The Great Rabbi of Ruzhin: HKB”H Transformed the Letters כל"ם into מל"ך
I would now like to suggest a marvelous explanation concerning the relationship between Balak and Bilam—who are associated with the two preeminent klipos of Bavel and Amalek. Let us refer to one of the Berachos HKB”H coerced Bilam to utter (Bamidbar 23, 21): "לא הביט און ביעקב ולא ראה עמל בישראל ה' אלקיו עמו ותרועת מלך בו"—He perceived no iniquity in Yaakov and saw no perversity in Yisrael. Hashem, his G-d, is with him, and he is the King’s beloved friend.
Tosafos (A.Z. 4b) interpret the berachah "ותרועת מלך בו" based on the Gemara cited above—that Bilam harasha planned to curse Yisrael at the precise moment of HKB”H’s anger. But what curse could he have uttered in the brief time it takes to utter the word “rega”? Tosafos answer that he could have uttered the word כל"ם—ka’lem—meaning “annihilate them”; however, HKB”H rearranged the letters, so that he uttered the word מל"ך—me’lech (meaning king)—instead, as it is written: "ותרועת מלך בו".
The great Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin, zy”a, explains the practical significance of Tosafos’s answer—transforming the word כל"ם into its anagram מל"ך. To better comprehend his sacred words, we will introduce a concept of the Arizal’s (Eitz Chaim 20, 5). There are three distinct parts of the neshamah; they are the “nefesh,” “ruach,” and “neshamah.” Each has its specific location in the human body. The most spiritual part, the “neshamah,” resides in the brain; the “ruach” resides in the heart; the “nefesh,” the lowest part of the neshamah, resides in the liver. The Shela hakadosh explains this concept as follows: The ”neshamah” in the brain is the source of thought and intellect; the “ruach” in the heart is source of will and desire; the “nefesh” in the liver is the source of action.
The ideal is for man to act and serve Hashem in this order: מל"ך - מ'וח ל'ב כ'בד. Working together in this order, a person becomes a loyal servant of Hashem. Let us elaborate. First, man must process a matter intellectually—what is the proper course of action. Next, after weighing the pros and cons in keeping with the Torah’s guidelines, the “neshamah” in the brain must exert its influence on the will and desire of the “ruach” in the heart not to want to do something wrong and improper. Lastly, the heart must exert its influence on the “nefesh” in the liver to refrain from doing things that are improper.
Understood in this light, Bilam wished to reverse the ideal order of intellectual processing, desire, and action; he planned to curse Yisrael by uttering כל"ם—making the order כ'בד ל'ב מ'וח. Thus, the guiding force would be the animalistic “nefesh” in the liver, which desires all of the whimsical and senseless things in Olam HaZeh. It would then influence the heart to desire these things. Ultimately, the heart would impose its will on the brain and force it to figure out how to fulfill and satisfy all of its desires.
Tosafos’s answer is now clear: "והקב"ה הפכו ואמר מלך כדכתיב ותרועת מלך בו"—HKB”H reversed the order of the word uttered by Bilam. Instead of uttering כל"ם , HKB”H made him utter מל"ך, symbolizing the ideal method of serving Hashem—where the influence begins above in the brain and works its way downward, and not the other way around. This concludes his illuminating insight.
