"You shall not curse the people because they are blessed!"

 

"You shall not curse the people because they are blessed!"

(Numbers 22:12)

Tammuz 9, 5782/July 8, 2022

Avraham received a commandment to "Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, yea, Yitzchak, and go away to the land of Moriah and bring him up there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I will tell you." (Genesis 22:2) Avraham promptly rose at dawn the following morning, prepared his donkey and set out to do G-d's will. Bilaam, the heathen prophet who is the focus of this week's Torah reading, Balak, entertained a request to use his prophetic gift, received a green light from HaShem, promptly mounted his she-ass, and set out to do G-d's will, that is, to only utter the words G-d would place in his mouth. 

Avraham was being asked to do something that contravened everything that was dear to him, everything that his relationship with HaShem stood for, and everything that his heart told him. Bilaam set out on a mission to curse the very nation of whom G-d had told Avraham "I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse," (Genesis 12:3) and yet he was given the go-ahead by G-d. In the end, Avraham did G-d's will, which was not to offer up his son Yitzchak, but to offer up a ram instead. Bilaam, for his part, ultimately performed G-d's will by uttering only blessings concerning the children of Israel. Avraham, as we all know, was a righteous man. Bilaam was not. Where was the difference?

G-d commands, G-d requests, G-d suggests that we do this or that. But the decision to do G-d's will or not, is ultimately ours. This is the gift, the burden and the responsibility of free will, which we, the children of Adam, have all been blessed with. How we make our choices is dependent upon our relationship with G-d. Who we are is a reflection on how we perceive G-d. Avraham perceived G-d to be a compassionate G-d, a G-d of justice, a forgiving G-d and a G-d before whom Avraham could plead his case, (concerning of the city of Sodom), express his fears (concerning not having a son) and even make a covenant with (as he did in the aftermath of the binding of Yitzchak). 

Avraham's choice to act upon G-d's call to offer up his son was the most difficult decision of his life. Going forth from his land and his birthplace and his father's house, to the land that G-d would show him, as weighty as that earlier decision was, did not compare. Avraham knew that G-d was asking of him that which was forbidden by G-d, but with that troubling knowledge, he nevertheless decided to subject his will to G-d's will, to do exactly as he was told, with the faith and the knowledge that, in the end, the good will prevail. Because that, after all, is G-d's will.

Bilaam was propositioned by the emissaries of Balak, king of Moav, to use his powers of prophecy to curse a common enemy, Israel. Bilaam, who had true access to G-d's will, certainly knew that cursing Israel was a non-starter. Yet the offer to do evil was one that he could not refuse. Nevertheless, he sought G-d's stamp of approval before setting out to do what was not G-d's will. 

G-d told him no, saying, "You shall not go with them! You shall not curse the people because they are blessed," (Numbers 22:12) but Bilaam persisted. G-d has spoken His will, but Bilaam petitions G-d a second time, and this time G-d grants Bilaam's demand, (it certainly wasn't a request, as G-d had already given an unequivocal "no!"), with a "yes, but..." In other word, do as you wish, Bilaam, but you are acting on your own. It is not G-d's will that Bilaam should honor Balak's persistent request, it is Bilaam's will. G-d is bending His will, as it were, to Bilaam's will, for man has free choice, and G-d will always respect that. But free choice comes with a price.

We can convince ourselves when we set out to do whatever our desire places before us, that G-d approves. We can approach G-d and state our intentions and if G-d doesn't physically prevent us from carrying out our schemes, we can tell ourselves that G-d has given His okay. We can fool ourselves, wittingly or unwittingly. Even Bilaam, who was blessed with the gift of prophecy, a gift that can be used for the ultimate good of bringing individuals and nations in closer touch with G-d's plan and man's purpose, can fool himself into thinking that he is fooling G-d. "G-d has given me the green light to do as I please, therefore what I please must be G-d's will.”

That this type of self-deception wasn't in any way a reflection of G-d's will became painfully apparent to Bilaam when G-d bestowed upon Bilaam's lowly she-ass a gift of prophecy and a direct connection to HaShem, opening her mouth and her eyes, enabling her to see and express what even Bilaam, the heathen prophet of renown, could not. G-d grants, and G-d takes away. Bilaam was acting on his own, in a direct and obstinate denial of G-d's will.

Avraham subjected his (free) will to G-d's will and the result was that both Avraham and his actions were blessed. Bilaam subverted G-d's will and acted upon his own avarice and pride, and while the blessings with which he blessed Israel are among the most profound and eternal blessings expressed by any prophet, Hebrew or heathen, those blessing expressed the will of G-d and not the will of Bilaam. He can add them to his résumé, but it won't change the fact that he set out to curse, and not bless Israel.

The responsibility lies with us to be true to ourselves and to be true to G-d. 

Achieving true free will, and using it for its ultimate purpose, to make our lives an expression of G-d's will, is on us. G-d is a G-d of justice, of goodness, of mercy and of love. The gifts He has given us, whether they be the rare gift of prophecy or the common, but no less precious gift of free will, are to be respected, not abused.

* * * *

This week's additional reading from the prophet Michah directly references the story of Bilaam, his self-righteous posturing, his overblown self-importance, and his pathetic pandering to evil, and subtly contrasts Bilaam's puffed up pretensions with Avraham's simple humility and faith:

"My people, remember now what Balak king of Moav planned, and what Bilaam the son of Beor answered him. From Shittim to Gilgal, may you recognize the righteous deeds of HaShem. With what shall I come before HaShem, bow before the Most High G-d? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good, and what HaShem demands of you; but to do justice, to love loving-kindness, and to walk discreetly with your G-d." Michah 6:5-8)