I hope you enjoyed last week’s 7-day spiritual compass, and I am especially excited to share with you what the kabbalists teach about the energy that is available to us this week.
Balak is such a unique portion. Usually, if a portion is named after a particular person, it is named after a righteous soul, and yet Balak was no such individual. He was a wizard who specialized in the arts of black magic. He had great powers, but intended to use them for evil instead of for good. I use the word “intended” here for a reason, because he soon discovers that despite his many magical abilities, he is unable to bring harm to any of God’s children. He has every tool necessary to do so. He has all the means. He has even partnered with the right people. So how then is it possible that he was thwarted? In fact, it is written that a true angel of God appeared before Balak and told him that if he persisted in this direction, it would only lead to his own destruction because, as the angel said to him, “You cannot instill a curse on that which the Creator has blessed.”
This message is repeated several times throughout the story. It is said not only to Balak, but also to the sorcerer with whom he has partnered, Bilaam, who seeks to carry out Balak’s scheme and curse the people. They try once, and they are told, “You cannot instill a curse on that which the Creator has blessed.” They try a second time, and God comes directly to Bilaam to tell him, “You cannot curse that which has been blessed.” Still they persist, and the third time they attempt this madness, Bilaam opens his mouth to curse the nation and actually ends up blessing them!