This Week In The Torah



Parsha Balak Bamibar/Numbers Ch.Ch22 v2- Ch25 v9

Bilam---A Really With-It Guy
by Rabbi Yechezkel Fox

G-d said to Bilam, "You shall not go with them! You shall not invoke curse upon the people, for it is blessed!" Ch.22/12

When Bilam put in his first request to go with the officers of Balak to curse the Jewish People, he was refused. However, the second time he asked, he got a different response:

G-d came to Bilam at night and said to him,"If the men came to summon you, arise and go with them, but the thing that I shall speak to you, that is what you shall do." Ch.22/20

This time G-d told him he could go. Is it so easy to change G-d's mind, just by being a nudnik? This is strange enough, but what is even stranger is that when Bilam set off, G-d was very angry with him, even though He had just told him he could go. That doesn't seem fair.

The Vilna Gaon explains that there are two words for with in Hebrew: im and es. Im means to be with someone for the same purpose, whereas es means merely to be with someone in the same place. When G-d said in verse 12 that Bilam couldn't go with them, the word used is im, he wasn't allowed to go with them for the purpose of cursing. This did not exclude the possibility of him going with the officers of Bilam es-style,but Bilam was looking for more, so he asked again. In verse 20, when G-d said Bilam could go with them, the word es is used. G-d wasn't changing His mind, he was just saying openly that which He had already hinted at before: Go, but not to curse!

What did Bilam actually do? In verse 21, which describes Bilam's early morning departure with the officers of Balak, the word used in the Hebrew is im. He went im-style, to curse, so, of course, G-d was angry with him.

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How Much, Did You Say?

When Balak sent a second group of officers to bring Bilam to Moav the Torah says:

Bilam answered and said to the servants of Balak, "If Balak were to give me his houseful of silver and gold, I am unable to transgress the word of G-d, my Lord, to do anything small or great." Ch.22/18

Rashi comments:We have learned from here that his soul was broad (i.e. greedy) and he coveted the property of others.

However, in Pirkei Avos (6/9) the story is told of the great Rabbi Yose ben Kisma, who was offered a position in a certain town with a very substantial salary. This was Rabbi Yose's response: "Even if you were to give me all the silver and gold, precious stones and pearls in the world, I would dwell nowhere but in a place of Torah."

Since even a great Rabbi spoke in this manner, and is held up to us as a role model, why was Bilam given such a bad press?

One answer is that Bilam hinted at a fixed amount---a "houseful"---for his wages. Since it was theoretically possible for Balak to procure such an amount, we can assume that this is what Bilam truly desired. Rabbi Yose, on the other hand, asked for an impossibility---all the money in the world. It is obvious, therefore, that he was merely stressing the point that his principles were not for sale at any price.

Sources:Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetzky

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Students Of Bilam

He (Bilam) was riding on his she-donkey and his two young men were with him. Ch. 22/22

Rashi comments: From here we see regarding a man of importance who embarks on a journey that he should bring with him two men to serve him, and they in turn to serve each other.

How can we learn from Bilam how a "man of importance" behaves? The Sages consider him to be one of the lowest people that ever lived. In Ethics Of The Fathers (5:22), they say the following about Bilam: "Those who have an evil eye, an arrogant spirit, and a greedy soul are among the disciples of the wicked Bilam." Hardly a man of importance!

Rather the lesson is, that Bilam, with his arrogant soul, would want to present himself the way important people appear. This was the equivalent of a state visit to Moab, and he had to impress. So he would surely be acting the way important people act.

High profile people who represent states or institutions need to present themselves as important people. Indeed, many of them may well be deserving of such categorization. However, many are just acting out the part, and if we would see their private life as well, they may well qualify as students of Bilam himself.

Sources: Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin-Oznayim LeTorah




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