B'lak Magic – Balak
..........ה' אֱ-לֹקֵיכֶם אֱמֶת. וַיַּרְא בָּלָק בֶּן צִפּוֹר ........... וַיָּקָם בִּלְעָם וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיָּשָׁב לִמְקֹמוֹ וְגַם בָּלָק הָלַךְ לְדַרְכּוֹ. וְיַצִּיב וְנָכון וְקַיָּם וְיָשָׁר
Imagine if you had to catch a bus to work after Shacharit at 8am and the chazzan, after reciting קריאת שמע, suddenly, out of the blue, launched into reciting all 95 psukkim of parshat Balak before continuing with וְיַצִּיב וְנָכון?
Firstly, you would probably miss your bus and secondly, you would most likely think (וֶהֱוֵי דָּן אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם לְכַף זְכוּת) that the chazzan perhaps went to bed late the night before, didn't really wake up properly and was reciting the tefilla from a sleep-deprived fog.
That evening you go to Ma'ariv as usual at 8:15pm, planning to sit down for dinner with the family after the tefilla at 8:30pm. The same chazzan (who has a chiyuv), immediately after reciting קריאת שמע, to the dismay of the ציבור, once again begins repeating all 95 psukkim of parshat Balak. This time there is less "benefit of the doubt" and instead, angry mutterings from the ציבור, as they envision their schnitzel getting cold.
Sounds like a bit of a wacky story, yes? If so, you will be surprised to discover that in fact there is a Gemara which says, that by all rights, every day, twice a day, we should be reciting parshat Balak, together with קריאת שמע.
אָמַר רַבִּי אֲבָהוּ בֶּן זוּטַרְתִּי אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר זְבִידָא: בִּקְּשׁוּ לִקְבֹּעַ פָּרָשַׁת בָּלָק בִּקְרִיאַת שְׁמַע, וּמִפְּנֵי מָה לֹא קְבָעוּהָ - מִשּׁוּם טוֹרֵחַ צִבּוּר (ברכות יב, ע"ב).
The only reason we don't is because of טִרְחָא דְּצִבּוּרָא - we don't want people to miss their buses or eat cold mashed potatoes!
The question is not why the חכמים opted to not include the entire parshat Balak in Shacharit and Ma'ariv (I am sure many of us are secretly grateful they didn't). The real question is why they thought it should be included in the first place?
Parshat Balak, more than anything else, is all about the power of words!
To begin to understand how powerful words are, we need to visit a Mishna in Pirkei Avot -
בַּעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם. וּמַה תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר, וַהֲלֹא בְּמַאֲמָר אֶחָד יָכוֹל לְהִבָּרְאוֹת? אֶלָּא לְהִפָּרַע מִן הָרְשָׁעִים שֶׁמְּאַבְּדִין אֶת הָעוֹלָם שֶׁנִּבְרָא בַּעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת, וְלִתֵּן שָׂכָר טוֹב לַצַּדִּיקִים שֶׁמְּקַיְּמִין אֶת הָעוֹלָם שֶׁנִּבְרָא בַּעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת (אבות ה, א)
When HKB"H created the world, He used words – "utterances", מַאֲמָרוֹת. The basis of this Mishna is the repetition of the word וַיֹּאמֶר ten times in the first chapter of Breishit. We learn from this that words have enormous power – they can create (and they can also destroy), not just metaphysical concepts, feelings and emotions, but also tangible, physical objects!
It is common knowledge that Avraham Avinu wrote a book called ספר היצירה which focuses on the awesome power of Lashon HaKodesh, the letters and the words. Uttering specific sequences of letters and words with the appropriate kavanot, one can create physical objects. The Gemara (חולין ב, ע"א) distinguishes between the laws of שחיטה of a naturally born animal and an animal created using ספר היצירה. The Malbim says that the tongues in mustard sauce that Avraham served to the angels were taken from an animal created using ספר היצירה and therefore the laws of בשר וחלב do not apply (which is why they were served together with butter and milk). The Shlah Hakadosh says that when Yosef observed his brothers supposedly eating אבר מן החי and consorting with women, they were in fact animals and women created using ספר היצירה, to which the laws do not apply. The Gemara (סנהדרין סה, ע"ב) says that רב חנינא and רב אושעיא didn't bother going to the butcher every erev Shabbat to buy meat, they simply used ספר היצירה to create a prime grade calf, עיגלא תילתא, to put in their cholent (what a "creative" way to beat the rising cost of living!). Everyone knows about the Maharal of Prague and the golem he created using ספר היצירה.
