Parasha Balak (Torah Reading for June 26, 2021)
By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.
SAN DIEGO — Talking donkeys can teach us a great deal about who really offers blessings and curses, that is, only Hashem. And more than this, talking donkeys can teach us to inclusively, with ahavat yisroel, open our eyes and see the good in everyone else in the world. It says in the parasha three times, “And G-d opened the eyes of Bilam and he saw…” Some people, like Bilaam, may need continuous lessons to see the presence of Hashem. We benefit from similar reminders to see every other person with understanding, with the benefit of the doubt, with love, through ayin tova. Our eyes are lenses through which we see the world. Too often shmutz clouds what we see in terms of negative thinking.
Avraham Avinu, the Mishnah in Avot 5:22, teaches, had three traits to be emulated: a good eye (ayin), a meek spirit (ruach) and a humble soul (nefesh). In contrast, Bilaam the wicked had an evil eye, a high spirit and a haughty soul. Rashi attributes to Bilaam the traits of avarice and grandiosity. One may view the entire story of Bilaam and his donkey – according to Maimonides – as a vision or conflict, happening only in his mind…a mind filled with an unhealthy, negative narrative.
Bilaam saw the world through ayin ra’a, (wicked eye). The concept of the “lens” through which we see the world is essential to grasp the good that surrounds us. It seems to be the basis of living well.
In fact, we learn in Choshen Mishpat 137, “Behold, the first ‘good’ in the Torah was based on sight. And from this Rabbi Eliezer learned that the general way to achieve goodness is ‘ayin tova.’” Indeed, in Bereishit, we see that the first verse in the Torah using the word “good” is in relation to sight: “And G-d saw the light and it was good…”
Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berdychiv was walking with his students, when they came across a man who was fixing his carriage while wearing his tallit and tefillin. The Chasidim stopped in their tracks and called: “Rebbe! That Jew is fixing his cart in the middle of prayer!” Rav Levi Yitzchak lifted his hands to the heavens and said: “Master of the Universe, look at your dear child: even while fixing his cart, he prays!” That’s ayin tova. We must train ourselves to see the good in ourselves, and in others, which is always based on our own inner understanding of the outer world. An ugly inside translates into seeing ugliness in the world. The Talmud teaches, “Ein adam chotei el im nichnas bo ruach shtus,” which translates into meaning that a person doesn’t do anything wrong unless a “crazy” thought enters her/his mind.” It’s a deficiency of seeing clearly. The Maharal tells us the person’s lens is lacking, there is an absence of clarity.
Rabbi Eliahu Dessler in Michtav M’Eliyahu (Search for Truth) has a powerful essay on “the Perspective of Truth.” He brings a Torah pasuk that “a bribe will blind the eyes of a judge and distort even the thoughts of the righteous” (Devarim 16:19). Who isn’t bribed by his or her own desires? We fool ourselves into a concoction of self-deception. You want to do something? Your defense mechanisms, your rationalizations, will help you justify doing so. It will also help you argue forcefully for why your behavior is justified. It says in Mishlei 21:2, “All the ways of a person are right in one’s own eyes.”
The Talmud says that even the minutest bribe can bring about a distortion of judgment. When the bribe is within us, how much more is our thinking distorted? When our lenses are covered in irrational thoughts, our view of ourselves and of others is corrupted.
Was Bilaam a fool? No, Bilaam was not. He knew that Hashem prohibited him from cursing Israel. Yet, Bilaam’s inflated ego and lust for financial gain led him to behave irrationally, to fool himself into believing that he might somehow be able to curse the Israelites. Isaac Abravanel, a fifteenth-century commentator states, “Had Bilaam cursed Israel, the surrounding nations would have plucked up the courage and gone to do battle with Israel on the strength of his curses. But when they heard how God had turned them into blessings, they would then realize who was Master . . . and would lose all desire to fight His people. From this point of view, the turning of Balaam’s words into blessing served a very useful purpose.”
But like our fellow cursers today, his shmutz-filled lens of hatred of Israel falsified and altered his rational thinking, moving him to take action to do what he recognized he should not, could not, do.
Awareness of our thinking, our feelings, our biases, are necessary to keep us vigilant for similarly distorted and self-justified thinking. Then, according to Rav Dessler, concentrated learning of mussar, sincere prayer, and the help of Hashem can guard us from grievous self-deception. The parasha unveils righteousness as the courage to struggle with one’s dark side, to face one’s fears and doubts, to clean off the shmutz from one’s lenses and see the world’s goodness.
This parasha teaches us that judging others favorably is essential, but not always easy. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov composed a short prayer for assistance in finding the good in others (Likkutei Tefillot 117):
“God Above, help me give each person the benefit of the doubt, even those who disagree with me… And may this lead to true peace and unity among all of Israel!”
And even Bilaam helps us with his prophetic words that we recite at the beginning of our morning prayers, the fulfillment of Hashem’s promise to Abraham, “How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel!” Curses? These words inspire and elevate us daily, helping us move beyond distortions and rationalization for wrongdoing, helping us instead to gain a deep awareness of our blessings, to enhance our lives, and to grow a closeness to Hashem.
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Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D., prepares a weekly D’var Torah for Young Israel of San Diego, where he and his family are members. They are also active members of Congregation Adat Yeshurun. He may be contacted via michael.mantell@sdjewishworld.com