Hashem’s Eternal Protection
By: R’ Mordechai Young
Once in yeshiva, a boy received a note with an interesting message. He wanted to know who wrote it. If it was one of his friends, he thought it was a very funny way to kibbitz. But he was concerned it might be from a boy who disliked him, in which case he’d be upset by the letter.
In Parashas Balak, Balak wanted Bilaam to use his strength to curse the Jews. In perek 22, pasuk 12, Hashem says: “Don’t go with them” (with Balak’s soldiers). Hashem saw that Bilaam wanted to at least bless the Jews, so He responded, “They are blessed.” Rashi explains that Hashem was telling Bilaam, “They don’t need your blessing.” It’s similar to a wasp. People say, “We don’t want your honey or your sting.”
I was wondering because, later in the parashah, Bilaam does bless the Yidden. Baruch Hashem, I saw the Maharal asked the same question. And he answers that later it was Hashem’s words being given through Bilaam. Here, it would have been just Bilaam’s own words.
In the Gemara Sanhedrin 105b, Rabbi Abba bar Kahana says that all of Bilaam’s blessings later turned to curses. The exception was Bilaam’s words about shuls and yeshivas. So, why did his blessings later become curses when we said earlier that it was Hashem’s words? It appears that even though the words were Hashem’s, they went through the impure vessel of Bilaam, so they didn’t have real berachah.
It is interesting because in the Gemara Brachos 12b, Rabbi Abbahu ben Zutarti quotes Rabbi Yehuda barZevida regarding why the Sages considered incorporating Bilaam’s blessings into the daily Shema prayer. They ultimately chose not to do so, to avoid overburdening the congregation. Why didn’t the Gemara answer that the reason is because the words came through Bilaam and therefore had impurity? I was thinking that in the Gemara Brachos, it teaches that divrei Torah don’t become tamei so therefore a tamei person can learn, so maybe here two things were happening.
As a nevuah, Bilaam’s words could have had a negative effect. However, since Bilaam’s words became a part of the Torah and the Torah does not have impurity, these words stayed in the sphere of kedushah without Bilaam’s negative impact. So, that is why they thought his words could become part of the Shema.
We see how Hashem’s protection of Am Yisrael is eternal. Even with Bilaam’s words later becoming a curse, it was weakened from what he originally meant to do.
Have a great Shabbos!
R’ Mordechai Young can be reached for comments at [email protected].