The Torah is divided into two parts, the נגלה and the נסתר. The hidden part of the Torah, often referred to as תורת הסוד or קבלה, including ספר היצירה, was until the 17th century an integral part of mainstream Torah study. However, following the incident with Shabtai Tzvi and other false messiahs who used kabbalistic methods, to "prove" their authenticity, this realm of study was subsequently restricted, predominantly in Ashkenazic circles, less so in Sefardic circles, to only those who met specific criteria regarding age, degree of learning, etc. This is not to minimize its importance chas vechalila, quite the opposite, it emphasizes its power (and danger if abused). That is why today it is imperative to steer clear of so called "kabbalists" claiming to have special powers for everything under the sun, to solve problems related to health, parnasa, marriage, children, etc. If there are Mekubalim today at all who truly have that power, they will not be advertising it and certainly not charging for their "services".
Therefore, we see that the Torah has the power to defy the laws of nature. Moshe caused the sun to stand still in the battle with Amalek, as did Yehoshua in Givon. We learn in the Gemara of incidences as those above with the עיגלא תילתא and the episode of R' Pinchas ben Yair who caused the Ginai river to split, three times! (חולין ז, ע"א). We do not regard these acts as "black magic", but integral parts of the power of the Torah.
What is less known is that Avraham wrote another book called מסכת עבודת כוכבים. The Gemara (עבודה זרה יד, ע"ב) says that this book had 400 chapters and it detailed each and every avoda zara in the world that ever existed. Avraham used this book in his mission to bring people closer to HKB"H. The book describes every ritual of every type of idol worship, down to the smallest detail - the methods, the chants, the accessories, the sleight of hand, the tricks, illusions, etc. Avraham travelled from place to place and used the book to dispel, ridicule and expose every tiny detail related to them, how fraudulent they were. After the יצר הרע for avoda zara was cancelled (סנהדרין סד, ע"א) in the time of Ezra HaSofer, this book was lost and all that remains of the original 400 chapters are barely 5 chapters in the Gemara (מסכת עבודה זרה).
Not all of these idolatry rituals were trickery, some of them were based on real forces, not the forces of טהרה upon which the Torah is based, but upon the forces of טומאה. זֶה לְעֻמַּת זֶה עָשָׂה הָאֱ-לֹקִים (קהלת ז, יד) – In order to ensure freedom of choice, HKB"H creates opposing forces in the world. HKB"H created Avraham Avinu with the forces of טהרה and at the same time He created Nimrod with the powers of טומאה. When the one ceases to exist so too does the other. The day Avraham died was the same day that Eisav killed Nimrod. HKB"H created the opposing forces Yaakov and Eisav on the same day. The death of Yaakov in Egypt was immediately followed by the decapitation of Eisav by Chushim ben Dan.
HKB"H created Moshe Rabbeinu and at the same time He created the opposing force Bilam. Chazal say that they were prophets of equal stature and equal power. The difference is that Moshe derived his power from the forces of טהרה while Bilam derived his from the forces of טומאה.
The Zohar Hakadosh (פרשת בלק) describes what the passuk בָּלָק בֶּן צִפּוֹר means, what exactly was this "bird"? There is page upon page of description of how Balak, who was a greater sorcerer than Bilam, used this "bird" to "see" things that others were not able to see. It is a combination of Kabbalistic concepts of the Ten Sfirot combined with stuff that would not look out of place in a South American voodoo almanac - piercing holes in the bird's tongue, singeing the wings, burning incense, uttering incantations, etc. And the Zohar says that this actually worked! Using this "black magic" Balak was able to see things he could not possibly see under normal circumstances. Modern Mefarshim enjoy equating Balak's "bird" with a pilotless "drone", but it was much deeper than that. These were actual supernatural forces that defy nature – they do exist in the world.
It comes as no surprise that, even today, the goyim glorify davka the forces of טומאה. The folklore of the goyim is filled with their idols – king Arthur and Merlin the magician, Harry Potter and Hogwarts, to name but a few. They portray a "magical" world of spells, special powers and superheroes. Hollywood is full of them. You may ridicule it as "childish fantasies", but they form the basis of the subsequent adult behavior. They are the side of Eisav. The side of Yaakov Avinu doesn't play so well on the movie screen, or look nearly as glamorous As Jews we are commanded to run a mile from the forces of טומאה and serve HKB"H purely and innocently - תָּמִים תִּהְיֶה עִם ה' אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ.
