Parashat Balak - Sixth Aliyah
Read the biblical text and try to understand it on your own, before reading the commentary.
At the climax of the story, Balak tries again and again to find a strategic angle - perhaps if they stand somewhere else, he will manage to force the prophet to curse. He brings Bilam up to the top of Peor - a place overlooking “the wasteland,” perhaps hoping that the view of the desert will loosen the heart toward a curse. But instead of a curse, a surprising revelation takes place.
Bilam, after having already failed twice, no longer seeks omens and signs - he simply turns his face toward the desert, and then: “Vatehi alav ruach Elohim” - and the spirit of God came upon him (Numbers 24:2). This time it is not merely compelled prophecy, but something deeper: the spirit of God rests upon him, without struggle.
And the message? Inspiration does not arrive by force, but when a person releases control.
The famous poetic phrase - “Mah tovu ohalecha Ya’akov mishkenotecha Yisrael” - how goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel (24:5) - later became a prayer recited upon entering the synagogue. The sages read this verse as praise for Israel’s modesty and for the sanctity of the camp - tents whose openings were not aligned facing one another (Bava Batra 60a). In other words: national holiness begins with modesty at home.
The prophecy continues: images of strength, of blessing, of standing tall. “Veyarom me’Agag malko vetinase malchuto” - his king shall rise above Agag and his kingdom shall be exalted (24:7). Rashi explains: Israel’s first king will conquer Agag, king of Amalek. An early hint of the future victory over Amalek.
As the aliyah closes, Balak loses his patience: he claps his hands together in anger and erupts at Bilam - I called you to curse, and here you have blessed three times! (24:10). But Bilam is not shaken. He repeats the same deep principle he has already stated several times: “Lo uchal la’avor et pi Adonai” - I cannot go beyond the word of Adonai. He is not the master of his own words. The blessing comes from God, and it is stronger than any political or royal power.
The educational message of this aliyah is clear: there are moments when even the one who seeks to curse finds himself blessing. Truth reveals itself when no one tries to control it. And true blessing comes from a high, inner place, not dependent on human will.
And in our personal lives - how often do we try to “control the outcome,” to push things by force, to find “the right angle.” Yet the Torah teaches here: sometimes the way is precisely to stop seeking omens, simply to look - and let the spirit blow.
More Questions on the Parsha
Why does the beauty of Israel reveal itself precisely through the eyes of an enemy?
One of the most beautiful sentences ever said about the people of Israel was not said by Moshe Rabbenu or by Aharon, but by Bilam, a man hired to curse. Parashat Balak uncovers a striking truth: there is beauty that a friend sees because he wants to see it, and there is beauty that an enemy is forced to see even when he tries to deny it. The second kind is stronger.
The verb 'vayar' (and he saw) repeats many times in Parashat Balak - what are the hidden meanings behind it?
In Parashat Balak the root 'to see' is not a technical act of seeing. It becomes a test: who truly sees, and what is he capable of seeing. Balak sees fear, the donkey sees an angel, Bilam at first sees nothing, and Pinchas sees and immediately rises. Four different kinds of seeing, four different kinds of soul.
What did Bilam really see in the camp of Israel that made him say a blessing instead of a curse?
The Torah does not say that Bilam only saw beautiful tents from the outside. It says that he saw an inner order. He was searching for a point of division, and found a camp with borders, families, tribes and identity. Bilam came to curse a crowd from the outside, and discovered from within a people that has form.
Does Parashat Balak teach that a person can be surrounded by enemies, and not know at all how much protection is over him from above?
Bilam climbs the mountain to curse, Moav is afraid, messengers are sent, and all that time the people of Israel below do not even know what is happening. Parashat Balak opens a window into what is behind the scenes: there is protection a person does not see, does not hear, and does not know to give thanks for in real time.