The Other Side

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If, at every moment, you can choose the path that you want to pursue and, as the Talmud states, Hashem will help you towards the path of your choosing,¹ then ensuring that you are in alignment and on a path of positivity is that much more important. It’s being mindful of the saying, “be careful what you wish for.’ We shouldn’t ever look at ourselves as fully bad or fully good, because that can color how we approach the future and, more often than not, in a negative way. If we realize that at any given moment we have the power for bad or the power for good, then we can begin to be present, let go of the weight of our past decisions and choose good, choose positivity in the very moment that we find ourselves in. 

The concept of teshuva (to return) in Judaism is a very powerful part of the practice of faith. The idea that at the moment that a person comes to the realization that they want to align with the light of the Infinite, the Creator of all things, and with a full heart and with love, and desire to connect and forge a new path, it is in that heartfelt sincerity that we are born anew in a sense, and our past transgressions between created and Creator are washed away. If only all relationships were as easy. If the ones that we navigate with others coming to a truce or a state of peace, in which all past trials, tribulations and misunderstandings were completely stricken from the record of the memories and impact between ourselves and others, the layers of disconnect and discontent would vanish, and we would realize that they are all manifestations of misunderstandings in our state of exile.

It’s believed that before birth we make an oath, “Be a tzadik (righteous person), don’t be a rasha (wicked person). This seems a bit superfluous; if one swears to be righteous, why would they then also swear to not be wicked? The Alter Rebbe explains that it is because not everyone can reach the level of tzadik, and that it is imperative to also swear that we don’t fall into wickedness. A person makes an oath to overcome their impulse to evil, and this is the constant struggle we experience, caught between two choices. 

This state of being is the name of the texts within Tanya that in which the Alter Rebbe teaches us these very lessons, titled, The Book of the Inbetweeners. The lesson is: if we all have the power to personify that which unites or that which divides, then always choosing the path of the righteous and not of the other side (the Sitra Achra) is the key to revelation. In this week’s parashah, we read a cautionary tale of the path of the Sitra Achra. 

Balak was the king of Moav and felt threatened by the Israelites wandering near his land, with Moshe leading them and Hashem protecting them. Balak had a special power over nature; he used sorcery to manipulate it. But he saw, through the miracles of yetziat Mitzrayim (Exodus from Egypt), that the Jews were connected to power above nature. He knew that he could not defeat them himself, so he called on Bilam, the master of all sorcerers, to curse them.² Bilam gained his power of prophecy from the Sitra Achra (the Other Side). His power was in his mouth, in his ability to curse a person, deflecting their faith, convincing them to rebel against the Divine.³

It is clear from the Torah that Bilam did have a special power to connect to Hashem, but there are different opinions about how powerful Bilam actually was. At the end of the Torah, we learn that “Never again in Israel did there arise a prophet like Moshe.”⁴  The Zohar says that another did not arise in Israel, but there was another among the other nations– Bilam.⁵ Bamidbar Rabbah states that Bilam was a prophet like Moshe, even exceeding Moshe’s greatness in certain ways.⁶ It’s stated in Talmud Sanhedrin that he first was a prophet and then a sorcerer.⁷ Ibn Ezra argues that Bilam actually had no ability to curse or bless, but was simply a star gazer and astrologer. When he saw someone’s unlucky moment was to arrive he would curse him and, when evil would befall the person, Bilam would be credited as if it was his own powers that had done it. As we see with the verse, “How can I curse, God has not cursed.”⁸ The Talmud teaches that Bilam planned to curse Israel at the moment of Hashem’s wrath, but non such wrath took place on the days that Bilam had intended for a curse.⁹ 

Ramban explains that, as a magician, he knew when Hashem would speak to him. Whereas, a true prophet like Moshe, whose powers came solely from Divine inspiration, never knew when Hashem would speak to him or what He would say. What is clear from all these sources is that Moshe and Bilam were on opposite ends of how they chose to use their immense powers. Moshe was connected to the purity of Torah, while Bilam was steeped in impurity and wanted to uproot the Torah.¹⁰ Moshe attained his supreme level of oneness with the infinite light by seeking the highest levels of service to Hashem. Bilam, on the other hand, chose the lowest levels of impurity, so low that he was known for beastiality with his donkey.¹¹ The greater a person’s sanctity, the greater their ability to attain Torah. The lower the moral level, the more likely the person is to oppose Torah.  

