Perashat Balak 5778

Perashat Balak 5778

This week's Perasha revolves around the story of Bil'am, a gentile prophet known as a wicked sorcerer, who was hired by King Balak of Moab to curse the nation of Israel. As Bil'am's story continues through the perasha, we see that instead of cursing the nation of Israel, he blessed them. What caused Bil'am to risk his life, betray the king and bless Am Yisrael?

There is an interesting Mishna in Pirke Abot that characterizes the people who follow in the footsteps of the wicked Bil'am as "people with an evil eye, a haughty spirit and a broad appetite." (Pirkei Abot 5:19) The description of an 'evil eye' is curious.

The odd characterization of the eye is also relayed in another story in Pirkei Abot. Rabban Yohanan Ben Zakai asked his students to uncover the proper path for character development. One of his students, Rabbi Eliezer, responded, that one must live his life with an Ayin Toba, a good eye. Rabban Yohanan accepted the conclusion. (Pirkei Abot 2:9)

What does it mean to have an 'evil eye' or a 'good eye'? The function of the eye is to capture the reality in front of us. It seems the ability to see good or bad would not depend on the eye itself but on the external factors of what is being exhibited before it. How then could someone be characterized as having an 'evil eye' or a 'good eye'?

In truth, the eye is subjective. The eye reflects reality the way the viewer would like to see it. Every picture can be observed from thousands of angles, but it is up to the viewer to choose which viewpoint from which to look. A person who has a 'good eye' looks for only the good angles while a person who possesses an 'evil eye' seeks out the negative angles. 

When Rabbi Eliezer expressed that a person should live life with good eyes, he meant to teach the students to seek out the good in the reality around them. This is not to say that there is no bad in the world. Evil is without question a reality in this world, but it is merely a partial reality. Bil'am's "gift" was the ability to zero in on the bad aspects of everything around him and use those evil influences to curse, which made him such a deplorable clairvoyant.

In the Book of Debarim, we find a passuk that on its surface clarifies the change in Bil'am's actions. "But Hashem, your God, refused to listen to Bil'am. And Hashem, your God, reversed  the curse to a blessing for you" (Debarim 23:6). However, a curse cannot simply be transformed into a blessing. The question of why Bil'am changed his curse still stands. 

Perhaps then, Hashem did not change the curse itself but sparked a transformation within Bil'am by showing him a different view of reality. "And Bil'am raised his eyes and saw Israel dwelling according to its tribes, and the spirit of G-d was upon him" (Bamidbar 24:1). Rashi explained that at the moment Bil'am saw the exemplary way in which Am Yisrael lived, it entered into his mind not to curse them.

By countering the evil narrative that Bil'am was fed until then by King Balak with a positive view, Hashem effectively transformed Bil'am's attitude towards Am Yisrael, and thus his curse.
We must develop within ourselves the ability to see our reality through an
ayin toba, a good eye, and strive to see everything from a positive perspective. Even if there may be no good way to look at the person or situation in front of us, we must still use our
ayin toba to believe that a brighter future is possible.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Mimoun Miller