Covert Operations
There are two dimensions of good: The good that is overt and easily accessed and the dimension of good that is covert and is hard to access. G-d, in His infinite kindness, has allowed us to access both forms of good. We will fully experience that in the Messianic Age
Converting Curses into Blessings
Why would G-d play games with a vile individual as Bilam, the Heathen prophet who was hired to curse the Jews when they were on their way into the Promised Land of Israel?
This is a question that arises when one reviews the content of this week’s parsha that begins with the description of how Balak, the king of the Moabite nation, was terrified of the Israelites after they defeated the two mighty kings, Sichon and Og.
Realizing that he would not be able to defeat them the conventional way — by way of the sword — he hired the powerful prophet called Bilam to curse the Jews. Every time Bilam attempted to deliver, his curses turned into blessings. Indeed some of the most powerful blessings that have since been incorporated into our daily liturgy derives from the vile mouth of Bilam.
Why would G-d want to reveal Himself to such a lowly individual as Bilam? Why did G-d give him qualified permission to go with Balak and thereby give him the impression that he has the license to curse the Jews? If G-d was going to frustrate his intentions, why did He give him the mistaken notion that he would be able to curse them?
Two Dimensions of Good
The answer to these questions lies in a better understanding of the concept of “transformation”. There are two dimensions of good: The good that is overt and easily accessed and the dimension of good that is covert and is hard to access.
There is an advantage to each dimension of good. From the perspective of the one who has the experience, there is no question that one would prefer an overt goodness to a goodness that cannot be appreciated, even if, eventually, we will come to realize the preeminence of the covert form of goodness.
Conversely, the covert form of goodness from G-d’s perspective, who is eternal, is a far more sublime and absolute form of good. The fact that it cannot be easily accessed by us is not because it is lacking in its goodness, but, on the contrary. Because it is so sublime, one must be on an extremely high level to sense this goodness.
To most of us this transcendent goodness looks like a curse rather than a blessing.
G-d in His infinite love for the Jewish people wanted that we should have the advantages of both forms of goodness. G-d wanted us, therefore, to be able to apprehend and internalize the transcendent good, so that the otherwise elusive goodness should be appreciated by us.
Sowing the Seeds
This phenomenon of taking something that is inherently Divine and beyond our perception of good and transforming it into something that is eminently accessible, is one of the characteristics of the Messianic Age. At that time the Prophet Zecharya declares, and reinforced by our Sages our sages, that the fast days that we currently observe (as the anniversaries of past tragedies, such as the upcoming fast of the seventeenth of Tammuz, which commemorates the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem) will not only cease to be observed as fat days, but they will also be transformed into days of celebration.
To facilitate this transformation of curses into blessings and darkness into light that will characterize the future Messianic existence, G-d had sown the seeds of transformation at the very inception of the Jewish nation. Right before they entered into the Land Of Israel, an event that would portend the ultimate return of all Jews from the Diaspora to Israel, G-d channeled the most sublime blessings through the vile Bilam. This meant that G-d was giving them the potential to take the hidden good that appears to be curse and have it transformed into visible and palpable blessing and good.
Once these seeds were sown, the Jewish nation was given a G-dly ability to cope with adversity in the most unusual way. Not only do we survive adversity, but we also have an uncanny albeit limited way of using adversity for growth and the attainment of much greater heights.
Cumulative Power
When we accumulate enough of these minor transformative experiences, we will then be ready to receive the Moshiach who is the great Jewish leader the prophets spoke of who has the uncanny ability to see good in everything and transform the most negative experiences into the most positive.
In some years the fast day of the 17th of Tammuz, coincides with the Sabbath and is therefore postponed until Sunday. This is a vivid reminder of how negativity and sadness will ultimately be transformed when we reach the Sabbath of our world’s existence: the Messianic Age.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Balak by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
