27 Jun PARASHAT BALAK: THE POWER OF PRAYER

The Torah in Parashat
Balak tells the famous
story of Bilam’s
failed attempts to
place a curse on Beneh
Yisrael. Bilam, a non-Jewish prophet, was
summoned by Balak, the king of Moab, who
felt threatened by Beneh Yisrael and thought
that Bilam could curse them and thereby
annihilate them. But G-d intervened and did
not allow Bilam to place a curse, and had
beautiful blessings come out of his mouth,
instead.
The Haftara for Parashat Balak is a prophecy
found in the Book of Micha, in which the
prophet exhorts us to remember the incident
of Balak and Bilam: “My nation, please
remember what Balak, king of Moav, advised,
and how Bilam son of Beor responded”
(Micha 6:5). This verse is included among
the “Zechirot” – the Pesukim which many
people recite after Shaharit in the morning
instructing us to remember certain events.
More remarkably, the Gemara states that the
Sages considered requiring the recitation of
Parashat Balak each day, and decided against
this measure only because they did not wish
to overburden us.
The question arises, why is this incident so
critical that it must be remembered each day?
True, Bilam and Balak conspired to annihilate

us – by way of a curse – and G-d intervened
to rescue us. But this has happened countless
times throughout our nation’s history – that
a nation sought to destroy us, and we were
saved, as we recite in the Haggada on Pesah:
“in every generation they arise against us to
destroy us, but the Almighty rescues us from
their hands.” What is so special about the
story of Balak that we need to be reminded
of it each day?
To answer this question, let us address a more
basic question concerning this story. Why
did G-d have to transform Bilam’s curse to
a blessing? Why did He not simply let Bilam
place the curse, and then have it accomplish
nothing? Is G-d bound by Bilam’s curse?
The answer is that G-d does not, as a rule,
break the laws of nature – and this includes
the “law” that people’s words are very
powerful. It is true that G-d could have
protected Beneh Yisrael even if Bilam had
pronounced a curse, just as He split the sea to
save them from the Egyptians. But generally
speaking, G-d prefers to operate within the
natural order – and the power of speech is
part of the natural order.
The Gemara in Masechet Ketubot (62) tells
the startling story of Rabbi Yannai, who

one Friday afternoon noticed that his son-
in-law, Rabbi Yehuda Ben Rabbi Hiyya, did

not return from the yeshiva. He immediately
instructed the family to begin mourning,
assuming that Rabbi Yehuda was dead. The
truth is that Rabbi Yehuda was not dead, but
was simply delayed. However, once Rabbi
Yannai declared that Rabbi Yehuda was dead
– he died. Words have that kind of power.
And thus G-d changed Bilam’s words so that
he uttered a blessing instead of a curse.
Our Sages teach us that G-d’s benevolence
is 500 times greater than His quality of strict
judgment; the power of goodness always
exceeds the power of evil, many times over.
Hence, if Bilam’s words could have had a
catastrophic effect on Beneh Yisrael, we
cannot even imagine how powerful an impact
our words of prayer can have. If negative
words can have a very harmful effect, then
words of sanctity can have an even greater
beneficial effect.
In the aforementioned Pasuk, Micha tells us
that we must remember the story of Balak
and Bilam “Le’ma’an Da’at Sidkot Hashem,”
which literally means, “so that you remember
the righteousness of G-d.” We may, however,
understand this phrase differently, in light of
the Gemara’s comment prayer is referred to as
“Sedek” (“righteousness”). If we follow this
meaning of “Sedek,” then this verse could be
read to mean that by remembering the story
of Balak and Bilam, we remind ourselves

of the power of prayer. When we see how
powerful Bilam’s words were, to the point
where G-d found it necessary to change the
words into words of blessing, we appreciate
just how powerful prayer can be.
Too often, people become cynical towards
prayer. They dismiss the idea that prayer is
effective and beneficial, and see it as just a
traditional ritual which we perform, which
does not have any real impact. But this is
not the case at all. There is no such thing
as a wasted prayer. Each and every word of
prayer is cherished by G-d, who answers each
one – though not necessarily in the manner
we want. Sometimes a prayer will have an
effect upon somebody else at a different time
and place – but it will certainly have an effect.
If Bilam’s curses could have destroyed an
entire nation, then undoubtedly our words of
prayer could build and create, and bring down
abundant blessing upon us and all mankind.