What did Bilam really see in the camp of Israel that made him say a blessing instead of a curse?
There is a striking point here: the Torah does not say that Bilam only saw beautiful tents from the outside. It says that he saw an inner order.
The central verse is: “Vayisa Bilam et einav vayar et Yisrael shochen lishvatav vat’hi alav ruach Elohim” (And Bilam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe, and the spirit of God came upon him, Numbers 24:2). Immediately afterward, in the same speech, he says: “Mah tovu ohalecha Ya’akov mishknotecha Yisrael” (How goodly are your tents, O Ya’akov, your dwellings, O Yisrael, Numbers 24:5).
What is it that caused the blessing? Not only that Bilam saw Israel. He saw them “dwelling tribe by tribe”.
As a midrashic idea: Bilam was searching for a point of division. He wanted to see mixture, weakness, confusion, a place where a curse could enter. But suddenly he saw a camp with borders, families, tribes, order, identity. Every tribe in its place, every part belonging to the whole without being erased inside it. This was not a scattered multitude in the desert. This was a people.
And this is the depth of the blessing: Bilam came to curse a crowd from the outside, but he discovered from within a people that has form.
In an earlier moment he already said: “Hen am levadad yishkon u’vagoyim lo yitchashav” (Behold, a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations, Numbers 23:9). There he sees Israel’s uniqueness from the nations. But in Numbers 24:2 he sees something more: not only that Israel is distinct on the outside, but that it is ordered on the inside.
And this is very powerful: there is a person who looks strong from the outside, but on the inside is in pieces. And there is a community that looks like a camp in the desert, but when you lift your eyes you see that there is a soul in it, a structure, holiness and order.
That is why Bilam said a blessing instead of a curse. A curse searches for a breach. And when he saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe, he saw that this is not just many people, but a camp that has a root, a border, a family, holiness and direction.
Bilam saw that the strength of Israel is not only in their number, but in the form of their life.
He saw tents, but understood that there is a home here. He saw tribes, but understood that there is a people here. He saw a camp in the desert, but understood that there is a divine presence here.
And this is what brought the blessing out of him.
More articles in the series on seeing in Parashat Balak:
- Why does the beauty of Israel reveal itself precisely through the eyes of an enemy?
- The verb ‘vayar’ (and he saw) repeats many times in Parashat Balak - what are the hidden meanings behind it?