I had an evil thought in my mind, etc." Bileam says that G'd does not consider the Israelites culpable for evil thoughts, only for evil deeds. Evil thoughts do not leave behind them the kind of permanent damage that evil deeds do. To make this distinction clear, Bileam uses the expression הבטה in connection with such intellectual sins as opposed to the expression ראיה. The former is a far more intensive kind of look than the latter. What may appear a serious sin at first glance, i.e. ראה, turns out to be less so on doser examination, הביט. The reason Bileam used the word און in connection with Jacob was to tell us that even the sins "Jacob," i.e. the average Israelites had been guilty of at one time or another, did not leave a permanent mark so that we can call Jacob blemished. As far as the elite, the צדיקים amongst the Israelites are concerned, לא ראה עמל, He did not even see that they had sinned by in intent, certainly not by deed. By referring to עמל, toil or burden, Bileam also wanted to convey that although the righteous Israelites perform a host of commandments they do not consider fulfilment of all these commandments burdensome. Contrast this with Psalms 73,16 where Assaph describes the attempt to understand why the wicked appear to prosper as a burdensome task, עמל. Bileam may imply what Solomon spelled out in Proverbs 8,14 that the righteous consider preoccupation with G'd's Torah as acts of courage and the fruit of insight.

Bileam may have something even more far-reaching in mind here. He perceived that because the Jewish people, both the average ones and the elite, perform Torah and the commandments, this "compensates" G'd in a manner of speaking for all the other nations who have not as yet embraced monotheism and acknowledged the kingdom of G'd on earth. Were it not for the מצוה-performance by the Israelites G'd would have destroyed the other nations long ago and would not have displayed so much patience vis-a-vis them. According to this we translate the words לא הביט און, "G'd did not closely scrutinise the sins of the Gentile nations on account of Jacob." Similarly, "He did not even glance at the sins of the Gentile nations superficially, לא רה עמל, on account of Israel, the righteous ones amongst the Jewish people." Our sages have pointed out more than once that as long as the Jewish people observe the Torah G'd lavished His goodness and abundance on the whole of mankind. All the Gentile nations enjoy prosperity and well being thanks to the conduct of Israel. As a result of this, the mere idea of destroying Israel by means of a curse is tantamount to suicide; by whose merit would the Gentile nations continue to exist then? Yet another meaning of Bileam saying: "and He saw no perversity in Israel," may refer to the way G'd receives all the "twittering" of the righteous Israelites who are constantly "bothering" G'd about something or other. G'd does not find this tiresome; it is not burden-some, עמל for Him. Compare Maleachi 2,17: "You have wearied the Lord with your talk."

ה׳ אלוקיו עמו ותרועת מלך בו "the Lord his G'd with him and the shouting of the king is among him." These two statements are parallel to the two statements with which the verse began. The Lord in His capacity as "King" is with the category of Israelites whom Bileam had described previously as Jacob; The average Israelite who performs the commandments out of a sense of duty and fear, and relates to his G'd as מלך, whereas the righteous who perform the commandments out of feelings of love for G'd relate to Him as י־ה־ו־ה אלוקיו. The reason that Bileam added the suffix יו to the name אלוקים was to indicate that if G'd were to subject these people to afflictions they would not use this as an excuse to turn away from Him. The expression תרועת מלך is meant to describe the awe in which the "Jacob" category of Israelites relates to Him.

The entire verse is also a compliment to the Israelites who are the only nation G'd has chosen for His presence to dwell amongst. Not only that, but G'd has given this people a supernatural power enabling them to destroy everything they have a mind to, much like a king. The words תרועת מלך are a reminder that they do not have to invoke G'd's help but are able to do all this by themselves. The Talmud is full of examples where the righteous killed with merely a glance when the situation demanded it.

We could also find an allusion to an earthly king in the words ותרועת מלך בו. The Talmud Berachot 61 describes the Romans torturing Rabbi Akiva by flaying his flesh with iron combs while he tried to end his life with the words ה׳ אחד, signifying the Unity of G'd on his lips. The meaning of the words then would be that even when Jews are being tortured by earthly kings merely for being Jews, such Jews remain loyal to their G'd to their last breath.

א־ל מוציאם ממצרים, "G'd who has brought them out of Egypt, etc." Although the Talmud Berachot 38 understands the word מוציא as if it were in the past tense [in connection with the benediction we pronounce before eating bread, Ed.], the fact is that Bileam used the present tense rather than the past tense about G'd orchestrating the Exodus. Why did he do this? Perhaps we can best explain this in light of the statement in Pessachim 116 that every Jew throughout the ages must bring himself to feel that he himself took part in the Exodus of our forefathers from Egypt. In fact, basing themselves on this statement in the Talmud, the Kabbalists are sure that each and every year on the anniversary i.e. the night of the 14th of Nissan to the 15th, people have a chance to get rid of spiritually negative influences, the forces of the קליפה which they absorbed during the year, and emerge with all the sanctity of their souls intact. Bileam therefore alluded to the annual renewal of the spiritual part of the Exodus experience that the Jewish people experience. He even provided a reason for this when he said כתועפות ראם לו, "they are for him like the lofty horns of the wild-ox." This is an allusion to G'd continuously elevating the Jewish people spiritually to ever higher levels. This process will continue until every vestige of spiritual impurity has been purged from the Israelites. כי לא נחש ביעקב ולא קסם בישראל "for there is no enchantment in Jacob nor is there any divination in Israel." Bileam employs a double entendre; on the one hand he uses the word נחש in the sense it is used by sorcerers, on the other he alludes to the original serpent, the original temptress, seducer. Bileam claims that on both counts the Israelites are in the clear. They do not have anything to fear from either as they do not indulge in the practice of any kind of magic. Eventually, Jacob will become totally free of the evil urge, the angel of death, etc. Compare Zachariah 13,2 "I will remove the spirit of impurity from earth." ולא קסם, this refers to an impurity of a lesser degree. Bileam says that the Israelites will not even be afflicted by this and will be on a higher spiritual level than the angels. We know this from our sages in Bamidbar Rabbah 20,20 who told us that the words יאמר ליעקב מה פעל א־ל are an allusion to the angels asking and consulting Israel about the works of G'd.

