Parashat Balaq 
Numbers 22:2-25:9

Balaq, King of Moav, commissions a prophet from far off Mesopotamia, Bilam, to place curses upon the people of Israel. In his fear of this new people, Balaq believes that it is only with Bilam’s special powers that he will be able to vanquish Israel. Bilam’s reputation has spread far and wide. What is Bilam known for? As Balaq says to the prophet, “For I know that that which you bless is blessed and whatever you curse shall be cursed.” (Num. 22:6)

As the story unfolds, we witness God placing words of blessing in Bilam’s unwilling mouth. Although he dearly wishes to curse Israel, he cannot. God treats Bilam as a puppet and makes him say blessings instead of curses. This happens, as Balaq exclaims in dismay, three times! So this is a story of transformations. Bilam’s intended words of anathema are transformed, again and again, so as to express blessings in various ways. It is poignant, therefore, to notice one additional aspect of transformation as Bilam concludes his third set of blessings for Israel. He says: “Those who bless you are blessed and those who curse you are cursed.” (Num. 24:9)

These words recall God’s first communication with Abraham, when God says that anyone who blesses Abraham’s people shall be blessed by God and any who curse Abraham’s people shall be cursed by God. (See Sparks for 2010 and for 2015). But they also surely recall words uttered in a context much closer at hand – for they echo Balaq’s own words to Bil`am, himself.

Thus, the transformation we witness is one that transfers a special power, conceived, perhaps, as magical or divine, out of Bilam’s possession and onto God and Israel. A reverse symmetry is established. According to Balaq, <em>anyone</em> who is blessed <em>by Bilam is blessed, and anyone who is cursed by Bilam</em> is cursed. But according to Bilam, himself, the power is not his at all. Rather, anyone who blesses Israel is blessed, and anyone who curses Israel is cursed. God is not explicitly mentioned. Instead, Israel is seen as having a kind of reflective, mirror-like power, able to bounce back upon anyone whatever they try to hurl at Israel. If they try to bless Israel, those blessings will rebound back upon them. If they try to curse Israel, the curses will boomerang right back upon them.