Turn curses into blessings (Balak)

There is a curious custom, first recorded in the siddur of Rav Amram Gaon and subsequently mentioned in the Machzor Vitri, that when we arrive at synagogue we should recite the verse of ‘How good are your tents, Yaakov, your homes, O Israel’ (Bemidbar 24:5) which, though intended by Bilam to be a curse, is in fact an exquisite blessing. At the same time, other authoritative books of Jewish prayers and customs (such as the Kol Bo and the Avudraham) do not mention this practice.

It is not always clear to know why certain customs were adopted by some communities and not adopted by others. That being said, Rabbi Shlomo Luria, otherwise known by the acronym Maharshal, clearly states that: ‘When I arrive at synagogue in the morning… I skip over the verse of “How good are your tents” (Bemidbar 24:5) which Bilam said, because this was said with the intention to curse’ (Responsa Maharsal No. 64).

Admittedly, some have challenged the Maharshal’s stance since Gemara Sanhedrin 105b states that: ‘all of Bilam’s blessings were eventually transformed into the curse he had intended - except for the curse regarding synagogues and study houses, as it says: “and God transformed Bilam’s curse into a blessing” (Devarim 23:6)’. Still, while this may be so, the Maharshal still chose to skip over these words.

Interestingly, we are taught elsewhere (Brachot 12b) that our Sages wished to incorporate the entire portion of Parshat Balak in our daily Shema. This is because there is a parallelism between the words in the Shema of ‘when you lie down and when you rise up’ (Devarim 6:7), and the words uttered by Bilam of: ‘like a lion he crouches, lying down; like a lioness; who dares to rouse him?’ (Bemidbar 24:9). However, for reasons of not burdening the community to read this long passage this was not done, while the choice not to include just these words was based on the premise that we should not recite partial portions of the Torah.

Yet, beyond the parallelism about laying down and getting up, we must ask what is so special about Bilam’s description of, ‘like a lion he crouches, lying down; like a lioness; who dares to rouse him?’ which inspired our Sages to consider adding the entire portion of Parshat Balak in our daily prayers for the sake of this verse – especially since there are numerous other verses in the Tanach which speak about lying down and getting up?

This question is asked by Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua Falk in his Pnei Yehoshua commentary to Brachot 12b, who suggests that the desire to incorporate the portion of Balak in the Shema is inspired by the words of the prophet Micha: “My people, remember now how Balak, king of Moav, schemed and how Bilam son of Beor responded” (Micha 6:5). What this means is that we are encouraged to regularly recall the way that Balak intended to harm the Jewish people by hiring Bilam to curse the Jewish nation, and how his words were transformed into words of blessings.

And why were our Sages drawn to the specific verse of ‘like a lion he crouches, lying down; like a lioness; who dares to rouse him?’. I believe it is because this verse describes the ultimate hope for the Jewish people in the land of Israel – the hope to live in Israel in security and in peace.

As previously mentioned, while our Sages proposed reading the portion of Balak during the Shema, this is not our practice, while the reason why some people say ‘How good are your tents, Yaakov, your homes, O Israel’ upon arriving at synagogue seems to be unrelated to this recommendation (see Rabbi Alter Hilewitz’s article on ‘The recitation of Ma Tovu before Prayer’ in Sinai No. 78 pp. 274). Nevertheless, it does seem possible that the choice to include the words ‘How good are your tents, Yaakov, your homes, O Israel’ in our daily prayers is an attempt to fulfil the words of Micha that “My people, remember now how Balak, king of Moav, schemed and how Bilam son of Beor responded” - which means that whenever we arrive in synagogue to pray, we are also reminded that even the most vicious plans to harm the Jewish people can be thwarted by God and transformed into blessings (nb. this too is the sentiment of one of the verses which some people say after Aleinu at the end of the service which states: “Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us” – Yeshaya 8:10).

We are soon the begin the period of Bein HaMetzarim (The Three Weeks) which recalls some of the hardest moments of Jewish history when harm did come to the Jewish people, and which led to our exile from our land.

Fortunately, we have returned back to much of our land. Still, these are difficult times, and we continue to hope for a time when we can live in Israel in security and in peace.

And so our reading of this parsha at this time should be accompanied by a heartfelt prayer - that just as God has turned curses into blessings in the past, so too, may God do the same in the present.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rav Johnny Solomon

LINKS

To join my daf yomi whatsapp group to receive my daily daf yomi insight, click below:

To book a Spiritual Coaching or Halachic Consultation session with me @ WebYeshiva.org, click below:

To make a donation to support my work, click below: