“Bilaam replied to Balak’s officials, “Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, big or little, contrary to the command of my God יהוה.”
—Numbers 22:18
Bilaam, a non-Israelite prophet of Adonai (come to Torah study Saturday morning to find out more!), is approached by Moabite King Balak to curse Israel. King Balak, apparently fearful of the power and strength God & Israel has shown against the Amorites, would seemingly give anything just to curse Israel.
In a story that seemingly combines Torah, fable, and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bilaam is all but forced to disobey God’s will (and the will of his talking Donkey) again and again because of King Balak’s seemingly incessant hatred for Israel. The story comes to a climax with Bilaam standing beside a desperate King Balak, begging Bilaam to curse Israel. Bilaam even helps Balak offer sacrifices to Adonai! When Bilaam goes to speak his curse against Israel, Adonai permits nothing but blessing: “Mah Tovu, Ohalecha Ya’akov! Behold your beautiful tents, O Jacob! Mishk’notecha Yisrael! O dwellings of Israel!”
Chafetz Chaim, a law code regarding upstanding speech, points out that King Balak could have just as easily asked for a blessing for himself, but instead, he actively yearned for Israel’s demise. My dad likes to say, “There is no such thing as a bad example, but there are wonderful examples of how not to behave.” May we all learn from King Balak’s awful example, and bless ourselves again and again before we even think to offer curses upon others—
Rabbi Brett Weisman