08 Jul BALAK: A “TENSE” EXCHANGE AND THE LIMITATIONS OF BILAAM’S POWER

A “Tense”
Exchange Between
Balak and Bilaam
Reveals the
Limitations of
Bilaam’s Power
When Balak is trying to entice Bilaam
to curse Klal Yisrael, he says to Bilaam:
“…I know that those whom you bless
are blessed, and those who you curse
will be cursed.” (Bamidbar 22:6). There
are two difficulties in this pasuk. First of
all, would it not make more sense for
Balak to ask Bilaam to bless Moav so
that they would be able to defeat Klal
Yisrael? Why does he ask Bilaam to
curse Klal Yisrael in order to be able to
defeat them, rather than taking the more
positive approach of asking for a
blessing for his own nation? Second of
all, and more problematic, there is an
inconsistency in this pasuk. “I know that
those whom you bless are blessed” is
present tense. However, “those who you

curse, will be cursed” is future tense.
The Netziv, in his Emek She’eilah,
asked why the grammar in this pasuk is
inconsistent. The Netziv suggests a very
interesting answer. Bilaam, as we all
know, was an extremely wicked
individual, a degenerate and terrible
person. In fact, Bilaam DID NOT HAVE
the power to bless. He was not a “Rebbe”
and he could not give brochos. Bilaam
had one power, and that was that he
knew the moment at which the Ribono
shel Olam got angry. That was his entire
power—the power to curse when he
knew the Almighty was angry.
No one knew this secret power of
Bilaam better than Balak. Balak knew
exactly who Bilaam was. He knew there
was no point in asking Bilaam for a
bracha for Moav, because Balak knew
that Bilaam’s words were futile. But the
fact is that people did go to Bilaam for
brachos. Why was that? The Netziv says
that the pasuk says that Bilaam was a

sorcerer (Kosem) (Yehoshua 13:22)—
he knew the future. Basically, he had
this great racket going: People would
come to him and say “Bilaam, I am sick.
Give me a bracha that I should get
better.” Bilaam would “consult with his
sorcerer material” and see if this fellow
was going to get well or not. He might
“see” that this fellow was destined to
recover in two months and bless him
that he should get better in two months.
Lo and behold, the fellow got better in
two months, and Bilaam’s fame spread
far and wide. On the other hand, when
he would consult his sorcerer
paraphernalia and see that the fellow
was not going to get better, Bilaam
would say to him “Sorry. I can’t help
you. You are doomed.” Either way, he
established his reputation as a person
who possessed the “Koach HaBracha“.
But if truth be told, Balak was also a
sorcerer, and he knew that Bilaam’s
whole “power” to bless was a mirage,

using sorcery. Therefore, when Balak
came to Bilaam, Balak said: “Listen, I
know that the person you bless IS
BLESSED (already). I know that is the
only reason your “blessings” work, so I
am not going to ask you to give us a
bracha. But I know that those who you
curse, they WILL BE CURSED. I can
ask you to curse because you have the
power to recognize the auspicious
moment when the Almighty is Angry,
and therefore when your curses may be
effective. For this reason, I ask you to
curse our enemies –Klal Yisrael.