BALAK NUMBERS XXII,2 – XXV,9

Sichon, king of Emor and Og, king of Bashan are defeated and now the people aproaches  Moav, to the terror of their king Balak. How to stop the inexorable march of these Egyptian serfs in their eagerness to conquer new lands and peoples? Balak concludes that it will be futile to confront desperate slave tribes, drunk with enthusiasm because of their recent freedom, with soldiers and weapons. It is impossible, he concludes, to try to stop them by resorting to the use of power, because he realizes that the Hebrew strength is not physical order, but rather lies in a firm conviction and attachment to a new ideology or sense of destiny. 

The invincible courage of these tribes that thrown into the wilderness, shows that ideas and thought are their nourishment, that they are encouraged by words and reflection. Balak concludes that the word must be confronted with the word and that the idea can only be defeated by another idea. In his attempt to stop the advance of these hordes of slaves, Balak turns to the services of the gentile prophet Bileam.

Our text teaches us that the sensibility of Bileam, (characterized in the Jewish tradition as an example of evil, notwithstanding his capacity of direct communication with the Divine through prophecy), is not indifferent to the outstanding harmony that reigns in the Hebrew camp. And when, in response to Balak’s request, he sets out to curse the Hebrews, his verb becomes one of the most beautiful and descriptive commentaries on the structure of the Jewish home. Indeed, his phrase “Mah tovu ohalecha Yaacov, mishkenotecha Israel”, which means, “how beautiful are your tents, Oh Jacob, and your abodes, Oh Israel“, is used to initiate our daily prayers.

It seems ironic that it was not possible to find a Pasuk, (Biblical verse), authentically Jewish and that we had to resort to the eloquence of a Gentile to start our morning religious service. It can be argued that this is a demonstration of our breadth of judgment and, at the same time, of our acumen to recognize the quality of the authentic, without prejudice as to its source.

The story corresponding to our weekly chapters begins with the sending of a delegation of notables to solicit the services of Bileam to curse the Jewish people. Bileam replies that he responds solely to the Creator’s guidelines. The result of a Divine consultation is negative.  Balak decides then to send an entourage composed of higher-level emissaries. After a new night consultation with God, Bileam agrees to the request. According to our text, Bileam incurs the wrath of God for having accepted Balak’s invitation.  

Perhaps the Eternal’s anger is due to Bileam´s spinning a “permission” into a “sacred mission” that turns an “option” into a Mitsvah. Although Bileam constantly repeats that he responds strictly to Divine instructions, one can read between the lines what he is looking for is the right opportunity to satisfy Balak’s request.

One of the essential qualities of every prophet is absolute sincerity when he offers prayer. Prophecy is the supreme moment of honesty and authenticity, when all consideration is set aside for the eventual consequences of words, which can be not only painful but also fatal. How do you explain, for example, the audacity of the prophet Nathan when he confronts the powerful and authoritarian King David for having sent Uriah, the husband of the coveted Bat Sheva, to certain death? Atah haish,” you are the man,” exclaims the prophet Nathan when he accuses King David of the vile crime.

Prophecy causes the prophet to move to a different dimension of reality, where fear and instinct to survive play no role. Prophecy demands and allows a clear view of things that is not nuanced or distorted by personal interests or by personal considerations that may interfere with the correct appreciation of the human condition.

Bileam is, without a doubt, a complex and conflicting personality. He belongs to the world of the Gentiles and identifies personally with Balak’s fears of the apparent might and crushing strength of the freed Hebrew slaves. He knows their exploits and has heard about the victorious trajectory of the Jewish people and therefore anticipates with terror the possible fate of the people of Moav. But at the same time, he has become intellectually independent of sorcery and has abandoned the superstitions that affect the thought of his contemporaries. 

Bileam knows that there is only one God who rules the destiny of the universe. Intellectually and spiritually, Bileam is a prophet, but emotionally he remains bound to concepts and ideas that allow a human being to be regarded as an object, that man can be the property of another human being. He continues in the belief that it is possible and therefore right to try, by means of bribes and praises, to influence the Divine Will and modify it. 

Moses’ prophecy, on the other hand, is neither partial nor circumstantial because his whole being participates in it. In the book of Shemot we found the expression hu Moshe veAharon, “they are the same Mosesand Aron“, a verse that attests to their wholesomeness and total trust in God. At no time do we detect in them any doubt about Providence. The only weakness we can detect in Moshe is a certain hesitation about the will of his people to overcome the difficulties inherent in building a new society and people.

Moshe is unaware of slavery in the flesh because he was educated in the palace of Pharaoh by his sister Miryam and his mother Yocheved. For this reason, Moshe does not substitute his cultural and religious background for that of the Egyptians, as he was not really exposed to them. On the other hand, Bileam stands out because he breaks with his own tradition in order to serve the one and only God of all mankind. I argue, however, that Bileam fails to completely depart from the environment that nurtured him. In his innermost self, there is still room for witchcraft and spells. He still lives in a world that affirms the possibility of influencing divine designs through the offering of sacrificed animals.

Many centuries have passed since and many events have changed the social structures and cultural patterns of humanity. To a large extent, we have overcome the Egyptian biblical stage of idolatry, with its cult of the dead and its obsession with knowing the Hereafter up close. Our goal is, without a doubt, to approach the social sensitivity of the Neviim, the prophets, and to be able to observe closely the sublime spiritual environment in which Moshe acted.

Nevertheless, it can be argued that the characteristics of our time show a greater affinity with the personality of Bileam. At the same time, it is also a fact that we have moments of spiritual exaltation that result in an occasional identification with the less fortunate and with those who are subject to humiliation and discrimination.

But we often identify with contemporary idolatry that manifests itself in the constant pursuit of pleasure, in the accumulation of material goods and in indifference to poverty, hunger, disease and malaise that affect a large part of the population of our planet.

Shabbat, which is a moment that is situated outside the daily chores of the rest of the week and that orders the reading of some chapters of the Torah, along with the reflections that emerge from its study, maybe the incentive to propel us on the authentically Jewish path: that of Avraham, Yitschak and Yaacov. This is the path of Gemilut Chasadim, Hakravat korban, and Talmud Torah, which consists of keeping active social conscience, willingness to give of oneself, in addition to the creative study of the spiritual foundations of man.