The Jews who sinned in Shittim did not have the option to return. Their sin demanded an immediate Heavenly response. Bilaam was well aware of this. He knew that Hashem had forgiven (to an extent) the sin of the Golden Calf. The punishment for the sin of the meraglim, spies, was meted out over the remainder of their journey – albeit they were no longer worthy of entering Eretz Yisrael. What about Shittim claimed their lives? Horav Shimshon Pincus, zl, explains that, as long as the sin/discord remains within the “family,” behind closed doors, no room exists for negotiation. Once the Jew acts like the goyim that surround him, however, once he becomes one of them, he has no margin of error to allow reprieve. Rav Pincus compares this to a spousal spat which blows up into a major discord to the point that everyone on the street is aware, and it has become their favorite topic of conversation. Once it spreads beyond the privacy of the home, very little can be done about it.
The wicked Bilaam was acutely aware of this phenomenon, “They are a nation to themselves – le’vadad yishkon” (ibid 23:19). This is what protects us. Even when someone fails, we keep it in the family. Bilaam’s last hurrah, his last opportunity to destroy the Jewish People, was to get them to sin publicly with the shiksas. Once we act like goyim, we irreparably distance ourselves from Hashem. That was Bilaam’s goal.
