“Bilaam, Prophet to the Nations”
(updated and revised from Balak 5765-2005)

by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald

The Jews and their philosophers have long been troubled by the concept of the “Chosenness” of the Jews.

So uncomfortable were the people and their sages with the idea of cult superiority, that, throughout the ages, Jewish scholars have done theological somersaults in order to avoid even the remotest allusion to chauvinism and ethnic superiority. We are not the “Chosen People,” declared the scholars, rather, we are the “Choosing People.” After all, Abraham chose G-d. And, if we are in any way “chosen,” they declared, then it is that we are chosen to suffer.

Oddly enough, the Biblical story of Bilaam has bearing on this confounding issue. The Midrash in Tanchumah, Balak 1, raises the question in a forthright manner.

“And Balak saw,” (Numbers 22:2): To this may be applied the text: “The Rock–His work is perfect; for all His paths are just,” (Deuteronomy 32:4). The Holy One, blessed be He, gave the heathens no excuse for saying: ‘You kept us at a distance by not granting us what You granted Israel.’ What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do? Just as he raised up kings, sages and prophets for Israel, so did He for the heathens. Israel’s kings, prophets and sages were then “tested” by G-d along with those of the heathens.

Since the Jews were fortunate enough to have prophets to reprove, train and teach them, they were expected to conduct their lives in a far more ethical and moral manner than the other nations. But, now that the nations have their own prophet, Bilaam, they too have no excuse to behave improperly.

Bilaam, of course, was not just another pedestrian leader. In fact, a parallel Midrash found in Sifre on the verse in Deuteronomy 34:10, “There has arisen no prophet in Israel like unto Moses,” states: It’s true that in Israel there is none like Moses, but in the gentile world there has arisen one! And who is he? Bilaam, the son of B’or!

As noted above, the Midrash in Tanchumah recorded, that the Al-mighty gave the other nations kings and prophets in order to present them with the same opportunities that the People of Israel had. Unfortunately, the nations frittered away those invaluable opportunities.

How so? G-d elevated Solomon to be king over the earth, so that he could build the Temple. G-d similarly elevated Nebuchadnezer, the Babylonian monarch, who, instead, proceeded to destroy the Temple, revile and curse it. G-d gave King David wealth, which he used for a house dedicated to G-d. Similarly, G-d gave Haman wealth, who proceeded to use this bounty to purchase the right to slaughter an entire nation (the Jews!). Both, Moses and Bilaam were able to speak to G-d whenever they desired. However, the Hebrew prophets used their power of prophecy to warn the nation against transgressions, whereas the heathen prophets, who were motivated by cruelty, led the people to immorality

In essence, the response of our sages and philosophers is that G-d did not unfairly favor the Jews at all. In fact, He gave all the nations of the world prophets and sages, to provide equal opportunities for both Jew and gentile to enlighten the world with their good and noble deeds. The Jews are not innately better than others, it is that Jews choose to do better. Admittedly, there were leaders and scholars even among the Jews, who used their endowments for evil purposes, but fortunately, the Jews and their leaders most often sought to do good.

The story of Bilaam is particularly tragic, because it underscores the fact that Bilaam, a man of prodigious intellectual endowments and superior leadership abilities, chose to utilize those gifts in a destructive manner. It is not at all clear why this happened. The ponderous question remains: Do the people influence the leader, or is it the leader who influences the people? At most points in his life, Moses chose to reject the people’s destructive tendencies, and, instead, worked diligently to inspire positive values in them. Unfortunately, that is not true in much of the heathen world, where many leaders have often been negatively influenced by the people, or the environment, and serve as leaders for evil rather than good.

Throughout the millennia of Jewish history, our Jewish leaders have struggled, with only measured success, to put their people on the right track and to keep them there. The Jewish people’s role to serve as “a light unto the nations,” has not been particularly effective, perhaps because of the many negative blandishments of the environment. Because of these distractions, the people were often preoccupied with their own struggles to be a light unto themselves and keep themselves on the straight and narrow. As a result, the Jewish people have not only failed to perfect the world under the rule of the Al-mighty for their own people, but have also failed to positively influence the Bilaams of the world and the non-Jewish nations as well.

Nevertheless, the Jewish People cannot, and should not, turn their backs on their responsibilities to other nations, claiming that the burden is too great to bear, that Jews can hardly impact positively on our own people, let alone on others. This argument is clearly fallacious. After all, we see in parashat Balak, that Bilaam’s evil plans are thwarted and transformed into good when Bilaam looked down on the camp of Israel and saw their tents of Israel arrayed in such a beautiful manner. Inspired by the aura, he beheld of the sanctity of home and the sense of privacy among the Jewish people, instead of cursing the Jews, he was forced to utter the immortal words: (Numbers 24:5): מַה טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב, “How goodly are your tents O’ Jacob.”

Thwarting Bilaam’s evil intentions did not even require active intervention on Israel’s part. Clearly, when Bilaam does succeed, it is often because the Jews have failed.

May you be blessed.