WHO WAS BILAM?
Although one of the Perashiot we read this week is named after the King of Moab, Balaq, the main protagonist is a very mysterious individual named Bil’am (Balaam). Who was Bil’am? Bil’am was a non-Jewish prophet. And according to our Sages, God revealed Himself to Bil’am on a level similar to that He revealed to Moshe (Moses).
But let’s not assume that because God revealed Himself to Bil’am, Bil’am was like Moshe. Actually, although both Moshe and Bil’am received a prophetic message, they processed this experience in a completely different way.
MOSHE’S EXPERIENCE
Communicating with God made Moshe realize how small and limited he was. An illustration. Moshe had many questions. One of the issues that most troubled Moshe was not understanding God’s administration of justice. How can it be that if God is all goodness (omnivolent) and all powerful (omnipotent), righteous men often suffer? However, after his “close encounter” with God, this question disappeared. But it did not disappear because Moshe found an answer to this question, but because closeness of God allowed Moshe to better realize his own insuperable limitations. His encounter with God made Moshe understand why he could not understand. As he approached the Infinity of God’s Wisdom, Moshe became aware of his own infinite smallness. And he understood that trying to grasp “God’s thoughts” is beyond the cognitive capacities of a human being, regardless of how wise or intelligent he may be. That is why after experiencing Divine revelation, Moshe, who was already a humble man, behaved with even more humility and became “the humblest man on the face of the Earth” (Bamidbar 12:03).
BILAM’S EXPERIENCE
Bil’am also had a close encounter with God, a similar overwhelming epiphany that Moshe Rabbenu experienced. But Bil’am’s reaction was exactly the opposite of Moshe’s. When God revealed himself to Moshe, Moshe focused on God, on his Infinite Wisdom and how far is from our grasp. But when God revealed to Bil’am, Bil’am focused on himself. Bil’am thought that if God communicated with him, it was because he, Bil’am, was a very special and unique person: an enlightened person. Bil’am convinced himself that if God spoke to Him it is because he was the most important man on the face of the planet. And he acted that way. Far from becoming aware of his finitude by becoming more aware of God’s infinity, Bil’am boasted that he could now understand Divine Wisdom. And at one point he uttered the most arrogant phrase ever written in the Tora: yode’a da’at ‘Elion,“ [I am Bil’am], the one who understands the mind of the Almighty. ”
THE RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
The same spiritual experience affected Bilam and Moshe Rabbenu in completely opposite ways. Moshe became the humblest man and Bilam, in the most arrogant. Bil’am, for example, referred to himself in the third person. And he also boasted that God spoke “through his mouth,” as if he were His chosen one. Bil’am boasted that he had the ability to destroy an entire nation, Israel, with the power of his word, without the need for a military confrontation. Bil’am thought that he could “force” the Divine will and “compel” God, through his magic to do whatever he, Bil’am, wanted.
WHEN DONKEYS SPEAK
Our rabbis point out that Bil’am learned a lesson in humility from whom he least imagined: his donkey.
When Bil’am was on his way to meet Balaq, who hired him to curse Israel, he was riding on his ass (a female donkey). The animal suddenly stopped and strayed from its path. The Tora explains that the animal was frightened because she saw an angel, and therefore stopped. But Bil’am punished his donkey and threatened her with his sword. God, then, “opened the mouth” of the animal and the donkey revealed to Bil’am why it had strayed.
Our rabbis explained the following:
Bil’am boasted that God “spoke through his mouth.” Now, Bilam saw that even a donkey, who was never considered a very intelligent animal, could also speak and transmit a Divine message, if God wants it. Ergo: Bil’am was not even superior to his donkey.
Bil’am also claimed that he could wipe out the entire nation of Israel with his magical curses. But then, why did he threaten to kill his donkey with his sword? Bil’am flaunted powers that he himself knew he did not have.
Finally, Bil’am claimed that he could understand the Divine Mind. And God shows Bil’am that he was not even able to understand the mind of a donkey…
The humble man is like Bamboo, says a Chinese proverb, the higher he grows the more he leans.
