Balak, king of Moav, gives these chapters his name; however, the dominant character of the story is Bil’am, the Gentile prophet of spiritual stature comparable to that of Moshe Rabbenu. The presence of this prophet prevents other peoples from justifying their mistakes by claiming that, had they had a spiritual leader comparable to that of the Hebrew people, they would have reached a higher level.

Our text tells that Bil’am was invited by Balak to curse the Hebrew people, after having concluded that the traditional way of facing an adversary could not be applied in the Hebrew case. Other nations had already failed with weapons. Balak concluded that the energy of the Hebrews had a spiritual quality, therefore, it was in this field that the confrontation should be conducted. Balak was disillusioned by Bil’am, who, instead of cursing, blessed the Hebrew people. Observing the Hebrew camp from the top of a mountain, Bil’am could not help but express his admiration for the Hebrew people and was forced to exclaim: “Ma tovu ohalecha Yaacov, mishkenotecha Israel“, “How goodly are your tents, Yaacov, your habitat, Israel“, a phrase that is used to start the daily morning prayers.

It is clear that Bil’am’s intention was to curse the people, to use his powers to hurt the Hebrews. Why did he bless them? Perhaps, because as a man inspired by God, he could not change what he saw and had to applaud the peaceful and harmonious life that reigned in the Hebrew camp.

According to the Midrash, Ohalecha and Mishkenotecha refer to synagogues and houses of study.  Bil’am had to recognize that he was in the presence of a human group that had broken the patterns of idolatry and was climbing levels of spirituality hitherto unknown. Parents passed on to their children the values that Moses had instilled. 

The Rebbe of Slonim, author of Netivot Shalom, suggests that Bil’am’s nefarious power could only have an effect on an individual, but was ineffective against the collective. When Bil’am visualized the Hebrew community as a whole and observed the spirit of harmony and understanding among the people, his powers to curse were nullified. The obvious moral is that in the face of unity and coincidence in values there is no enemy or adversity that is invincible. 

Bil’am then advised the Mo’avites to send their maidens to sexually seduce the people, to lead them through adultery to idolatry. The idea was to divide the Hebrew people between those who succumbed to temptation and those who resisted it. The biblical text states that 24,000 Hebrews could not resist the advances of the Mo’avite women. With this behavior, they separated themselves from the rest of the people and weakened them.

Jewish history bears witness to the above. The solidarity and unity that reigned within the people allowed it to survive all attacks against it. Taking into account the diversity, a result of the dispersion of the Jewish people to the ends of the earth, it can be concluded that the coincidence and harmony prevailing within the people have a philosophical or spiritual root. The biblical text is probably the cement that turns a scattered group into a unity.

This was expressed by Bialik in his famous poem Im yesh et nafshecha lada’at. According to Bialik, the house of study is the “source” of the exceptional energy of the Jewish people. The mystic Arizal argues that the souls of those who were trapped by the seduction of the Moavite women transmigrated from the 24,000 students who perished in the time of Rabbi Akiva and in whose memory the period of mourning of the Omer is observed. According to tradition, their death was due to a lack of respect for others. Disunity was their sin. And when the union fractures, the Jewish people become vulnerable.