The Visually Challenged Seer
Moses and Moshiach’s commanding the respect of the entire world lies in their ability to see with “both” eyes. This clarity of vision is also what will characterize the entire world in the Messianic Era that will be ushered in by Moshiach.
A Bizarre Relationship
Bilam, was a heathen prophet, hired by Balak, the King of Moab, to curse the Jewish people.
On the face of it, the entire image of a man who communicates with G-d and – more significantly – a person with whom G-d chose to communicate, and who is known for his ability to curse, is incongruous, to say the least.
Why would G-d maintain a “relationship” with a man as vile as Bilam?
The Midrash anticipating this question responds in the following manner: The nations of the world protested to G-d: The reason we do not follow the righteous ways of the Jewish people is because you have not given us men of the spirit, such as Moses, to lead and inspire us. G-d, therefore, gave them Bilam, who, notwithstanding his sophisticated knowledge of G-d, did not prevent him from becoming an evil tyrant, whose example was followed by his own people.
The question still persists. Granted that G-d wanted the nations to have a man whose communication skills with G-d rivaled those of Moses, but, of what benefit is a leader who is evil?
Secondly, how was it possible for a man who had such good “connections” with G-d, to be so evil? Isn’t awareness of G-d the very foundation upon which the structure of goodness and justice are built?
Only One Eye
The answer lies in Bilam’s own description of himself: “a man whose eye is open.” Rashi comments that this meant that one of his eyes were missing.
Commentators explain that his blindness in one eye was more than just an anatomical anomaly. A person has two eyes, to reflect on two matters. With one eye one should reflect on the greatness of G-d. With the second eye one must look inwards, at oneself, to realize one’s own insignificance.
Figuratively speaking, to have but one eye is in many ways worse than having no eyes. If one has the ability to appreciate the greatness of G-d, but fails to see his/her own insignificance, the appreciation of G-d can actually enhance the person’s inflated ego.
Bilam’s partial blindness was the reason for his downfall. The more of G-d’s majesty he was able to see, the greater his ego became. He was utterly blind in seeing his own inadequacies.
The Right and Left Eyes
A story is told of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe – whose anniversary of liberation from Soviet imprisonment we are observing this week on the 12th and 13th of Tammuz – who, as a child, asked his father and predecessor, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, known as the Rebbe Rashab, why G-d created us with one mouth, one nose, but two eyes. His father’s response to him was that we are to look at a candy or a toy with our left (i.e., critical) eye, but our right (i.e., approving and affectionate) eye must be reserved for the way we view another individual.
Self-Effacement a Necessary Component of Prophecy and Leadership
Here too, blindness in one eye can mean failure to be critical of oneself and to check one’s ego, desires and pursuit of material acquisitions. This blindness, albeit in one eye, can sometimes get in the way of one’s “good” eye, as in the situation where the other individual’s interests conflict with our own. This obsession with self can taint the other “good” eye’s favorable view of the other individual.
When the nations of the world demanded a leader of the caliber of Moses, they meant a person who had great spiritual vision. They were not interested, however, in a leader who was also self-effacing and who realized his own insignificance. Their view of leadership was to serve as a force to promote themselves to higher levels.
G-d’s response to them was: “Fine. I’ll send you Bilam, a person who exemplifies the futility in being a man of the spirit, without the other ingredient of self-assessment that leads to self-effacement.” The greatness of a Jewish leader is not only his ability to scale the heights of spiritual awareness, but lies also in his ability to plumb the depths of his soul and eradicate all traces of impurity and ego.
Moses was such a leader, and Moshiach is another great person whose ability to command the respect of the entire world lies in his ability to see with “both” eyes. This clarity of vision is also what will characterize the entire world in the Messianic Era that will be ushered in by Moshiach.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Balak by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