הִנֵּ֤ה הָעָם֙ הַיֹּצֵ֣א מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם וַיְכַ֖ס אֶת־עֵ֣ין הָאָ֑רֶץ עַתָּ֗ה לְכָ֤ה קָֽבָה־לִּי֙ אֹת֔וֹ אוּלַ֥י אוּכַ֛ל לְהִלָּ֥חֶם בּ֖וֹ וְגֵרַשְׁתִּֽיו
Here is a people that came out from Egypt and hides the earth from view. Come now and curse them for me; perhaps I can engage them in battle and drive them off.¹²

Rav Moshe Feinstein points out that Balak says that the Israelites came out (past tense) from Egypt, while Bilam later says that they will be coming out, in future tense. The difference between the tense and its implication is massive: Balak thought that Israel was like all other nations and that they had forgotten the Exodus from Egypt. Bilam, on the other hand, knew that Israel would never forget, that it is an obligation to remember that we were redeemed from exile by Hashem himself. Balak didn’t see the future or trust in the faith Israel would constantly fight to keep; he was only worried about that present moment. Israel covered the surface of the land when he saw them, but he believed they would forget the miracles they had experienced and would assimilate into the nations. Bilam saw that the Jews would last forever, as long as they held onto their faith. But he feared that the Jews would influence the entire world, that everyone would see the holiness of their ways and subjugate themselves to this “kingdom of priests.”

Bilam, in trying to explain the limits of his powers to Balak, says,

הִנֵּ֥ה בָרֵ֖ךְ לָקָ֑חְתִּי וּבֵרֵ֖ךְ וְלֹ֥א אֲשִׁיבֶֽנָּה
Behold! It is a blessing that I have taken, and such a blessing I cannot reverse.¹³

The word ‘blessing’ is written here twice. The first is pronounced BaReiKh, with the first vowel being a kamatz which means “closed” or “sealed” and the second one pronounced BeiReiKh, with the first vowel being a tzeiri which alludes to le-hitZtaYeiR, which means ‘to take shape’. Rebbe Nachman in Likutei Moharan expounds on the meaning behind this: Hashem’s light, which descends upon us, is in an undifferentiated and unformed – i.e. sealed – state. It is up to each of us to create a vessel with which to receive this light, so that it can take shape within and through us. If a person’s vessel is faulty, it doesn’t mean the light won’t come to that person, but that person won’t have the capacity to shape the light into a blessing. That is why the verse says, It is a blessing that I have taken, as it is up to each person to perfect their vessel so that they may take Hashem’s blessing.¹⁴ We cannot choose our blessings or how much Light we will receive, but we can continually work to make ourselves vessels that are open to receiving– and giving– blessings and Light. 

This is an important lesson in giving proper respect and perspective to past realities, to what formed you, and the people and forces to which you owe your life and proper gratitude. That kind of perspective and gratitude is essential to creating a vessel that can receive one’s proper share of the Infinite Light. 

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־בִּלְעָ֔ם לֹ֥א תֵלֵ֖ךְ עִמָּהֶ֑ם לֹ֤א תָאֹר֙ אֶת־הָעָ֔ם כִּ֥י בָר֖וּךְ הֽוּא
But God said to Bilam, “Do not go with them. You must not curse that people, for they are blessed.”¹⁵

Rashi says, Hashem said to Bilam, you shall not invoke a curse upon Bnei Yisrael, so Bilam said to Hashem, I shall bless them. But Hashem replied, “They do not need your blessing; they are blessed.” Rashi alludes to the proverb,“ They say to the wasp (some say a bee), we want neither your honey nor your sting,” explaining that Hashem rejected Bilam’s offer of blessing Israel, because, just as gathering honey involves the risk of being stung, so, too, the blessings of the wicked are not altruistic. There is always evil mixed into those blessings that aren’t said with pure intention to give to another. 

Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? Here I brought you to damn my enemies, and instead you have blessed them!”¹⁶ The Chatam Sofar shares an epic insight into the Kabbalistic interpretation of this verse. He notes that we have 354 days in the lunar year, 222 of which carry an air of Hashem’s Attribute of judgment (דין), which is why we have the custom of saying Tachanun (Supplication, nefilat apayim) on those days. This leaves 132 days in which we do not say Tachanun, since on those days Hashem’s Attribute of Mercy (הוד ,רחמים) dominates. With this in mind, it is believed that Balak wanted Bilam to curse the 132 days of mercy, so that the entire year would be dominated by Hashem’s Attribute of judgment, in the hopes that Israel would never benefit from Hashem’s unlimited mercy. But when the curse was changed into a blessing, the opposite occurred– in the 222 days when judgment was present, mercy was introduced, so that now the full year has elements of mercy. The Hebrew word לקב means to curse and has the numerical value (gematria) of 132 (30+100+2=132), and the word בּרך, which means blessing, has the gematria of 222 (2+200+20=222), combining together to make up the 354 days in the lunar year.¹⁷ Balak was telling Bilam, “I summoned you to bring a curse into the 132 days of mercy, so that Israel would be subject to exacting judgment. Instead, you bless the 222 days to be times of Hashem’s mercy!”¹⁸

The Lubavitcher Rebbe shares that there are mystical texts¹⁹ that demonstrate an inherent connection between Bilam and Amalek, and an allusion to this belief is clear when we write out their names, one on top of the other. When combining the first two letters of each– Bilam (bet-lamed, בל) and Amalek (ayin-mem, עמ)– it spells Bilam, and if we connect the remaining two letters of Bilam (ayin-mem, עמ) and Amalek (lamed-kof, לק), it spells Amalek. We are taught that to rid ourselves of the kelipah of these two personalities, forces and attributes, we have to strengthen our ahavah (love [of God]) and yirah (fear [of God]). We see the relationship between these two fundamental feelings of faith when we look at them in the same fashion. If we place yirah on top of ahavah and combine the first two letters of yirah (yod-resh, יר) with that of ahavah (aleph-heh, אה), this spells yirah. And when we do the same with the remaining letters of these words–  (aleph-heh, אה) and (bet-heh, בה)– we see it spells ahavah. This means that Amalek was able to wage war against Israel because they descended from Esav, arguing that being a great-grandson of Yitzchak and a great-great-grandson of Avraham gave them license to speak out on matters relating to the Torah and holiness. 

It is through yirah and ahavah for Hashem that we must not allow even a slight opening to become the person about whom it is written: “they know their Master, yet purposely set out to rebel against Him.”²⁰ When Israel wasn’t diligent in this way, Amalek would attack.²¹ The Talmud states that it is the same with Bilam, a descendant of Lavan,²² who argued, “The daughters are my daughters, and the sons are my sons… and all that you see is mine!,”²³ arguing that he, too, is related to the Jews because the Tribe of Israel developed from his daughters. The moral is that at times someone may demonstrate their connection or relation to you only to deceive you into straying from Torah and mitzvot. At this time it is that much more important to lean into yirah and ahavah of our Creator, and this person must be told in clear terms, “We have but our Father in Heaven! Our sole criterion for anything is the Torah! Neither pedigree nor anything else of that sort is decisive for us. The Torah is the exclusive touchstone and standard: whatever accords with the Torah is fine; but if something conflicts with the Torah, even if it comes from Bilam or Amalek, the very fact that it is counter proves that it has no bearing upon us whatsoever.” It is when we are strong in our yirah and ahavah of our Creator that Bilam and Amalek, the nation (and notion) that the Torah commands us to eliminate from the world, that we can fight the safek (doubt) and fear which try to deceive us and stop us from connecting to the emet (truth).²⁴

