Parashas Balak

This week’s parashah goes into great detail as it recounts the story of Bilaam’s recruitment by Balak and his trip to curse the Bnei Yisrael.

As we study these pesukim, we are astonished by Bilaam’s apparent delusion, denial and cognitive dissonance.

After all, this fellow’s a prophet, and Hashem told him not to go. Then he negotiates with a donkey. And when he’s confronted by an angry angel holding a sword blocking his way, he asks “would you like me to turn around?” [“No of course not, I always look like this when I want to encourage people.”]

Chazal exposit these details – some of which are cited by Rashi – to give us an even more incredible portrait of the man.

He truly embodied man’s worst attributes.

But forget about Bilaam’s personality, why is the Torah going to such great lengths to tell us all this?

When a “new king who did not know of Yosef” became Pharaoh in Egypt and began to torment the Jews, Chazal debate whether it was truly a new Pharaoh, or if the old king simply took a new approach to things (Shemos 1:8).

Rav Moshe Feinstein suggests that the basis of this disagreement is whether, in fact, it is possible for a person could become as debased as the second opinion suggests – could a man whose kingdom was saved, then enriched and expanded by Yosef then turn around and murder Yosef’s family.

If it is possible, says Rav Moshe, then each one of us has to vigilant to ensure that we don’t fall into a similar trap, on our own level.

Perhaps the Torah is telling us the same thing here: There may be a little bit of Bilaam in each one of us. A touch of that smugness; a tad of the arrogance; a trace of the cognitive dissonance.

The Torah highlights Bilaam’s flaws so that, in their reflection, we may find, and correct, our own.

May Hashem help us that we rid ourselves of the middos of Bilaam, and achieve the middos Chazal present as their counterpoint, the middos of Avrohom Avinu.

Gut Shabbos.