Pearls of Wisdom from the Parshah
Now I am going to my people. (Bemidbar 24:14)
From now on, I am like the rest of my people, because Hakadosh Baruch Hu has left me. (Rashi)
Bilaam lost his power of prophecy at this point, after having blessed the Jewish people. But why now? He spoke only the words that Hashem placed in his mouth. If because he was such a rasha, and had such a desire to devastate the Jewish people, that was nothing new. He was like that all along, even before he went to Balak. So why was prophecy taken away from him after he finished bestowing his blessings?
The Torah said previously about Bilaam:
“Hashem came to Bilaam and placed something in his mouth.”
What did Hashem place in his mouth? Rashi explains it was a bit and bridle and reins, like you put in an animal’s mouth so you can pull it and make it go the direction you want.
Let’s say you don’t need to lead an animal from one place to another. You won’t notice the fact that it doesn’t want to go. But when you start trying to lead it, it digs in its hooves and resists with all its strength. Now you see very clearly how much it doesn’t want to go.
Someone standing on the side of the road might see an animal walking along, and not know what a fight it put up to stay in its place, and how begrudgingly it is now moving. But the person pulling it knows very well how hard it is to get this animal to move.
This is how it was with Bilaam. When Hashem put a bit and bridle on him, and pulled him forcibly to bless the Jewish people, it became abundantly evident how much Bilaam wanted to just curse and curse. So after he finally blessed, Hashem took the power of prophecy away from him.
