Hashem Benefits Us Without Our Knowledge:
Rav Chuna Halberstam zy”a, Rov of Kalashitz (in his Sefer Divrei Chuna) asks what this Parshah is meant to teach us and what we are meant to learn from it.
He answers that we are meant to learn an important lesson about emunah in Hashem’s guidance of the world. We are supposed to see that Hashem performs miracles for us every second of every day, even when we are unaware of it and don’t realize what is happening.
This lesson is clearly seen from this story. The Jews were living peacefully, with each one dwelling serenely in his own tent. They had no idea that Balak and Bilaam were plotting against them and planning to destroy them at that very moment. They didn’t see how Hashem ruined their evil plans and turned Bilaam’s curses into blessings. All this occurred and the entire nation was saved without anyone even knowing about any of it.
This teaches us that Hashem is always watching and protecting us. He saves us from the plans of our enemies, even when we don’t know about them.
Kedusha as a Result of Shemiras Halashon:
Rav Avrohom Yissochor of Radomsk zy”a (Sefer Chesed L’Avrohom) writes that when the verse says that Balak saw “all that Yisroel did to the Emori”, it is a reference to their words (“amirah”). This indicates that Balak saw how Klal Yisroel was careful with their words, making sure to never use them to malign or speak negatively about others.
It is known that the word “kol” (all) indicates a lofty level of holiness and purity that one can attain by guarding his mouth from speaking improperly. Thus, the pasuk is saying that Balak saw that Klal Yisroel had this trait of “kol” because they were careful with their words.
Their Faces Were Illuminated Because They Guarded Their Words:
Rav Osher Yeshaya of Ropshitz zy”a (Sefer Ohr Yesha) also explains that this pasuk is teaching us the importance of watching one’s words. He says that one’s words influence one’s thoughts. When one keeps his speech sanctified, his thoughts will be holy. Furthermore, through pure speech and holy thoughts, one merits a holy image of “tzelem Elokim” shining from their face.
He explains that when Balak saw “all that Yisroel did to the Emori”, i.e., that they were careful with their “amirah”, he was afraid in the face of (“mipnei”) the nation. He was afraid of their faces because they had a holy, shining countenance that struck fear into their enemies.
Being Able to Say “No”:
Rav Meir of Premishlan zy”a explains this pasuk as follows: “All that Yisroel did” – what does a person have to be to be a genuine Jew? “L’Emori” – this can be read “Lo Emor”; say no. In other words, in order to be a good Jew, one should have the ability to say no.
This is a fundamental difference between a Jew and a non-Jew. A Jew has the ability to overcome desires and to say no to the yeitzer hara when it tries to convince him to sin. Non-Jews, however, do not have the ability to say “no”. They are beholden to their desires and cannot refuse them.
Similarly, the pasuk in Koheles (3:19) states: “The difference between a person and an animal is ‘ayin’ (nothing).” Rav Tzvi Hirsh of Ziditchoiv zy”a explains that a Jew is different than an animal because he can say “ayin”, no. He can refuse to follow his desires. An animal, however, cannot do this. It cannot refuse its desires.
Bilaam Was Like a Thief Who Wanted Ruach Hakodesh:
The famed Magid, Rav Yaakov Galinsky zt”l quoted Rav Yosef Yoizel Horowitz zt”l, the Alter of Novardhok, as explaining what type of person Bilaam was with a moshol:
There once was a shamash who would clean the bais medrash at midnight every night. One night, he noticed the town’s thief quietly entering the shul, but the thief didn’t notice him. The shamash hid under a table to try and catch the thief in the act of stealing something. He saw him approach the Aron Kodesh, kiss the paroches, and begin to cry.
The shamash thought to himself: He must have a sick family member or perhaps some other big problem and he is asking Hashem to help him.
To his great surprise, he heard the ganav say, “Ribono Shel Olam! Please grant me ruach hakodesh!”
When the thief started to walk away, the shamash couldn’t contain himself and he ran after him. He said to him, “My friend, there is no one else here besides for me and you. Please tell me why you are asking Hashem for ruach hakodesh?”
