“Bilaam said to Balak… perhaps Hashem will appear to me and will show me something, and I will tell you; and he went on alone.” (Bamidbar 23:3)
The Targum renders the word ‘shefi’ as meaning “alone.” Rashi elaborates on this and says that when Bilaam wanted Hashem to appear to him, he wanted to ensure there were no distractions. He didn’t want anyone else with him so he would not miss Hashem’s appearance.
We know that nevi’im would have to prepare themselves for prophecy, and there were many schools for those who wished to reach this level. It included things like hisbodedus, private meditation, and self-improvement. It seems that Bilaam understood this need for privacy, and therefore did not want Balak to accompany him.
Of course, it’s also quite possible that he wanted to be alone so that if Hashem did not appear to him, he could choose to interpret the wind or other sounds he heard as a message to bring back to the king who hired him.
This episode brings to mind the point made by the Rambam, Kuzari, and others, that only to the Jewish People did Hashem appear before a group. Every other religion is founded based on a personal revelation, purported to have happened to a single person. Bilaam went alone, hoping to have an epiphany that would help him destroy the Jews. However, Hashem appeared to him and berated him for wishing to curse them.
In this story of going alone, with no distraction, we recognize something deeper. Some people can only commune with G-d when all the circumstances are perfect. When something is wrong or upsetting, that connection is severed. That’s what it was like for Bilaam. But not Moshe Rabbeinu.
Moshe connected to Hashem in every situation; alone, with others, and in the midst of mass chaos. Regardless of what was going on around him, Moshe Rabbeinu was dialed in to Hashem.
There is a great message here for all of us. When things are going well, we often see the hand of Hashem. When they are not, and it seems everything is going wrong, we are often blindsided and blinded. But that’s when we should see His involvement even more.
Don’t be like Bilaam who could only hear Hashem when he was alone with no distraction. Be like Moshe who heard Hashem’s voice ring out clear above the noise and the turmoil. We can do it, because Hashem is always with us; gently speaking to us, no matter who or what is going on around us.
The Meaning of Peace
A king once offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried but the judging came down to two final entries. One picture was of a calm lake, a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this painting thought it was a perfect picture of peace.
The other submission had mountains, too. But they were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell, and in which lightning played. Down the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. It not look peaceful at all. However, when the king looked closely, he saw, behind the waterfall, a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush, a mother bird had built her nest. There, amidst of the rush of angry water, sat the bird on her nest - in perfect peace.
The king chose the second picture; “Because,” he explained, “peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the true meaning of peace.”