Not only was Avraham Avinu a "published author", so too was Moshe Rabbeinu. We think that the only written work Moshe ever wrote was חמישה חומשי תורה (including parshat Balak). However, according to the של"ה הקדוש and ר' הושע אבן שועיב (a talmid of the רשב"א), Moshe wrote another book called ספר בלעם in which he lists and explains in minute detail, all of Bilam's powers of magic. Chazal list some of Bilam's feats of magic, for example (תרגום יונתן, במדבר לא, ח), when Pinchas came to kill Bilam, Bilam used his כשפים and flew up into the air. Pinchas then uttered the שם המפורש and thus also managed to fly up and killed him. Supposedly, this book of Moshe lists and explains numerous other "shenanigans" of Bilam and how they worked. This book has been lost.
The Mefarshim are divided regarding Bilam's power. According to the Ibn Ezra, Bilam's power was simply that he knew how to interpret the מזלות. The "astrology" used today to derive horoscopes and other such nonsense, bears no resemblance to the authentic concept of מזלות in the Torah. The Torah describes certain "forces" in creation that influence people and nations, for example the מזל of ancient Egypt was טלה. They believed that the טלה was a deity, they worshipped it and derived their strength from it. Chazal say that the מזל of Yosef is דגים, which is why עין הרע does not affect Yosef, etc. The concept of מזלות is a Torah concept. This is why when a baby is born, or someone gets married we say "Mazal Tov". When we do קידוש לבנה each month we say סִמָּן טוֹב וּמַזָּל טוֹב יְהֵא לָנוּ וּלְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל אָמֵן. Ibn Ezra says that Bilam was an expert at interpreting מזלות. Bilam would enquire as to a person's birthdate and then be able to tell them about certain events that would occur. Bilam was usually spot on. This was not fortune telling or Ruach Hakodesh, according to the Ibn Ezra, but simply an in-depth understanding of how מזלות worked and their application.
Rabbeinu Bachyei has another opinion. According to R' Bachyei, Bilam's power was that he knew the precise instant in the day when HKB"H is angry and he would use that opening to curse people and invoke מידת הדין on them. The Gemara (ברכות ז, ע"א) says that there is a specific, brief instant in the day when HKB"H is angry and it can be determined by observing a large male rooster. At this exact instant, the red mane of the rooster turns white. Bilam knew this trick and he used it to good effect.
The Yearot Dvash (פרק ו') says that the reason Bilam failed to cause harm to Bnei Yisrael was because this episode of Balak took place during עשרת ימי תשובה and in these ten days, HKB"H does not even have that brief moment of anger, it is all רחמים.
Whatever perush you follow, the pshat of the psukkim tells us that HKB"H was having conversations with Bilam (good or bad, it doesn't matter). This shows us that Bilam was not a simple individual and was of a level that HKB"H conversed directly with him.
What I would like to do now is focus on one of the psukkim in the parsha and from it obtain a deeper understanding of what Balak and Bilam were trying to accomplish and how it ties in with the Lechem Hapanim, amongst other things.
When Bilam struck his donkey for the third time, HKB"H opened the donkey's mouth, gave it the power of speech and the donkey rebuked Bilam –
וַיִּפְתַּח ה' אֶת פִּי הָאָתוֹן וַתֹּאמֶר לְבִלְעָם מֶה עָשִׂיתִי לְךָ כִּי הִכִּיתַנִי זֶה שָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים (במדבר כב, כח).
My first question is – "What language did the donkey speak to Bilam in?" The answer to this question has direct bearing on the next question.
Sefer Baruch Yomeiru says that Bilam is the only individual that the Torah gives us a WAZE address for. Do we know the neighborhood in Charan that Avraham lived in before he made aliyah to Eretz Yisrael? Do we know the street address in Egypt where Moshe was born? Nope! The only person the Torah gives a street address for is Bilam. אֶרֶץ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹ, what country is that? The Mefarshim (Onkelos, Targum Yonatan) say אֲרָם. They say that Bilam was in fact Lavan Ha'Arami (or a gilgul of Lavan). Next the passuk gives us the name of the city/town he lived in פְּתוֹרָה (more on this later). Finally, the passuk says אֲשֶׁר עַל הַנָּהָר – Riverside Lane. Any postman could find that address - Bilam ben Be'or, Riverside Lane, Petorah, Aram. So we know exactly where Bilam lived and what his mother tongue was – Aramaic. However we know that Bilam spoke more than one language – he was adviser to Pharaoh, so he also spoke ancient Egyptian! The language the donkey spoke in was neither of the above.