The thief replied, “You have no idea how hard my job is. I have to roam the streets during the cold winter nights and break into locked doors. When I am in someone’s house, my life is in danger, but I have to silently search through the drawers and closets to find valuable. When I do this, I am terrified that the homeowner will find me and potentially kill me. I am asking for ruach hakodesh so that I will know where the valuables are hidden so I will be able to grab them quickly and get out of the house.”
The Alter explained: This is what Bilaam was like. He merited speaking to Hashem and hearing His voice, but what did he do with this? He used this power to curse people. He tried to make money from it. Just like that ganav wanted to use ruach hakodesh to help him steal, Bilaam used his ruach hakodesh to do terrible things.
The lesson we can learn from this is to use our talents and abilities that Hashem gave us for good things, and not to waste them on nonsense.
Seeing the Good and Not the Bad:
Sefer Likutei Yehuda explains this pasuk by quoting his grandfather, the Chiddushei Harim zy”a, who explains the Mishnah in Avos (1:10): “Judge every person (“kol ho’odom”) favorably.” He says that the words “kol h’odom” can be translated to mean “the entire person.” Thus, the Mishnah is saying that if a person judge’s his friend as an entire person, seeing every aspect, he will see his good parts, and not just his bad parts. In this way, he will be able to see the good in him and judge him favorably.
Bilaam wanted to only see the bad parts of Klal Yisroel. Hashem was telling him that if he looks at “only a part of them’, he will only see the bad. But if he looks at all of them – if he sees the entire person – he will not see the bad anymore because every Jew always has good parts that can be seen if one looks for them.
Learning From Hashem, Not From People:
The pasuk later says (ibid:21): “He does not look at evil in Yaakov, and has seen no discretion in Yisroel.” It is said in the name of Rav Levi Yitzchok of Berdichov zy”a (quoted in Peninei Osher) that this pasuk is teaching us an important lesson about how people should act towards each other.
Hashem knows all of a person’s aveiros. Still and all, He chooses not to see them. He chooses to look away. Therefore, it is certain that a man, who doesn’t really know everything and may be mistaken when he thinks that his friend has committed a sin, should look away and should not see his friend’s perceived sins.
If You Are Good, You Can Tolerate Others:
Rav Yitzchok of Buhush zy”a learns this same lesson from the pasuk (Bereishis 4:7): “if you improve, it will be forgiven. If you do not improve, at the entrance, sin is lying.” This can be understood to mean that if you improve and you are good, you will be able to forgive and tolerate others. But if you do not improve and you are not good yourself, you will see sin lying “at the entrance”. You will see everyone else’s aveiros and you won’t be able to tolerate anyone else.
Atonement For Wrongly Suspecting Someone:
The following amazing story is related in Sefer Mekor Chaim:
In a small village near Sanz there lived a Jewish man named R’ Nochum who welcomed many guests into his home. One day, a poor man came to R’ Nochum. R’ Nochum welcomed him warmly and gave him a good meal to eat. Afterwards, he took out a nice amount of money from his wallet and gave it to him. However, the poor man refused to accept the money. He said, “You should know that I am really a rich man. I only accepted to go into exile because of a story that happened to me.”
He related that he was a wealthy businessman who lived a pleasant life until one day when a large sum of money went missing in his house. A poor orphaned girl worked in his home as a maid and he suspected that she took the money. He spoke to her gently and asked her to return the money but she burst out in tears and said that she had not taken it. She said that she was unfairly being accused and that she was innocent but the rich man did not believe her. He called the police and they came and arrested her.
The girl was held in jail by the police for a week while they interrogated her. They hit her and tortured her to get her to admit to stealing the money but she still maintained her innocence and said that she wouldn’t admit to something she didn’t do even if they would kill her!
After a week, they had no choice but to release her. However, she was severely affected by the beatings she had endured and she became very sick. A few days later, she died.
Two weeks later, the rich man found the money in a hidden place in his home. When he saw the money, he began to tremble in fear. He knew that he had done a terrible thing and Hashem would punish him for it.
