In Parshas Balak, Balak the king of Moav, along with the elders of Midyan - fearing the power of the Bnei Yisrael - hire Bilaam the sorcerer/prophet to curse the nation of Israel. The goal, like that of our enemies throughout time, is to destroy Am Yisrael and prevent them from conquering, and entering, the land of Israel. 

Bilaam was a very well-known personality at that time, and the Sages say that he was like a money-changer, to whom everyone went to change money (Rashi to Bamidbar 22:5). King Balak, and the elders of Midyan, hope that through effective curses placed upon Am Yisrael, the “Jewish problem” would be taken care of. This is not mere hyperbole; Bilaam genuinely desired to wipe out Am Yisrael, and it was only Hashem’s protection that saved the nation and turned his desired curses into beautiful blessings (Sanhedrin 105b - אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: מִבִּרְכָתוֹ שֶׁל אוֹתוֹ רָשָׁע אַתָּה לָמֵד מָה הָיָה בְּלִבּוֹ. בִּיקֵּשׁ לוֹמַר שֶׁלֹּא יְהוּ לָהֶם בָּתֵּי כְנֵסִיּוֹת וּבָתֵּי מִדְרָשׁוֹת – ״מַה טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב״. לֹא תִּשְׁרֶה שְׁכִינָה עֲלֵיהֶם – ״וּמִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל״)

From Lavan to Bilaam (the Arizal teaches that Bilaam was a gilgul of Lavan), from the Nazis y’s to our enemies today - ושם רשעים ירקב (Mishlei 10:7) - from curses to missiles, and propaganda to ambushes, the enemy will never rest in their vain attempts to destroy our nation and our Land.

Though they rise against us in every generation, Hashem saves us from their hands. Just as Hashem thwarted the evil plans of Bilaam and changed the curses he wanted to utter into blessings, so too, today, Hashem continues to thwart the plans of our enemies - the epicenter of which is the Iranian axis of evil - to save His nation and protect His land.

Chazal have strong words to say about Bilaam and those like him.

כָּל מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּיָדוֹ שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הַלָּלוּ, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ. וּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים אֲחֵרִים, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל בִּלְעָם הָרָשָׁע. עַיִן טוֹבָה, וְרוּחַ נְמוּכָה, וְנֶפֶשׁ שְׁפָלָה, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ. עַיִן רָעָה, וְרוּחַ גְּבוֹהָה, וְנֶפֶשׁ רְחָבָה, מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל בִּלְעָם הָרָשָׁע.

Whoever possesses these three things, is of the students of Avraham, our father; and [whoever possesses] three other things, of the students of wicked Bilaam. A good eye, a humble spirit and an undemanding soul, he is of the disciples of Avraham, our father. An evil eye, a haughty spirit and a broad soul, he is of the disciples of Balaam, the wicked (Pirkei Avos 5:22).

The mishna is teaching us that an evil like Bilaam’s is founded upon the evil and rot that exists within his self. These deplorable character traits are found in Bilaam - and those like him, referred to in the mishna as his students. Such individuals posses an evil and wicked eye towards everyone and everything, they have a conceited and haughty spirit, and a broad (greedy, insatiable), soul.

These traits fuel hatred towards others and a quest for the building up of oneself, at the expense of everyone else. 

Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch teaches, “We behold the arrogance, the insatiable ambition and the greed of the malicious Bileam who was ready to pronounce a curse over an entire people. We cannot find in Bileam’s character sketch even one stroke that might mitigate this unsavory picture in the gallery of history. 

“The disciples of Abraham love their fellow-men, they are modest, humble, utterly untainted by envy. These sterling qualities not only open for them the portals of bliss in the world to come, but give them serenity and happiness even here on earth regardless of the lack of material wealth and pleasures and the burden of trials and privation that life may bring. Their measure of calamities seems small in their eyes, and the happiness of others which they create, promote, and observe affords them a source of joy which the disciples of Bileam cannot possibly surmise.

“As for the disciples of Bileam, their malice, their arrogance and their insatiable greed and ambition not only make it impossible for them to walk upon the road to salvation in the world to come, but also keep them from finding one moment’s true contentment, even in the midst of an abundance of riches and pleasures. Any joy, honor or prosperity that comes to others is a bitter drop in their cup of joy and whatever they may already have achieved loses all value in their eyes when they contemplate those of their desires that are still unfulfilled. Hence, they do not receive a portion in either of the two worlds originally appointed for them, even as they had been for all other men. The world to come is closed to them and the happiness possible in this world is truly lost to them as well” (Chapters of the Fathers, Rav Hirsch, Feldheim Publishers, p.92-93).

There is much to learn from Bilaam, for “Who is a wise man? One who learns from everyone” (Pirkei Avos 4:1). While Bilaam teaches us about the hatred of our enemies towards our nation, from which we must always be on guard, and pray to Hashem for everlasting protection, he also teaches us about ourselves and the life-long mission of tikkun ha’middos.

Each of us must choose who we are and who we want to be, the kind of lives we will live, the way we will view and interact with others, and the people that we will become. We can all choose to be of the students of Avraham, by bringing our positive character traits to fruition and striving to repair and overcome our negative traits. Or, may Hashem save us, we can choose to be of the students of Bilaam, learning from his ways, seeing the bad in others, ever greedy for more wealth and honor, and living lives in which one self-destructs in both worlds. 

We must daven for the self-awareness to know who we are, the humility to accept our innate traits, the courage to change and grow, and the strength to become the person we can be and the person we want to be, always on the path of Avraham Avinu and the derech Hashem. 

בברכת בשורות טובות ושבת שלום