Machshavot HaLev - Yeshivat Lev HaTorah

190
Balak
Live as a Jew
Rav Eyal Gottlieb
I n this week’s sedra we encounter Bilam, a man of great spiritual powers, but
one that continuously desires to use his spiritual powers to harm and damage others.
Instead of trying to use his skills to teach and to educate, to speak up for holiness
and for goodness, he tries to use his powers to curse and thereby to help annihilate
Klal Yisrael. Naturally, the question arises, why would Hashem grant such great
spiritual power to such an evil and ruthless individual? Our Sages (Sifri, end of Sefer
Devarim) teach us that Hashem actually wished to show the nations that indeed, you
had prophets of your own, but instead of using them to advance spiritually, even your
prophet(s) were wicked and used their power in a negative manner.
As we know, Hashem transformed Bilam’s words to be words of respect and love
toward Am Yisrael in general, and specifically toward Am Yisrael’s Godly values of
purity, holiness, tznius, goodness etc., as he expressed, “How goodly are your tents, O
Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel….” (24:5), and “May my soul die the death of the
upright, and may my end be like his” (23:10).
The Chofetz Chaim expounded that although Bilam wished to die as a Jew, he wasn’t
willing to make the effort necessary to live like a Jew. He wanted to attain the madreiga
(level) of a Jew and to benefit from it in the World to Come without earning it naturally
through toil and effort in this world; but it is the toil and effort that produce spiritual
growth.