The Zohar HaKadosh says the speech Bilam heard was an angel speaking through the throat of the donkey, and we know that angels only speak one language – Lashon Hakodesh. This is why during the year we say the phrase בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד after Shma Yisrael softly, because this is a phrase used by the angels to praise HKB"H which Moshe inadvertently overheard when he went up to receive the Torah (דברים רבה, ב, לב) and we don't want to provoke the angels by copying them. On Yom Kippur we are allowed to say it aloud, because on Yom Kippur we are like angels. However, the passuk in Kaddish יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵי עָלְמַיָא, which is the Aramaic translation of בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד we are allowed to say aloud year-round, why? Because angels don't speak/understand Aramaic, only Lashon Hakodesh, so by saying it we are not provoking them. So that is the answer to the first question – the donkey spoke in Lashon HaKodesh. Bilam obviously understood Lashon HaKodesh – he conversed with HKB"H.
The second question is why the donkey used the strange term זֶה שָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים? Yes, Bilam hit the donkey three times, but if so, why does the donkey not say זֶה שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים? In fact the Hebrew word רְגָלִים does not have an equivalent translation in any other language – it is referring to the שְׁלֹשֶׁת הָרְגָלִים – פֶּסַח, שָׁבוּעוֹת סֻכּוֹת. Rashi says that the donkey was rebuking Bilam – why do you think you can curse a nation that celebrates the שְׁלֹשֶׁת הָרְגָלִים?
Here I would like to bring a different explanation for the term רְגָלִים – that it is referring to "legs", as in רַגְלַיִם. The donkey is rebuking Bilam for striking the three legs! Which three legs is it referring to?
In the prophecy of the מעשה המרכבה of Yechezkel, he describes the four faces in the כסא הכבוד –
וּדְמוּת פְּנֵיהֶם פְּנֵי אָדָם וּפְנֵי אַרְיֵה אֶל הַיָּמִין לְאַרְבַּעְתָּם וּפְנֵי שׁוֹר מֵהַשְּׂמֹאול לְאַרְבַּעְתָּן וּפְנֵי נֶשֶׁר לְאַרְבַּעְתָּן (יחזקאל א, י).
The four legs of the כסא הכבוד reflect the "kings" of all the animal kingdom. Lion – king of the wild animals, Ox - king of the domesticated animals, Eagle – king of the birds, Man – king over all the animal kingdom and, sitting on the כסא הכבוד - HKB"H, King of kings, L-rd over everything.
The Zohar HaKadosh (ח"ב קנ"ד ע"ב) explains why it is called Lechem Hapanim, bread of the "faces". The Zohar brings the prophecy of Yechezkel describing the Heavenly creatures called חַיּוֹת הַקֹּדֶשׁ that they comprised 4 faces – lion, ox, eagle and man. Each of these four faces was subdivided into a further three faces – lion, ox, eagle. So you had a total of 12 faces in all, corresponding to the 12 loaves of Lechem Hapanim. The Lechem Hapanim therefore reflect the Heavenly faces in the כסא הכבוד (Meir Panim).
Another connection between this week's parsha and the Lechem Hapanim is the hometown of Bilam פְּתוֹרָה. Rashi says the word Petorah is the name of a place, but in Aramaic it also means שֻׁלְחָן. The Ari z"l says that Balak had a dream of a "table" – the royal table of David HaMelech. Balak prophetically saw that David Hamelech was to be descended from him (his granddaughter – Rut). So he quickly called for Bilam to try prevent the emergence of the Mashiach ben David.
If you closely examine the psukkim in parshat Balak, you find some interesting references to animals.
The first passuk בָּלָק בֶּן צִיפּוֹר, refers to Balak's special "seeing" bird. The gematriya of בָּלָק בֶּן צִיפּוֹר is כְּנֶשֶׁר.
Three psukkim later it says וַיֹּאמֶר מוֹאָב אֶל זִקְנֵי מִדְיָן עַתָּה יְלַחֲכוּ הַקָּהָל אֶת כָּל סְבִיבֹתֵינוּ כִּלְחֹךְ הַשּׁוֹר אֵת יֶרֶק הַשָּׂדֶה.... Of all the animals to choose from, that wipe out all the grazing land, why choose a שּׁוֹר, an ox? Other grazing animals also wipe out pasture land – sheep, goats, etc. The Moavim davka chose an ox as the symbol.