הן עם כלביא יקום "Behold, it is a nation that arises like a lion etc." The word הן suggests that the speaker concurs with something another person has said. An example would be what we learned in Shabbat 119 that on Friday night when the Jew returns from the synagogue to a house in which the table is set for the Sabbath meal, also the "evil angel" who accompanies him has to answer Amen to the wish expressed by the "good angel" that this Jew should do likewise in the week to follow. [The concept is preserved in the song יום שבת קדש הוא sung on Friday night, i.e. ומלאך רע יענה אמן. Ed.] In our situation Bileam expressed the wish that the Israelites continue their virtuous ways. Bileam mentions two categories of lion in this verse. לביא refers to a lion that arises for the first time. Soldiers who are inexperienced in battle do not usually distinguish themselves for bravery the first time they go to war. Not so the lion. He displays bravery already the first time he faces an adversary. Bileam applies this quality to the Jewish people. The Jewish people proved valiant though they had a history of hundreds of years of slavery behind them. Nonetheless they overcame such mighty kings as Sichon and Og. Bileam continues וכארי יתנשא, saying that unlike other nations who gradually lose their strength, becoming exhausted by the many wars they fight, the Israelites will lift themselves up like a mature lion time and again without showing signs of age.

Bileam may also have alluded to the fact that in addition to the strength granted them by G'd, this people enjoyed a reputation that made other people shudder at the mere mention of their name, (compare Joshua 2,24 "all the inhabitants of the country have melted before us"). The words כלביא יקום describe Israel's actual valour; the words וכארי יתנשא describe its image amongst the nations.

לא ישכב עד יאכל טרף "it will not lie down until it has consumed its prey." Other nations interrupt warfare at nightfall, giving the losers a respite; not so Israel. Once it is at war it will continue without interruption until successful. Compare Joshua 10,12-13 where Joshua is described as commanding time to stand still in order to complete the pursuit of his enemies. Israel is not ready to lie down until it consumes part of its prey.

ודם חללים ישתה, "and it will drink the blood of the slain (enemies)." It is human nature that the more the casualties in war mount, the more important the value of the survivors. This is so when one thinks of the enemy in terms of life or death. Not so when the Jewish people go to war. Seeing they relate to the blood of the fallen as a drink to slake their thirst with, the number of fallen does not act as a brake on their desire to kill more of their enemies.

Bileam was specific in describing the blood of the fallen as something the Israelites would drink, i.e. absorb into their bodies, thereby confirming what we have already mentioned that the spark of sanctity which was trapped inside the fallen soldier may have been released now and may yearn to attach itself to the sanctity of the Jewish soldier who liberated it. It may thus be absorbed by the Jewish soldier drinking it. [The whole verse is hyperbole, of course, as the consumption of blood is forbidden to Jews on pain of karet, premature death of the sinner, Ed.] I refer the reader to what we have written on Numbers 14,9 "for they are our bread." From this verse our sages in Chulin 35 derive that blood is considered a drink rather than a food in Jewish law.

גם קב לא חקבנו, "neither curse them, etc." Both the word גם, "also," and the repetition of the verb קב present a difficulty in this verse. Inasmuch as Bileam had told Balak to get up and listen carefully (23,18), Balak interpreted this as a hint that Bileam actually wanted to curse the Israelites but that G'd had thwarted him, as we explained. In view of what had just occurred he said גם to express his dismay that not only had Bileam not cursed the people but had even blessed them. He referred to two possibilities of cursing when he repeated the word. Alas, Bileam had not only not named Israel as the object of a curse but had not even uttered a curse without specifically naming the victim. We may infer from Balak's words that Bileam had been looking for a way of uttering a curse without at the same time incurring punishment at the hands of G'd. He wanted to utter a curse indiscriminately, naming the victim only in his heart. This is the reason that G'd had to prevent him from even uttering a curse without naming anybody.

גם ברך, "also blessing, etc." In view of the fact that Bileam had explained to Balak that the blessings he had uttered were forced upon him, Balak now demurs saying that if he could not curse them at least he was not obligated to bless them. Balak was under the impression that G'd twisted Bileam's mouth so that a blessing came out only because Bileam had tried to utter a curse first. He repeated the verb i.e. לא תברכנו, do not bless them, to protest even a blessing which Bileam did not mean honestly.

ויען בלעם…לאמור Bileam replied…saying, etc. What is the meaning of the word לאמור, in this context? To whom was Balak supposed to relate Bileam's words? Bileam meant that what he had told Balak previously was to make plain to Balak that he, Bileam, had to curse or to bless at G'd's whim, that he was not free to even keep his mouth shut.