Chasidut for Numbers 24:3
וַיִּשָּׂ֥א מְשָׁל֖וֹ וַיֹּאמַ֑ר נְאֻ֤ם בִּלְעָם֙ בְּנ֣וֹ בְעֹ֔ר וּנְאֻ֥ם הַגֶּ֖בֶר שְׁתֻ֥ם הָעָֽיִן׃
And he took up his parable, and said: The saying of Balaam the son of Beor, And the saying of the man whose eye is opened;
Kedushat Levi
לא ישכב עד יאכל טרף, “It will not lie down until having eaten prey.” If we follow the interpretation of Israel’s progressive elevation to higher spiritual accomplishments, this line would refer to its ability to elevate the fallen “sparks” after having attained a level of serving the Lord without expecting a reward. [The author has repeatedly demonstrated how even consuming, eating, the flesh of a properly slaughtered animal and the nutrients being absorbed by our bloodstream, elevates such an animal to a higher spiritual level. Ed.] When that happens, (killing the enemies of G’d) the very slain having become a vehicle for glorifying G’d’s name, become חיים, as if alive, their lives having served a sacred purpose in retrospect.
Numbers 24,3. “word of the man whose eye is true. (closed)” There are eyes that are “good,” i.e. the owner wishes to do good for Israel. When G’d created the universe He created positives, matched by negatives, i.e. He also gave some people “bad” eyes, i.e. jealous, envious use of one’s eyesight.
Although, generally speaking Bileam was certainly equipped with eyes that singled out everything negative, in this instance he was unable to put his jealous eyes to such use. On the other hand, he had also not been provided with עין טובה, eyesight of a benevolent, generous nature. Even though he had blessed Israel, these blessings had not originated from the depth of his heart, his personality. He therefore had to describe himself as of a blind eye. This is why he adds: נופל וגלוי עינים, “prostate but with eyes unveiled.” He admits that the visions he has been granted are due to his having “fallen.” His evil eye had become the reason that he had been forced to bless Israel. When our sages describe the symptoms of a person that possesses an evil eye, they mention that one of the differences between visions which Moses received and visions which Bileam received was that whereas Moses could remain standing upright while being addressed by G’d, Bileam had to prostrate himself in order to receive any communication from G’d.
Numbers 24,3. “word of the man whose eye is true. (closed)” There are eyes that are “good,” i.e. the owner wishes to do good for Israel. When G’d created the universe He created positives, matched by negatives, i.e. He also gave some people “bad” eyes, i.e. jealous, envious use of one’s eyesight.
Although, generally speaking Bileam was certainly equipped with eyes that singled out everything negative, in this instance he was unable to put his jealous eyes to such use. On the other hand, he had also not been provided with עין טובה, eyesight of a benevolent, generous nature. Even though he had blessed Israel, these blessings had not originated from the depth of his heart, his personality. He therefore had to describe himself as of a blind eye. This is why he adds: נופל וגלוי עינים, “prostate but with eyes unveiled.” He admits that the visions he has been granted are due to his having “fallen.” His evil eye had become the reason that he had been forced to bless Israel. When our sages describe the symptoms of a person that possesses an evil eye, they mention that one of the differences between visions which Moses received and visions which Bileam received was that whereas Moses could remain standing upright while being addressed by G’d, Bileam had to prostrate himself in order to receive any communication from G’d.
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