First, Balak led Bilaam up to "גבעת בעל" (High Places of Baal). Then, he took him to "שדה צופים" (Field of Seers), and when his aims were thwarted there as well, he made one more attempt on "ראש הפעור" (Peak of Peor). R’ Shamshon R. Hirsch zt”l compares the names of the three locations and utterances Balak was forced to hear at each location in reply to his request.
“Baal” appears as the most worshipped Canaanite deity, the supreme “force of nature” that influenced physical growth and material prosperity. In Balak's view, the first prerequisite for a nation’s survival was that it must have the favor of “Baal,” the natural force that could decide over growth and decay. By taking Bilaam to the high places of Baal, he posed to him the question: Where does the Jewish nation stand in the favor of the divine power that can grant or withhold material prosperity? Bilaam answered this question in the negative because the forces of idol-deity are not in any manner a precondition for the survival of the Jewish nation.
“Field of Seers” refers to the intelligence of a nation, who maintain an intellectual elite to gaze into the future as “seers and watchmen,” to predict the future and control and shape events to come. By taking Bilaam to this location, Balak posed to him the question: Does this nation have intellectual gifts that can decide and control the fate of nations by insight, prudence, foresight, and magic powers? Bilaam’s response was "כי לא נחש ביעקב" - Yaakov/Yisroel do not need the paltry devices of divination and magic, for they receive the clear word of G-d without even having to ask for it.
“Peak of Peor” - Peor denotes a cult that presents the most bestial aspects of human physicality to the gods as an act of worship. Here, Balak put to Bilaam the question: What is the attitude of this nation towards modesty and morality? To this, Bilaam uttered, “מה טובו אהליך יעקב." The morality of this nation in all areas of modesty and family life is what allows them to derive their triumphant strength and invincibility against every foe they face from without!
TORAH TAVLIN
