Thus, the Mishna in Avot teaches us about Avraham Avinu's strength in mastering materialism. The Mishna says, look at his qualities: עַיִן טוֹבָה וְרוּחַ נְמוּכָה וְנֶפֶשׁ שׁ ְ פָלָה – a good eye, a humble spirit, and a lowly soul; the opposite of Bilaam. What is a 'good eye'? A good eye generally means generosity, but the Mishna here refers to something else. The Rambam says: עַיִן טוֹבָה זוֹ הִסְתַּפְּקוּת בְּמוּעָט וְהִתְנַתְּקוּת מִן הַחָמְרִ יּוּת – A good eye is contentment with little and detachment from materialism. Avraham returns from the war, and is entitled to take all the spoils he desires, but instead what happens?
וְלֹא תֹאמַר אֲנִי־נַעַל וְאִם־אֶקַּח מִכׇּל־אֲשׁ ֶר־לָךְ אִם־מִחוּט וְעַד שְׂרוֹך־נַעַל וְאִם־אֶקַּח מִכׇּל־אֲשׁ ֶר־לָךְ הֶעֱשׁ ַ רְ תִּ י אֶ ת־אַ בְ רָ ם׃
Neither a thread nor a shoelace! And I will not take anything of yours, so you will not say, I have made Avram wealthy.
The human inclination and condition is to have one hundred but still desire two hundred. This is an ingrained trait in man; every person wants money – the more he has, the more he wants! Avraham is the symbol of contentment with little, and in contrast, Bilaam is the opposite. Before he is even invited, what does he say? אִ ם־יִתֶּ ן־לִי בָלָק מְ לֹא בֵיתוֹ כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב – If Balak gives me his house full of silver and gold; he isn’t content with a suitcase of cash – he desires an entire house full of riches!
The Rambam says, look at what detachment from materialism looks like. Avraham has been married to his wife for decades, and he does not know what she looks like! Proof of this is when they arrive in Egypt, Avraham says to her, "Behold now, I know that you are a beautiful woman." How can this be, had he not seen her before?! The answer is very simple. Avraham is detached from materialism. If you were detached from materialism, you would understand how this could be! With regards to Bilaam, not only is he not detached from materialism, but he has a wife, and he knows who she is, and it is only we who do not know who she is. Fortunately, Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave a mouth to the donkey, and it revealed this answer to us:
