Balak is the name of a non-Jewish king who attempted to destroy the Jewish people. How can the Torah name a portion after such an evil person? The Lubavitcher Rebbe points out that the answer lies in what is written in the Talmud (Sotah 47a). There it says that Balak, the king of Moab, was the ancestor of Ruth the Moabite, who was the ancestor of King David, and from whom eventually will come the Mashiach (speedily in our days!).

Thus, Balak represents the transformation of darkness to light - the metamorphosis of the idolatrous kingdom of Moab to the sacred kingdom of David and Mashiach. Just as Balak was transformed from evil to good, darkness to light, we too are reminded that if we make the effort, every obstacle can be overcome and the light revealed.

Similarly, we see that the portion speaks mostly about the non-Jewish prophet, Balaam, whom Balak had hired to curse the Jews. Since this is so, why is the portion named after Balak and not after Balaam, the main antagonist?

We must be very careful even with a small bit of advice…

The simple answer is that Balak was the initiator who hired Balaam in the first place. This same truth can be applied to ourselves. It is sometimes easy for us to discount our impact on others. "What they do is their problem," we excuse ourselves. "After all, we only gave them a little bit of advice!" This portion teaches us that we must be very careful even with a small bit of advice. As the Shelah points out, Balak used the words "Ara li" - "curse for me". This can also be translated as "curse me". Because of his careless speech, this is in fact what actually occurred - Balak himself was cursed.

Balak sends a message to Balaam asking him to curse this large nation that had come out of Egypt. Why? Because they are "greater" than me (Num. 22:6). The Shelah explains a deeper dimension of these words. The phrase can be read like this: "Their greatness comes from me!" What is the greatness of the Jewish people that derives from Balak? King David and Mashiach, who descended from Balak himself! This too connects to our previous point.

After accepting Balak's commission to try to curse the Jewish people, Balaam travels by donkey to meet with Balak. On the way an angel, armed with a sword, blocks the road; however, the angel is visible only to Balaam's donkey, and not to Balaam himself. Balaam's leg is crushed (ibid. 22:25) as the donkey struggles to protect them both. Finally, when Balaam complains to his donkey for its intransigence, the donkey opens his mouth and begins to speak (ibid. 22:28).

Balaam's prophetic ability was granted only because it was of use to the Jewish people…

The Oneg Shabbat comments that the world thought that the power of Moses was his faculty of speech, his ability to mesmerize the Jewish people and even G‑d. Balaam, who was renowned for his magical oratorical abilities, was therefore called upon to counter Moses and the Jews. What did G‑d do? He demonstrated that if some are so infatuated with Balaam and his speaking ability, well, then even a donkey can speak.....

The Kli Yakar sums it up nicely: So as not to be proud of his prophetic ability, Balaam was warned not to speak about the Jews without permission. He was supposed to take a lesson from his donkey. His donkey certainly did not deserve to see an angel or to speak; nevertheless, it did, because it was important for the Jewish people and G‑d's grand plan. Similarly, Balaam's prophetic ability was granted only because it was of use to the Jewish people.

Extreme self sacrifice is required in order to overcome the obstacles that confront us…

Although the Almighty warned Balaam that he may not even speak without G‑d's permission, Balaam repeatedly tries to curse the Jewish people, but to Balak's dismay, only blessings are uttered. Interestingly, our sages say that while Moses' and the Patriarchs' blessings are reserved for the world-to-come, Jews have "made a living" from Balaam's blessings for the last 3300+ years!

"How goodly are your tents Jacob, and your dwelling places Israel." (ibid. 24:5)

Shabbat Shalom, Shaul

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