A prophecy that’s hard to swallow

Rabbi Dr David Nossel

Waverley Shul

I can understand a wicked person pretending to be a prophet. So it would make sense to me to say that Bilam was not really a prophet, but a charlatan. But our sages say explicitly that Bilam was definitely a real prophet. Not only that, but they teach that Bilam’s prophecy rivalled that of Moses!

They derive this from the verse that says: “No other prophet ever arose in Israel like Moses” – in Israel not, but among the nations yes! Who? Bilam the wicked.

Mind-boggling! Wasn’t a prophet a person who intended to genuinely connect to G-d and succeed in doing so? How can one possibly stumble across prophecy while taking a stroll through the path of wickedness? And if one genuinely intended to connect to G-d and succeeded in doing so, how could one be called “wicked”?

Although the sages equated Bilam and Moses as prophets, Rashi in his comments on the first verse of the Book of Vayikra (Leviticus) points out that their prophetic practices were not quite the same.

Moses, explains Rashi, was called by G-d prior to every announcement and conversation and mission. This calling was an expression of endearment, an expression used by the ministering angels, as is written “each [angel] called to the other”. Prophets of the nations of the world, on the other hand, continues Rashi, are visited upon by G-d in a way that is termed as temporary and impure, as it says: “And G-d happened upon Bilam.”

Moses, reveals Rashi, was called by G-d before every engagement because he understood that any engagement with G-d was “a call to service”, and therefore was “preceded by a call” – a call to respond to an announcement, a conversation and a mission, by being of service.

It was because Moses would choose to interpret the opportunity to engage with G-d as a call to duty that made the call so endearing to G-d. Similarly, the ministering angels call to each other as a call to be of service – to minister to G-d.

For Bilam (and Rashi includes the other prophets of the nations as well), the opportunity to engage with G-d, to get close to Him, was not seen as a call to respond and contribute. It was seen as the opportunity to engage with G-d as “THE happening”, as the destination in and of itself.

The Hebrew root of the name Bilam is bila – to “swallow”. A person who seeks the closeness to G-d as the destination is ultimately seeking self-gratification, to take in, to receive, to swallow. And although G-d is still prepared to engage, He nevertheless considers that engagement to be “temporary and impure”. 

The difference between Moses and Bilam was not in their attainment of closeness to G-d. It was in Moses’ rejection of swallowing (others) in order to be close to G-d, and in his embracing the service of G-d to be of benefit to others and to take care of G-d’s world, in order to be like G-d.

Moses our teacher, taught us the true meaning of getting close to G-d: to get close to G-dliness, not to let it get stuck in our throats…