He ran to Rav Meir of Premishlan zy”a and asked him what he could do to do teshuva. Rav Meir was very shaken up by the story and he told the man that he had three choices: He could choose to die immediately, he could go through a difficult disease for three years and then die, or he could go into exile and wander from place to place for three years, never remaining in one place for more than one night.
“As you can see,” the man said, “I chose to go into exile. As the Rebbe instructed, I wear the clothing of a poor man and I go to a new place every day. I never ask for food. I simply wait around and if someone gives me something to eat, I eat it. I also only travel by foot, never by carriage. I will do this for three full years in order to find atonement for my sin.”
One Who Judges Others Favorably Judges Himself Favorably:
We further see that one should never say anything bad about his friend because this can cause very bad things to happen to oneself.
The Mishnah (Avos 2:4) says: “Do not judge your friend until you reach his place.” The Baal Shem Tov zy”a (Besht Parshas Kedoshim) explains this concept by quoting the Gemara (Sanhedrin 91B) that says that in the future “the lame man will ride on the deaf man”, meaning that the soul and body will be judged together. This is because the neshama cannot be judged by itself since it is a “portion of Hashem from Above” and certainly would never have done an aveiros without the body. The body also cannot be judged by itself because it has no power without the neshama and is basically an inanimate object on its own. This is why they both have to be together for a person to be judged after he dies.
However, we may ask how a person can be judged while he is alive. It is stated that the neshama goes up to Shomayim every night while a person is sleeping and it is judged there. How can it be judged without the body being present?
The Besht explains that when Nosson Hanavi came to rebuke Dovid Hamelech, he began with a moshol:
There were two people in a city. One of them was rich and one was poor. The rich man had a lot of sheep and cattle, while the poor man had nothing except for one small lamb. The poor man once was a guest in the home of the rich man, and the rich man stole his lamb and served it as a meal. When Dovid heard this, he became very upset and he declared that the rich man should be given the death penalty!
Nosson then revealed to Dovid that he was the rich man in the story. Thus, he had sealed his own fate and given his own judgment.
The Besht states that this how all people are treated by Hashem. When a person commits an aveirah, the Heavenly Court does not judge him. Instead, they allow him to see another person doing the same aveirah. If he gets angry and says that person is deserving of a specific punishment, he is given that punishment. Thus, he creates his own judgment.
Chazal say to judge everyone favorably, meaning that one shouldn’t be quick to judge anyone else because “one does not judge his friend until he reaches his place.” One should know that if he is put in a situation where he can judge his friend, it is because he is already in that place. He has already done the same aveirah he now sees that his friend is doing, and however he judges his friend is how he will be judged. If he judges his friend favorably, he too will be judged favorably.
A Segulah for Hisorerus:
A person naturally desires to improve and rise to higher levels. Some people think the way to lift oneself up is to put down others; however, that is incorrect. It is said in Lubavitch: If you want to be bigger than your friend, do not knock him down into a pit so that you can be higher than him. Rather, you should go stand on a high mountain. In other words, the way to become higher than others is to work on improving oneself, rather than by knocking down others.
Another way to do this is to defend other Jews and speak well of them. If one does this, Hashem will raise him up to higher levels. This is stated by Chazal (Pesikta D’Rav Kahana, V’Zos Habracha): “Anyone who defends Yisroel will be uplifted in this world by Hashem.”
Seeing No Bad:
Several chasidim once came to Rav Itzikel of Neshchiz zy”a and told him a certain individual had committed a sin. They asked the Rebbe to rebuke him and to sever ties with him. The Rebbe told them, “I prefer to follow the ways of Hashem. It says that He ‘does not look at evil in Yaakov and sees no discretion in Yisroel.’ He doesn’t look at our sins because if He did, none of us would be deemed worthy of being connected to Him.”
With these words, the Rebbe hinted that these chasidim were not perfect either and also could be considered unworthy of having a relationship with him. Since he tolerated them, they should not try to convince him not to tolerate someone else.
