This week’s Torah portion, Balak, tells an unusual story within the tapestry of biblical narratives. The story begins with Balak, the king of Moab, a small kingdom east of Canaan, who is gripped with fear as he sees the Israelites advancing toward his territory.
Balak realized that conventional means would not allow him to withstand an Israelite conquest, especially after they had already defeated his Amorite neighbors. Thus, he turned to unconventional methods: He sent emissaries to Balaam, the famous sorcerer from the East, to come to Moab and curse the Israelites. Balak believed that such a curse would prevent the Israelites from winning, thereby ensuring his nation’s survival.
Balaam, though an idolatrous sorcerer, recognized the existence of the God of Israel and knew that he could not curse the Israelites against God’s will. Thus, he employed a cunning strategy: He offered sacrifices to God, hoping to gain His consent to curse the Israelites. This, of course, failed. Balaam met with failure time and again, and every attempt to curse the Israelites resulted in blessings and praise emerging from his mouth for the people of Israel.
When we look at this story from an external perspective, a question arises: Why does the Torah recount this story to us? Did the people of Israel have any real reason to fear Balaam’s curse? Why should we care about these two individuals, Balak and Balaam, who ascend the mountain and attempt to curse the Israelites?
Reasons to fear Balaam's curse
The words of the prophet Micah, in the section read in the haftarah of this week’s portion, suggest that there was indeed a reason to fear Balaam’s curse:
“My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab planned, and what Balaam son of Beor answered him, from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord” (Micah 6:5).
From Micah’s words, it is implied that Balaam’s curses, had they been uttered, could have harmed the people of Israel. It was only due to the special protection that God provided by causing blessings instead of curses to come from Balaam’s mouth that the people were saved from his curses.
God desires good
At this point, Micah makes a surprising turn and speaks about the values and actions that God demands from man:
“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?... He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God!” (Micah 6:6-8).
It seems that the prophet derives a message from Balaam’s story. This idolatrous sorcerer was convinced that through his sacrifices he could bribe God into allowing him to curse the Israelites. However, the prophet Micah teaches us that God is not interested in sacrifices at all. He is interested in justice, kindness, and humility. Therefore, there is no way to bribe Him or make Him change His will. God desires good and supports those who do good, and there is no bypassing this.
God did not respond to Balaam’s appeal, and the prophet teaches us to appreciate this and draw a lesson for our lives. What does God require of us? Not that we sacrifice for Him or give Him our most precious possessions. He demands – and this is a firm demand, not a polite request – that we be good: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. ■
The writer is rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Sites.