What, then, is the true meaning of “and I shall see the downfall of my enemies”? The Rebbe explains at the end of his discourse: “In order to reach the level of seeing (‘and I shall see’) as in the saying ‘Who is wise? One who sees what is coming’... this {level of wisdom} is specifically achieved through encountering opposition (‘my enemies’).”
This means: Not only do “enemies” not arouse feelings of revenge, but quite the opposite: knowing that when one encounters an opponent or enemy, this comes from Above, and the other person is merely a messenger from the Almighty (“Hashem told him {to curse}”), one seeks and finds in this a Divine instruction for one’s own spiritual service. Indeed, one reaches the point of actually seeing a higher purpose in this situation, concluding that all this was meant to elevate one to a higher level in Divine service—service at the level of direct perception.
Only after fully understanding both aspects of “Hashem is with me among my helpers and I shall see the downfall of my enemies”—recognizing that regarding both “helpers” and “enemies,” everything connects to “Hashem is with me” (because “there is none besides Him”)—then comes the complete appreciation of “Blessed is He who bestows kindness upon me.” One realizes how truly “He has bestowed kindness upon me”—directly from Hashem Himself.
And this kindness manifests as tangible good, visible and revealed in this physical world, to the point where in the Rebbe’s words, “even those who support the Torah are happy and blessed with all good.”
From talks delivered on the 12th of Tammuz and Shabbos parshas Balak 5726 (1966)