This parashah is meant to remind us of the ways we can and do use speech either to bless or to curse. Our rituals connected to the Torah give us so many opportunities to bless. Every day, multiple times a day, the Siddur guides us to say אֲ֭דֹנָי שְׂפָתַ֣י תִּפְתָּ֑ח וּ֝פִ֗י יַגִּ֥יד תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ, “O Lord, open my lips, and let my mouth declare Your praise.”²⁵ In Talmud Berakhot, Rabbi Yoḥanan says that before every prayer one should recite this verse and when they finish praying, they should say, “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable before You.”²⁶ And as we covered in parashat Sh’lach, in Sefardic tradition and some Chassidic traditions, one says the LeShem Yichud blessing before doing any mitzvah. Chabad say it before Baruch She’amar and is meant to apply to all mitzvot throughout the day. It reads: For the sake of the unification of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Presence, in fear and in love, to unite the Name Yud-Kei (the masculine part of the Divine), with Vav-Kei (the feminine  part of the Divine) in perfect unity, in the name of all Israel.       

Peace is brought on by our unification with Hashem. As a result of our spiritual exile, we are far removed from the Edenic state and our Godly souls. Reciting this verse with pure intention is meant to rectify the disunity and concealment. When we speak these blessings, we bring peace of unity into our reality. 

Balak says,

וְעַתָּה֩ לְכָה־נָּ֨א אָֽרָה־לִּ֜י אֶת־הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֗ה כִּֽי־עָצ֥וּם הוּא֙ מִמֶּ֔נִּי אוּלַ֤י אוּכַל֙ נַכֶּה־בּ֔וֹ וַאֲגָרְשֶׁ֖נּוּ מִן־הָאָ֑רֶץ כִּ֣י יָדַ֗עְתִּי אֵ֤ת אֲשֶׁר־תְּבָרֵךְ֙ מְבֹרָ֔ךְ וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר תָּאֹ֖ר יוּאָֽר
“Come then, put a curse upon this people for me, since they are too numerous for me; perhaps I can thus defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed indeed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”²⁷

Coming from a place of darkness and a desire to bring a people down through cursing them will only bring harm to oneself. That is the lesson of “those who bless shall be blessed”: if you are one who gives blessings, it means you are a vessel for blessings. The potential for Light is limitless for such a person, as good begets good and blessings beget blessings. This verse illuminates how dangerous it is to connect with the sitra achra (the other side): a curse is not something that a person can hope for as a one time thing. You can’t wish ill on someone and not be affected by it yourself. Cursing another, trying to break another’s vessel, is a fracturing of one’s own vessel. So Hashem’s Light that could descend into and through you is deflected and defracted by your self-fracturing. 

May this Shabbat be an opportunity to heal our fractured vessels, reconnecting to the spirit of blessing, pushing away the Sitra Achra, and inviting in the Light of the Infinite.

– Erez Safar

Please note: You can read the full and final version of this Dvar in my fourth book, ‘LIGHT OF THE INFINITE: TRANSFORMATION IN THE DESERT OF DARKNESS‘.

info: The book parallels the parshiot (weekly Torah reading) of Bamidbar/Numbers, which we are reading now! I act as your spiritual DJ, curating mystical insights and how to live in love by expounding on the infinite light of Kabbalah radiating through the Torah.

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1. Talmud Makkot 10b
2. Zohar III, 192a
3. Likutei Halachot I, p. 139-141a
4. Deuteronomy 34:10
5. Sifri; Zohar II, 21b
6. Bamidbar Rabbah 14
7. Talmud Sanhedrin 106
8. Numbers 23:8
9. Talmud Avodah Zara 4b
10. Likutei Moharan I, 36:2
11. Talmud Avodah Zarah 4b, Sanhedrin 105b
12. Numbers 22:5
13. Ibid 23:20
14. Likutei Moharan I 36:6
15. Numbers 22:12
16. Ibid 23:11
17. Torat Moshe HaShalem, pp 22. 112b-113a
18. Chatam Sofer says that he heard this in the name of a well-known sage, while according to some accounts, this was said by the Chatam Sofer’s father-in-law, R’ Akiva Eiger
19. R’ Shimson of Ostropole, Zohar III:194a, 281b, I:25a
20. Genesis 10:9:2
21. Zohar II:65a
22. Talmud Sanhedrin 105a
23. Genesis 31:43
24. An Anthology of Talks, Likkutei Sichos p. 159-161
25. Psalms 51:17
26. Numbers 19:15 & Berakhot 4b:14
27. Numbers 22:6