Balak – Peninim on the Torah

מה טובו אהליך יעקב משכנתיך ישראל

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5784

How goodly are your tents O’ Yaakov, your dwelling places O’ Yisrael. (24:5)

Rashi explains that Bilaam was impressed by the modesty and sensitivity which the arrangement of the tents demonstrated. It indicated the importance of the family unit. Bilaam ha’rasha posits that the perpetuation of Klal Yisrael is contingent upon the preservation of the family unit, which is central to Jewish life and identity on several levels. Within Jewish families (that bond together) we transmit traditions, customs and rituals from generation to generation. The family serves as the primary setting for learning about the history – both religious and cultural – of our people. Parents, as well as grandparents, play a significant…

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לא הביט און ביעקב

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5784

He perceived no iniquity in Yaakov. (23:21)

Rashi explains (based upon a Midrash) that, even when Klal Yisrael sins, Hashem chooses not to scrutinize their sin to the full extent of their shortcomings. This does not mean that we are perfect. People sin — and some sin egregiously — but Hashem knows that, despite their nefarious behavior, their neshamah, soul, which is a part of the Divine, remains untarnished, and, as such, it can/will return. While the soul will remain pure, we are still accountable for our actions, and we must strive to live an ethical and moral life. The belief in the intrinsic purity of the…

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ויאמר בלעם אל בלק בנה לי בזה שבעה מזבחות

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5784

Bilaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me.” (23:1)

Balak complied to Bilaam’s request and erected seven Altars upon which he offered seven cows and seven rams. He did this three times for a total of forty-two sacrifices. While Balak’s attempt to curse the Jewish people yielded no immediate effect, it did play itself out negatively generations later in the time of Elisha HaNavi. Chazal (Sotah 47a) teach that forty-two children who cursed Elisha died as a result of the Navi’s response to them. [The commentators explain that these children were products of a prohibited union which was consummated on Yom Kippur. Additionally, Elisha saw through Divine Inspiration that…

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ההסכן הסכנתי לעשות לך כה

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5784

Have I become accustomed to do such a thing to you? (22:30)

Bilaam’s arrogance was on the same level as his evil. He acted upon his base desires and thought nothing of it. Yet, he took umbrage with anyone who had the audacity to call his malevolent actions to his attention. He was Bilaam, the greatest pagan prophet. As such, he had license to do whatever he pleased. All went well until Bilaam’s donkey gave him mussar, rebuked him. The donkey refused to go forward, because it saw an angel impeding its path. Bilaam, the prophet, did not see the angel. Thus, he struck the donkey three times for its unwillingness to…

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ויפתח ד' את פי האתון ותאמר לבלעם מה עשיתי לך

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5783

Hashem opened the mouth of the she-donkey and it said to Bilaam, “What have I done to you?” (22:28)

Bilaam struck his donkey three times – unaware that it was Hashem who was impeding Bilaam’s path. The donkey just stood and refused to go forward. Bilaam was clueless to this, therefore, like most arrogant people who are incapable of accepting the truth, he lashed out at his donkey. Three words – “What have I done to you?” was all the donkey said in admonishing Bilaam. His reaction was, “If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you!” (Ibid. 22:29). All Bilaam could think of was the donkey’s impertinence to him. After all, he was the greatest…

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ויאמר אל עבדי בלק אם יתן לי בלק מלא ביתו כסף וזהב לא אוכל לעבר את פי ד'

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5783

He (Bilaam) said to the servants of Balak, “If, Balak, will give me his household of silver and gold, I cannot transgress the word of Hashem.” (22:18)

Rashi notes that, by speaking of a houseful of gold and silver – implying that if he could transgress the word of Hashem he would accept no less – Bilaam showed his true colors. He was arrogant and greedy, obsessed with furthering his immoral lifestyle. One of the well-known Mishnayos in Pirkei Avos addresses the deficient character traits of Bilaam ha’rasha, as opposed to those of Avraham Avinu. The thought of comparing the two is ludicrous, since Bilaam was, and remains, a symbol of greed and moral profligacy, and the actions of Avraham, the Patriarch of our nations, concerning the…

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מראש צרים אראנו ומגבעות אשורנו

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5782

From its origins, I see rock-like, and from hills do I see it. (23:9)

