Look what a person looks like if he doesn’t work on Middos. His Shas, his Dveikus, his golden Jewish heart, his Dikduk HaMitzvos; what is it worth? But these days, it’s Assur to knock people, since they have weak Kochos and this is the best they can do, and we have to respect every inch and every tiny Ratzon for Tov and not be M'vatel (belittle) people, Chas V'shalom. Aderaba, there is plenty positive to highlight. There is a cassette of R' Elya Svei Zatzal where he quotes R' Ahron Kotler Zatzal that the reason why the Dor is weak is not because of lack of Kish'ron; only because of lack of Middos.
The whole story of Bilam is a mockery of how stupid a person can become if he doesn’t work on Middos. He can be the most talented person in the world, with Nevua, and all the phenomenally powerful Kochos HaTum'ah; and he’s a zero-minus. In Novardok, they would give a funny Mashal of a stargazer, who falls into a ditch while he’s gazing at the stars.
