‘Parsha Growth Spurts’[1]
Rabbi Dani Staum
Parshas Balak 5773
“He sent messengers to Bila’am son of Be’or… please come and curse this people for me…” (Bamidbar 22:5-6)
The gemara (Bava Basra 14b) states “Moshe wrote his book (i.e. the Torah), the passage of Bila’am, and the book of Iyov.”
If Moshe wrote the entire Torah, why does the gemara single out that he also recorded the passage of Bila’am?
Chasam Sofer (Yor’d 356) explains that every event recorded in the Torah had eyewitnesses who saw the event occur. Ramban (Derashos) notes that Adam Harishon witnessed the events that occurred in Gan Eden and related them to Shem ben Noach. Shem subsequently relayed those events, as well as the events of the Dor Hambaul and Dor Haflagah, to Yaakov Avinu (Yaakov was 50 years old when Shem died). The events in Mitzrayim and beyond were witnessed by the entire nation.
The only exception was the Bila’am debacle. No one – even Moshe – had any way of knowing that Balak had commissioned Bila’am to curse the Jews, or that Hashem had miraculously prevented Bila’am from fulfilling his mission.
The Navi (Micha 6:5; haftorah of Parshas Balak) exhorts us, “Remember now what Balak king of Moav plotted and what Bila’am son of Beor answered him.” Just as one is obligated to believe in the veracity of every word of Torah which was witnessed by others, so must he believe in the veracity of the account with Bila’am, which – aside from the antagonists themselves – only Hashem Himself was aware of.
Parshas Balak is always read shortly prior to the onset of the Three Weeks. Even as we begin to mourn our endless suffering in exile, we must remember that Hashem preserves and protects us in miraculous ways, which more often than not we are never privy of knowing about. The story of Bila’am reminds us that Hashem protects us far beyond what we can ever know.
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“…An angel of Hashem stood on the road to impede him…” (Bamidbar 22:22)
Rashi explains that the angel was an angel of mercy who had come to stop Bila’am from committing the grievous sin of cursing the Jewish people.
Rav Avrohom Pam zt’l (The Pleasant Way, Rav Shalom Smith) noted that at times a person may think that he has suffered the worst possible loss, such as a shidduch not working out, not being able to purchase a certain home, or not getting a specific job. But in truth his plans not working out as he hoped may be the results of the efforts of ‘an angel of compassion’.
When the angel appeared to Bila’am wielding a sword it certainly did not appear to be an angel of compassion. Yet, despite its appearance, the angel was trying to protect Bila’am… from himself.
In life, we can hardly know what is best for us.
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“How can I curse? – Hashem has not cursed. How can I anger? – Hashem is not angry.” (Bamidbar 23:8)
Gemara (Berachos 7a) relates that Hashem said to Klal Yisroel, “Know how many righteous acts I performed with you, for I did not becomes angry in the days of Bila’am, for if I would have become angry there would not be any remainder from Klal Yisroel.”
Bila’am was a master of divination and sorcery, and was able to know the precise moment when Hashem becomes angry each day so He can mete out judgment against the wicked. If Bila’am would have cursed the Jews at that moment he would have been successful in destroying the nation. But, to his chagrin, during those days when Bila’am waited to curse them, Hashem deviated from His norm, and did not allow Himself to become angry.
Rav Shimshon Pinkus zt’l (Tiferes Torah) explained that the commentators note that when the sun held up in the sky during Yehoshua’s time it was a greater miracle than all of the miracles recorded in the Torah. While all of the other miracles involved an alteration of a specific part of nature, the sun stopping entailed a complete cessation of natural law.
In truth however, what transpired with Bila’am was far greater than Yehoshua’s miracle. Hashem did not merely alter the laws of nature, but He altered His own conduct, as it were, which is far more significant than anything that occurs within the cosmos, and even in the celestial heavens. For it is Hashem’s Hand that orchestrates the entire universe during every moment.
Yet Hashem deviated from the norm, solely for the sake of His beloved nation, Klal Yisroel.
[1] This series was originally written for and published in Hamodia.