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Hashem initially tells Bilaam, right before he’s about to leave to Balak, (Bamidbar 22:20): “If now to call you are the people coming.” Rashi explains that this means if Bilaam’s intent is to get money and reward, to be paid for doing what Balak wants, then he should go with them. However, Hashem warns Bilaam: “However, only the words that I will speak to you, you should do.” One might expect the verse to read, “whatever I tell you to say, that’s what you should ‘say’,” but it actually says, “whatever I tell you to say, you should ‘do’.”
In the next verse (21), Bilaam wakes up early, saddles his female donkey, and goes with the ministers of Moab, as Rashi points out, with a desire to curse the Jewish people. Then, in verse 22, the Lord is angry because he’s going. This seems contradictory—Hashem told him to go, so why the anger? Rashi clarifies that Hashem’s anger stems from Bilaam’s intent. Bilaam knew it was bad in the eyes of Hashem to curse the Jewish people since they are blessed. Despite this, Bilaam still wanted to go, not just for the reward, but with the intent to possibly curse. It was this intent that angered Hashem, even though He had told him to go.
Later on, the angel stood in front of Bilaam while he was riding his donkey. The angel came with its sword directed towards Bilaam. The donkey saw the angel with the sword, but Bilaam didn’t. This happened three times.
First, in an open field, the donkey took Bilaam off the road into the field, so Bilaam started hitting the donkey. Afterwards, they reached a path with two walls. The donkey saw the angel again and didn’t want to go into it, so she pushed to the side of the path, pressing Bilaam’s leg against the wall. Bilaam started hitting the donkey a second time.
The third time, the angel went ahead to a narrow path where there was no room for the donkey to turn right or left. The donkey couldn’t avoid the angel, so she stopped, and Bilaam hit her again. Then, the famous event happened: the donkey spoke and asked, “Why are you hitting me? Did I ever cause you hurt or damage?” Bilaam replied, “No.” That’s when Hashem revealed the angel to Bilaam. The angel said, “If the donkey hadn’t stopped, I would have killed you…” Bilaam then said, “But I didn’t know you were in front of me. If I knew you didn’t want me to go, I wouldn’t have gone!” The angel responded: “Go with the people, but only the words I tell you to speak, those you should speak.” Earlier, it said “Oto Ta’aseh,” that you should ‘do’; here, it says “Oto TeDaber,” that you should ‘speak’. Bilaam then went with the ministers of Balak.
The question arises: if his intent is bad and the angel is not letting him go, what was accomplished? Why not send him back? But the angel says, “No, you can go, but only what I tell you to speak, that’s what you should say.” In the end, Bilaam continued to go with a bad intent. So what did the angel accomplish by stopping Bilaam three times?
There is a lot of depth here. Even though Bilaam was a gentile, Hashem gave him a mitzvah to do and wanted this mitzvah to be done with joy. Hashem originally told him, “If you’re planning to go to get a reward, you can go, but whatever I tell you to do, that’s what you should do.” Hashem used the word Ta’aseh, hinting to Bilaam that He was giving him a chance to do what the Jewish people do: perform mitzvot with joy (simcha).
By saying Ta’aseh, Hashem was referring to the mitzvot aseh (positive commandments). He was giving Bilaam a chance to do a mitzvah and see if he could maintain joy in doing it. Hashem allowed him to go for the reward, indicating that his mitzvah was to follow Hashem’s instructions while being happy about the reward he would receive.
The idea is that Hashem wanted Bilaam to go with a positive attitude, happy that he would be paid. He should have no negative intent; his only focus should be on fulfilling Hashem’s words. The test was to see if Bilaam could do this mitzvah with joy.
When the angel saw that Bilaam was not joyful because he wanted to curse the Jews, it highlighted Bilaam’s negative intent. Rashi points out that Bilaam wanted to curse the Jews. Why? Why do people harbor anti-Semitic sentiments even today? What do they want from us?
The only reason someone might be upset with the Jewish people is that they are not happy with their portion. If they were content with what they had, they wouldn’t look at us or want to curse us. Their discontent with their lot drives their desire to curse the Jewish people.
This is what upset the angel of Hashem about Bilaam. He was given an opportunity to perform this mitzvah b’simcha (with joy). When it was clear he wasn’t doing it joyfully, Hashem became angry. The verse says, “the Lord was angry because he’s going.” This means Bilaam was going with the intent to curse, not with happiness about getting paid for his task. Hashem saw Bilaam wasn’t happy doing the mitzvah and gave him three chances to realize his error.
