Parashat Matot, Numbers 30:2-32:42

This Parasha has been generously sponsored by Harriet Train in loving memory of her father Louis Train.

Somewhere along his life's journey, Balaam lost his moral compass.

Kohelet taught that a good name is better than fragrant oil (Ecclesiastes 7:1). When all else is gone, it is a person's reputation that matters. Today, names are brands. How else to explain the myriad of celebrity names associated with everything from scarves to scents to salad dressing.

In the past few portions there have been names that keep reappearing. Last week we read about the daughters of Zelophehad; they'll be back next week. So too, Pinchas appears both last week and this week. A few weeks ago we were introduced to Balaam, the prophet hired by the Moabite King, Balak, to curse the Israelites. Balaam is unable to do so and under God's guidance blesses Israel.

This week he is named as one of the causalities of the campaign to wreak the Lord's vengeance on Midian. (Numbers 31:3). Further on we are told that the Midianite women at the bidding of Balaam, induced the Israelites to trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, so that the Lord's community was struck by the plague (Numbers 31:16).

What happened to the Balaam who found himself unable to curse the Israelites, the same Balaam whose words are repeated at every morning service, Mah tovu, How fair are your tents, O Jacob,/Your dwellings, O Israel! (Numbers 24:5) Did we miss something?

Recall that in Parashat Balak, Balaam kept reiterating that he would only do what God permitted him to do. Nothing could sway him from this. Balaam is recalled favorably by the prophet Micah. My people, /Remember what Balak king of Moab/ Plotted against you/ And how Balaam son of Beor/ Responded to him (Micah 6:5). Midrash Numbers Rabbah (14:20) even makes a positive comparison between Moses' prophetic abilities and Balaam. When God spoke with Moses, Moses always stood and they spoke "mouth to mouth" and "face to face." On the other hand, unlike Moses, Balaam always knew that it was God speaking with him; he knew when God was speaking with him and Balaam could initiate a dialogue whenever he pleased!

Still, Numbers 31 makes it very clear that there is a tradition in which Balaam is "no more Mister Nice Guy." Israel's sin at Ba'al Peor appears in Parashat Balak directly after the story of Balaam. Verse 16 explicitly states that Balaam was the instigator. What exactly was the bidding of Balaam to the Midianites? Rashi, citing Tractate Sanhedrin (106b) and Midrash Sifre, explains that Balaam knew the Midianites couldn't physically conquer Israel by sheer numbers:

…Are you more numerous than the Egyptians who had six hundred of the best chariots? Let me give you some advice. Their God abhors lascivious behaviour.

Rashi on Numbers 31:16

All of which leads Pirke Avot to make the following statement:

The disciples of Balaam the Wicked possess an evil eye, a haughty spirit and an overambitious soul. …the disciples of Balaam the Wicked inherit Gehinnom.

Avot 5:19, Soncino translation

It doesn't stop there.

The postbiblical texts exaggerate Balaam's vices to such a degree that he becomes an exemplar of villainy. …Later tradition acknowledges almost nothing of Balaam the obedient servant of the Lord, who could not be bribed by all the wealth of Moab. He is, instead, the archetypal enemy of Israel, a Pharaoh, or a Haman, whose power would threaten to annihilate Israel were it not for the intervention of Israel's God.

Jacob Milgrom, The JPS Torah Commentary, Numbers, p. 471

Tradition teaches that Balaam did some good but was mainly evil. Modern scholarship points to two different narratives about Balaam woven into the Torah. What are we to make of all of this?

Let us approach Balaam as a person with the potential to do good and evil just like the rest of us. He literally climbed the heights from where he blessed Israel. Then he somehow ended up mixed up with the Midianites. If our biblical exemplars are flawed, should it shock us that this individual is as well? Should we be more surprised that Balaam spoke words of blessing, or that he counseled against Israel?

Balaam's legacy is his flawed humanity, which so dramatically demonstrates the potential for yetser ha-tov (the inclination for good) and yetser ha-ra (the inclination for evil). He serves as a warning that we must constantly practice heshbon ha-nefesh, taking account of our soul. This is the Mussar practice of being aware of our character traits, our strengths and our weaknesses, and of working on finding the proper balance of traits. Balaam had great potential, as is noted in Parashat Balak. Unfortunately, somewhere along his life's journey, Balaam lost his moral compass. How can we maintain our bearings? The root of our service to God lies in "coming to see clearly and to recognize as truth the nature of one's duty in this world, directing one's vision and striving in all tasks towards this throughout one's life." (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Path of the Just, chapter 1)

Mussar (Jewish ethical development and practice) teaches us that our purpose in this life is to strive for wholeness (Shleimut). At the same time, it teaches that we can never attain this goal. Still, the act of striving is viewed as an ascent and as long as we keep trying, we are climbing that spiritual mountain. When Balaam recited Mah Tovu, he had ascended physically and spiritually. Though he had great potential, he came tumbling down. We can stumble along the path or we can partner with God in shaping the itinerary.
…life is a journey, a sacred pilgrimage made stage by stage (Rabbi Alvin Fine)

Shabbat shalom,
MS