Bilaam was looking for every way to render Klal Yisrael a death blow. His power was in his tongue, his ability to deliver a curse that would be effective and lethal. He begins his litany by acknowledging that it is difficult to curse a nation whose origins are likened to craggy rocks (Patriarchs) and hills (Matriarchs). He intimated that when he looked back at the roots of the Jews, he saw them as firmly established as rocks and hills. The loyalty to their forebears is what distinguishes them and makes them that more difficult to curse. I would like to…

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ויאמר בלעם אל בלק... היכל אוכל דבר מאמה הדבר אשר אלקים ישים בפי אתו אדבר

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5782

Bilaam said to Balak… “Am I empowered to say anything? Whatever words G-d puts into my mouth, that shall I speak.” (22:38)

Bilaam is a lesson in stark contrasts. On the one hand, he personifies evil and depravity at their nadir. Arrogant, condescending, avaricious and profligate, he was the consummate symbol of unmitigated evil. Yet, this same person spoke to Hashem and was able to maintain a dialogue on subjects that were of the loftiest esoterical and spiritual nature. How do these two polar opposites exist in one person? Horav Eliezer HaLevi Turk, Shlita, quotes from Horav Chunah Kletzki, zl, a student of the Radin Yeshivah, who, in his old age, made his domicile in Lakewood. He related that there was a…

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לא אוכל לעבור את פי ד' אלקי לעשות קטנה או גדולה

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5782

I cannot transgress the word of Hashem, my G-d, to do anything small or great. (22:18)

In Kuntres Divrei Sofrim (24), Horav Elchanan Wasserman, zl, notes that Bilaam ha’rashah said that he would not transgress Hashem’s word to him – Hashem’s tzivui, command. He did not think that he could act in a manner counter-intuitive to Hashem’s ratzon, will. He was acutely aware that Hashem did not want him to curse Klal Yisrael, but, if Hashem had not expressly said so, Bilaam could have gone along his merry way to carry out his evil intentions. The pasuk (22:22) relates that Hashem’s anger flared because Bilaam was going to Balak. Why was Hashem angry? Did the Almighty…

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ויגר מואב מפני העם מאד כי רב הוא ויקץ מואב מפני בני ישראל

Sruly Schnair In Balak, 5782

Moav became very frightened of the people, because it was numerous, and Moav was disgusted in the face of Bnei Yisrael. (22:3)

The Torah uses two terms to refer to Klal Yisrael: Am, people/nation, Bnei Yisrael, children of Yisrael. Moav was frightened of the nation due to their numbers, which imply a physical battle, a physical victory for the Jewish nation. Concerning the children of Yisrael, which is the term most often used to describe our People, Moav was disgusted. Fear means that one is afraid, but he still has hope for victory. A change of tactics might be necessary in order to quash the Jewish threat. Disgusted, the term which is used in a confrontation with the children of Yisrael, sounds…

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מה טובו אהליך יעקב משכנתיך ישראל

How goodly are your tents O’ Yaakov, your dwelling places O’ Yisrael. (24:5)

לא הביט און ביעקב

He perceived no iniquity in Yaakov. (23:21)

ויאמר בלעם אל בלק בנה לי בזה שבעה מזבחות

Bilaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me.” (23:1)

ההסכן הסכנתי לעשות לך כה

Have I become accustomed to do such a thing to you? (22:30)

ויפתח ד' את פי האתון ותאמר לבלעם מה עשיתי לך

Hashem opened the mouth of the she-donkey and it said to Bilaam, “What have I done to you?” (22:28)

ויאמר אל עבדי בלק אם יתן לי בלק מלא ביתו כסף וזהב לא אוכל לעבר את פי ד'

He (Bilaam) said to the servants of Balak, “If, Balak, will give me his household of silver and gold, I cannot transgress the word of Hashem.” (22:18)

מראש צרים אראנו ומגבעות אשורנו

From its origins, I see rock-like, and from hills do I see it. (23:9)

ויאמר בלעם אל בלק... היכל אוכל דבר מאמה הדבר אשר אלקים ישים בפי אתו אדבר

Bilaam said to Balak… “Am I empowered to say anything? Whatever words G-d puts into my mouth, that shall I speak.” (22:38)

לא אוכל לעבור את פי ד' אלקי לעשות קטנה או גדולה

I cannot transgress the word of Hashem, my G-d, to do anything small or great. (22:18)

ויגר מואב מפני העם מאד כי רב הוא ויקץ מואב מפני בני ישראל

Moav became very frightened of the people, because it was numerous, and Moav was disgusted in the face of Bnei Yisrael. (22:3)

YEARS

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