Later, when Bilam tries to curse Bnei Yisrael and it comes out as a blessing instead, Bilam uses three references to animals – רְאֵם, נַחַשׁ, אֲרִי. The reference to רְאֵם Rashi says is in reference to שֵּׁדִים (גיטין סח ע"ב). The reference to נַחַשׁ is in the negative – that there is no נַחַשׁ in Bnei Yisrael. The only animal of the three attributed to Bnei Yisrael is the אֲרִי - הֶן עָם כְּלָבִיא יָקוּם וְכַאֲרִי יִתְנַשָּׂא וכו'.
From this we see that Balak and Bilam were targeting three specific animals – the eagle, the ox and the lion - three of the four legs of the כסא הכבוד ! However, their main focus was on the fourth leg.
Chazal say the fourth leg of the כסא הכבוד is an אדם, and not just any man. Chazal say that the face of the man in the fourth leg is - the face of Yaakov Avinu. Repeatedly Bilam tries to curse Bnei Yisrael and repeatedly HKB"H switches his curses to blessings. In the psukkim where Bilam cursrse/blesses Bnei Yisrael, the name of Yaakov appears six times –
וַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר מִן אֲרָם יַנְחֵנִי בָלָק מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב מֵהַרְרֵי קֶדֶם לְכָה אָרָה לִּי יַעֲקֹב וּלְכָה זֹעֲמָה יִשְׂרָאֵל (במדבר כג, ז)
מִי מָנָה עֲפַר יַעֲקֹב וּמִסְפָּר אֶת רֹבַע יִשְׂרָאֵל תָּמֹת נַפְשִׁי מוֹת יְשָׁרִים וּתְהִי אַחֲרִיתִי כָּמֹהוּ (שם, כג, י)
לֹא הִבִּיט אָוֶן בְּיַעֲקֹב וְלֹא רָאָה עָמָל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל ה' אֱ-לֹקָיו עִמּוֹ וּתְרוּעַת מֶלֶךְ בּוֹ (שם, כג, כא)
כִּי לֹא נַחַשׁ בְּיַעֲקֹב וְלֹא קֶסֶם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כָּעֵת יֵאָמֵר לְיַעֲקֹב וּלְיִשְׂרָאֵל מַה פָּעַל אֵ-ל (שם, כג, כג)
מַה טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל (שם, כד, ה)
(Later on Bilam says to Balak "Let me tell you what is going to happen to you in the end of days" and here the name Yaakov is also mentioned twice, but this is not part of the curses/blessings where HKB"H intervenes and switches them around).
Balak and Bilam were trying to topple the כסא הכבוד. Just like the דור הפלגה declared war on HKB"H, so too did Balak and Bilam. They aimed directly at all four legs and let loose. On the first three legs – lion, ox, eagle they shot once, but at the fourth leg, Yaakov Avinu they tried to shoot six times, but each time HKB"H intervened and deflected the shots. Why six times?
It is very simple. They were aiming at שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה' אֱ-לקֵינוּ, ה' אֶחָד that contains six words! קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע is קַבָּלַת עֹל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם, acceptance of HKB"H as King! Balak and Bilam were trying to wage war against HKB"H and His chosen people and eradicate HKB"H's name from the world.
This is why Chazal decided to add the parsha of Balak after reciting קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע in the morning and in the evening - as a constant reminder "Look what Balak and Bilam tried to do and always remember the antidote to them!"
Why do we need to remind ourselves every day about something that happened over 3000 years ago? The answer is that Balak and Bilam were not a once off thing in history. In every generation, including ours today, you have the same epic battle between the forces of טהרה and the forces of טומאה, they just have different names (and different WAZE addresses), but their purpose is the same – to elevate HKB"H's name in the world or to tear Him down.
Chazal did not feel that the ציבור would be able to sustain such a long tefilla, so they sufficed with reciting קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע twice a day in the tefilla and a third time before going to sleep, every day of our lives and a brief reminder of parshat Balak, instead of the whole parsha. The Ashkenazim begin the tefilla each day with מַה טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל and the Sefardim end the tefilla with remembering Balak in the zechirot, reminding ourselves of the forces of טומאה – how they failed back then and how they will ultimately fail in the end when HKB"H sends Mashiach, בבי"א.
