Balak

פרשת בלק

In this week’s parsha we learn of Bilaam and how he tried to curse the Jewish people. Chazal tell us that Bilaam was an incredibly wicked person who exemplified despicable character traits and constantly chased after honor, wealth, and forbidden physical gratifications. However, although Bilaam was a disgusting human being, he was still granted a tremendously lofty spiritual status. He was a prophet! G-d spoke to him personally! Moreover, the Sifri says that Bilaam was a greater prophet than Moshe Rabbeinu! How can one understand this? It’s not only counterintuitive that Hashem should give prophecy to such a person, it’s actually against the laws of prophecy. The Rambam writes in Yesodei HaTorah 7:1 that in order to be a prophet one needs to have quite an impressive spiritual resume. The Rambam says that prophecy is only granted to one who is a Torah scholar, exhibits complete self-control, and whose intellect constantly guides his behavior. Only such an individual, who is connected to Hashem and doesn’t think about anything other than Divine service, is fitting for such exalted communication. How was Bilaam, the man whom Chazal credit for breaching and destroying the entire world’s standards of morality, chosen to be G-d’s confidant and the sole representative of the entire non-Jewish world?

Rav Eliyahu Lopian answers that in truth, there are two types of prophecy. One kind of prophecy is awarded to a person after he has reached an extraordinary level of self-perfection. Such a person is rewarded with a greater intimacy with G-d, and he grows through it. This is the kind of prophecy that G-d chooses to bestow specifically upon Jewish prophets, and this is the kind of prophecy that the Rambam describes. However, there is another kind of prophecy that G-d employs not as a reward for the individual, but rather as a special means of bringing about a desired result. Indeed, Rashi tells us that this is why Bilaam experienced prophecy; so that the non-Jewish nations couldn’t claim that they would be moral if only they had Divine communication like the Jewish people. One who receives prophecy only because of such considerations needs no prerequisites for the honor and can even be as lowly as Bilaam. We learn from this week’s parsha that to merit a revelation from the Creator of the Universe doesn’t always require as much work as one would think, and this actually tells us something quite shocking. One can be privileged to receive the greatest possible spiritual revelations and even comprehend the deepest mysteries of existence, yet this says nothing about one’s integrity nor is it any indicator of spiritual greatness. Similarly, just because someone is learned doesn’t mean he is a ben Torah. One may even be able to give a shiur and learn a blott gemara on his own and it still doesn’t mean that he is really close to Hashem. G-d Himself talked directly to Bilaam and we all know that Bilaam wasn’t anything special. Without working on our midos , whatever Torah we learn will be insufficient to bring us close to Hashem. We can’t just learn Torah. We need to personify the Torah’s directives if we really want to have a relationship with G-d.

Furthermore, there are a lot of people in the world who believe that if G-d would just reveal Himself and prove His existence, they would certainly change for the better. Bilaam’s example shows us that a person can even participate in an on-going dialogue with the Creator of the Universe and still not change. Rashi tells us that Bilaam even thought that he could trick G-d into allowing him to carry out his evil plans against the Jewish people! Experience of spiritual phenomena and even intimate knowledge of Torah can give a person more motivation to do good, but alone they don’t motivate a person to develop. Improving one’s midos is a choice, and changing one’s self doesn’t require an encyclopedic knowledge of the entire Talmud Bavli. Most of us know what bad midos are and understand the necessity of changing various behaviors that are counter-productive to our spiritual development. If we would just open our eyes, we would realize that we already have all the tools we need to change ourselves. We just have to get to work.

In Pirkei Avos 5:19, the Mishna teaches us the difference between the “students” of Avraham Avinu and the “students” of Bilaam. The students of Avraham Avinu are content with what they have, are exceedingly humble, and have distanced themselves from going after their lusts and passions. However, the students of Bilaam are just the opposite. They strive to become wealthy from others, are arrogant, and are overcome by lust. Rav Meir Chadash makes a startling comment on this Mishna, noting that all who are mentioned in the Mishna’s statement are “students.” All those discussed in the Mishna are learning in yeshiva. The question is: whose midos are they emulating? Just these three character traits make a world of difference between one who succeeds in learning and in life and one who does not. One shouldn’t think that his Torah learning can save him from his flaws. Torah learning can certainly uplift a person who is struggling to evolve into a real ben Torah. However, a person who has bad midos is irredeemable unless he chooses to change himself. This message should be in the immediate consciousness of every young man who comes to learn in yeshiva. Learning is very important, but one’s midos are absolutely critical.

I recently heard a story about a boy who lived on a moshav here in Eretz Yisrael who was the son of the rav of the moshav. The boy was very smart but also very wild. He would sometimes get into a lot of trouble, but his father was very understanding and never hit the boy, reprimanding him instead. Upon completing 8^th grade, there was a big gemara test in the cheder, and the rav was invited to watch his son participate. The boy knew the material very well and was also very quick at answering the questions. However, there was another boy in the class who wasn’t as quick and didn’t have as good a grasp of the material. Additionally, the other boy had a speech impediment, causing him to stutter frequently. When this boy began to stutter on one of the gemara questions and ended up admitting that he didn’t know the answer, the son of the rav smiled, finding it funny. However, when the rav and his son got home, instead of congratulating his son for knowing all the answers, he gave him a big smack. The boy was shocked and puzzled. The rav explained why he reprimanded his son specifically now. “Other times you were just wild,” the rav said. “But today when you saw your friend stutter and you laughed, you revealed that you have a very ugly mida. It doesn’t matter how smart you are or even that you were the best in the class. It doesn’t mean anything if you have ugly midos.” Baruch Hashem, the boy felt bad for what he did and ended up befriending his stuttering classmate. They soon became chevrusas and learned together for many years. Today they are both beautiful bnei Torah with wives and blossoming families that are shomrei Torah and mitzvos.

May we all be zoche to constantly remember the importance of perfecting our midos!!!