The first chance was when the donkey turned into the field. In Breslov conduct, the field (sadeh) is a place for hitbodedut (personal prayer and reflection). The donkey turning to the field was a sign for Bilaam to stop and evaluate his actions (Cheshbon HaNefesh). Instead of reflecting, Bilaam got angry and started beating the donkey. This was unusual behavior for the donkey, as she pointed out, she had never done anything wrong before. Bilaam should have questioned this odd behavior, but instead, he responded with anger because he wasn’t happy. He wanted to curse the Jews out of his own dissatisfaction.
The second chance came when the donkey pushed Bilaam’s leg against the wall, injuring him. Bilaam still didn’t get the message and beat the donkey again. In life, when the first subtle signs are ignored, Hashem may send stronger messages. Bilaam should have asked, “Hashem, what are You trying to tell me?” Instead, he forced the situation, showing his anger and unhappiness.
The third chance occurred when the donkey sat down on a narrow path with no room to turn right or left. Bilaam again failed to recognize the Divine message. After three chances, he still didn’t realize he was being given signs to stop and reflect. Hashem was trying to show him that his path and intentions were wrong, but Bilaam’s persistent anger and dissatisfaction prevented him from understanding the lesson.
Why not? Because he wasn’t happy. He was not happy with his portion. He had a lust, a desire to do bad, to curse the Jewish people. Why? As Rebbe Nachman teaches, on the verse from Mishlei, “Bechol etzev yihiyeh motar,” a Ta’avah, a lust, is like desires which are excesses. A person is Ta’ev, he wants something he doesn’t need. Rebbe Nachman teaches on this verse that when a person is after lusts and excesses, things they don’t need, like in this case, Bilaam doesn’t need to curse the Jewish people, it’s because there’s atzvut (sadness). “Bechol etzev yihiyeh motar,” wherever there is a lust or desire, it’s a sign that a person is not happy with what they have, not happy with themselves or their portion, and there’s atzvut.
Bilaam, three times, failed the test. It was a wake-up call, three times: wake up, try to figure out what Hashem is trying to tell you. Instead, he’s hitting the donkey! Why are you hitting the donkey? And when he didn’t wake up, then the angel appeared, and Bilaam saw and prostrated himself, realizing the gravity of the situation.
The angel finally says, “You failed the test.” Rashi highlights in verse 35: “Go with the men who have come to take you to Balak,” and adds that the evil Bilaam wants to pursue is now allowed. However, Rashi also points out that by going with these men, they are all doomed. The angel says, “Go with these men,” meaning they’re all going to die.
Bilaam had a chance to do one mitzvah with joy. Hashem told him to go with the men if he was looking to make money, but to do and say only what He instructed. This was his mitzvah, and he was expected to do it b’simcha (with joy), feeling honored that Hashem sent him as a shaliach (messenger). But Bilaam blew the one opportunity Hashem gave him to perform a mitzvah with joy. He proved he was a sad person, which is why he wanted to curse the Jewish people and why he ended up the way he did.
The message we see from Bilaam is the importance of doing a mitzvah b’simcha (with joy). Hashem even gave this non-Jew an opportunity, as Rashi explains, to prevent the nations from claiming that only the Jewish people were given prophets, thus making it unfair that they are the chosen people. In the end of days, when the Jewish people receive their reward and the evildoers of the nations are punished, they might argue that if they had been given prophets, they would have been good too. To forestall this claim, Hashem gave them prophets, and it didn’t work out. The prime example was Bilaam.
Despite Hashem speaking to Bilaam and granting him prophecy, Bilaam did not wake up. This failure was because Bilaam was a sad person who was not happy with his portion, leading him to desire to do evil. People often do evil because they are unhappy with themselves, mistakenly thinking that doing wrong will satisfy them, but in the end, they lose out completely.
The blessings that Bilaam gave, such as “Ma Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov” (how good are your tents, Jacob), highlight the positive aspects of the Jewish people, including their synagogues, study houses (Batei Midrash), and the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple). These are referred to as “Tov” (good). Bilaam’s blessings emphasized the good points and the fortune of the Jewish people in having mitzvot they can perform with joy.
May we merit to learn from Bilaam’s blessings, which Hashem forced him to say, and to appreciate with great joy the portion that Hashem has given us.
This article also appears on the BRI breslov.org website: https://breslov.org/bilaams-mitzvah/
For A video presentation of this article: https://youtu.be/4Nqq2rGJRWc
Shabbat Shalom
Meir Elkabas
WhatsApp: +1-732-800-1863
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