Yiras Shomayim Even for a Sinner:
The Chidushei Harim zy”a (quoted in Sefer Likutei Harim) states that this pasuk is a source of encouragement for all Jews, no matter what spiritual level they are on. Everyone should know that he is valuable to Hashem, even if he sometimes acts improperly. One should know that if he could be even worse than he is, but he holds himself back because he fears Hashem, he is called a “yarei Shomayim.”
Accordingly, the pasuk is saying that Hashem “does not look at evil”. Of course, this does not mean that no sinners will be judged for his sins. However, the pasuk says that “Hashem his G-d is with him”, meaning that if one has yiras Shomayim and senses Hashem’s presence, He is with him and protects him even if he sins.
Connecting With the Shechinah Through Guarding One’s Mouth:
My father shlita (Gliyon Divrei Torah 5778) asks how a rasha like Bilaam merited having the Shechinah rest upon him. The Zohar Hakadosh (Chelek 3, 202B) says that the Shechinah rests only on Yisroel. How could it also rest on a wicked man like Bilaam?
He explains that the answer is found in the ensuing pasuk (ibid:5): “How good are your tents, Yaakov, your dwelling places, Yisroel!” Rashi explains that he saw that the doors of the tents did not face each other. The Sefarim Hakedoshim add that a person’s body has numerous “doors”. One of them is the mouth. Thus, when it says that their doors did not face each other, it can be understood to mean that their mouths did not speak badly about each other. They were careful not to say lashon hara about their fellow Jews.
When the pasuk says that Bilaam saw the Jews dwelling according to their Shevatim, the word “Shevet” can mean “a ruler”. They ruled over their mouths and made sure not to say anything bad about others. Because of this, the spirit of Hashem rested on them. The pasuk is actually saying that the Jewish people merited the Shechinah resting on them because of this.
Words in this World Affect the Upper Worlds:
Sefer Divrei Yisroel explains this concept with a wonderful moshol that he relates in the name of his grandfather, Rav Yechezkel of Kuzmir zy”a:
This world is similar to the battery in a watch. Even if the watch is a Rolex that is worth thousands of dollars, it only works with the power of an inexpensive battery. The gold and silver are merely decorations. The true power of the watch that allows it to tell time is the cheap battery.
So too, whatever we can accomplish in this world cannot be accomplished in Olam Haba. Everything that occurs in Shomayim is “powered” by the actions of people in this world. When someone defends his fellow Jew and says that he serves Hashem as best as he can he is silencing the prosecuting angels in a way that only a man can do. No malach has this power. Even the neshamos of thousands of tzadikim in Gan Eden are not as powerful as this human defender. The opposite is also true. If, chas v’shalom, a living person speaks badly about his fellow Jew, he creates a terrible prosecution Above. This is what Bilaam wanted to do to Klal Yisroel.
The way one can avoid speaking like this is to see his own shortcomings. If he does so, he will be able to understand his friend and recognize that he is doing the best he can and should not be criticized so harshly.
For this reason, there were tzadikim who would be overjoyed when they would go out in the street and see simply Jews wearing tzitzis. They would be so happy that they would run over to kiss them for doing mitzvos.
In this vein, Rav Boruch of Mezhibozh zy”a would say, “When I look at the world, I am unimpressed by anyone. But when I look at myself, everyone is impressive in comparison.”
The Way We Pasken in This World is How They Pasken Above:
Regarding this concept that a person’s words in this world have an effect in the Upper Worlds, it is related that the Bach promised his son-in-law, the Taz, that he would support him and provide him with meals after his wedding. He promised that he would give him meat to eat every day.
One day, the Taz was served liver instead of proper meat. The Taz was learning with extreme hasmadah. He used every ounce of energy he had to learn. On the day he was given liver instead of real meat, he did not have as much energy, and he learned a few minutes less than usual.
Because of this, he called his father-in-law to a Din Torah. He told the Bais Din that the Bach had promised to give him meat every day, and liver is not real meat. The Bais Din listened to his complaint but still ruled that the liver is a type of meat and the Bach fulfilled his obligation by serving it to him.
The Taz was not upset at all about that fact that he had lost the Din Torah. In fact, he was very happy. He explained that he saw that in Shomayim there was
