Parashas Balak: Curses/Crisis Averted

Originally posted in June 2013.

No doubt, this is how Bilam pictured himself succeeding in cursing Bnei Yisrael.
Artwork: Banefire, by Raymond Swanland

Parashas Balak: Curses/Crisis Averted

This week’s parashah details the repeated attempts of the gentile prophet Bilam to curse Bnei Yisrael at the behest of the Moabite king Balak. Every time Bilam tries to curse Bnei Yisrael, Hashem intervenes and converts his curses into blessings.

Ralbag asks a powerful question: Why did Hashem even bother preventing Bilam from cursing Bnei Yisrael? If one maintains that such curses are rooted in superstitious imaginations and have no impact on reality, then Bilam’s curse would have been totally ineffective. And if you hold that such curses actually have the power to cause harm, weren't Bnei Yisrael under Hashem’s protection? Couldn't He have merely protected them without getting involved in the affairs of Bilam and Balak in the first place? [1]

And if you’ll argue that Hashem intervened with Bilam in order to prevent a chilul ha’Shem (desecration of Hashem’s Name) – namely, by preventing Moav from walking away with the mistaken impression that Hashem’s Chosen Nation could be subject to curses – this contradicts what the Navi says in the haftarah: “My people, hear, now, what Balak, king of Moav schemed and what Bilam son of Beor answered him … in order to recognize the righteousness of Hashem.” [2] In other words, Hashem’s sabotage of Balak's and Bilam’s plot was an act of tzedakah and chesed to Bnei Yisrael – not an anti-chilul ha’Shem measure directed at Moav.

In order to understand the answer that the Ralbag gives to his question, we must review the events which unfold at the end of the parashah. Bnei Yisrael become enticed by the women of Moav. This leads to an outbreak of sexual promiscuity and idolatry. As a result of these grievous sins, Hashem brings a plague upon Bnei Yisrael which claims the lives of 24,000 Jews.

Whenever a tragedy befalls our nation, we are commanded to do teshuvah. We must recognize that the cause of the tragedy was our own sins. [3] Based on that premise, Ralbag answers our question. Hashem, in His Absolute Omniscience, knew that Bnei Yisrael would sin with the daughters of Moav, and would suffer a divine punishment as a result. Ordinarily, Bnei Yisrael – under the guidance of Moshe Rabbeinu – would recognize the error of their ways and do teshuvah. However, if Bilam had been allowed to succeed in his curses, Bnei Yisrael would believe that his curse was the cause of the plague, rather than their own sins. This error would cause them to not do teshuvah, and to persist in their evil ways, digging themselves deeper and deeper into sin.

In order to prevent this from happening, Hashem – in His abundant tzedakah and chesed – intervened in and stopped Bilam from cursing Bnei Yisrael, thereby removing a major obstacle to teshuvah. Moreover, He did so in a manner which was bound to be publicized, on account of Balak’s reaction to his schemes being thwarted in such a public manner. Consequently, when the plague befell Bnei Yisrael, they would no longer be able to ascribe their suffering to the curses of Bilam, and there would be a greater likelihood of them realizing the true cause of the catastrophe.

In order to fully appreciate Hashem’s intervention in this case, we must recognize that if Bnei Yisrael were not on such a high level at that time, Hashem would not have intervened. The Gemara in Avodah Zarah cites a braisa which states:

The [non-Jewish] philosophers asked the [Jewish] Sages in Rome, “If your God doesn’t like idolatry, why doesn’t He simply get rid of it?!” [The Sages] replied, “If they would worship something that the world didn’t need, He would get rid of it; but behold, they worship the sun, the moon, the stars, and the constellations; should God destroy His world because of the fools?! Rather, the world follows its natural pattern, and the fools who cause corruption will ultimately be held accountable. [4]

We see from here (and from the numerous similar cases which the same Gemara brings down) that Hashem's normal policy is not to intervene in the natural order to prevent fools from sinning – even when it comes to such a severe transgression as idolatry! Instead, He allows the world to follow its natural pattern, leaving the fools free to pursue their own mistaken notions about reality, for which they will ultimately pay the price - in this world, and the next.

Now we can fully appreciate the extent of Hashem’s tzedakah and chesed in His subversion of Bilam’s and Balak’s plans. Were Bnei Yisrael like any other nation, Hashem would have let nature take its course, and held the sinners accountable in the final reckoning. It was only because of Hashem's covenant with the Avos that He assisted their descendants in this manner.

[1] Rabbeinu Levi ben Gershon (Ralbag / Gersonides), Commentary on Sefer Bamidbar 22, ha’toeles ha’shelishi
[2] Sefer Micha 6:5
[3] See Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides), Mishneh Torah: Sefer Zmanim, Hilchos Taaniyos 1:1-4
[4] Maseches Avodah Zarah 54b; see the mishnah there, and the subsequent Gemara