Commentary for Numbers 24:6

כנחלים נטיו AS THE BROOKS THAT WIND — which lengthen and draw themselves out so that they extend (נטיו) into the distance. — Our Rabbis said: From the blessings uttered by that wicked man we may learn what was in his heart as regards cursing them, when he thought to set his face towards the wilderness (cf. v. 1). When the Omnipresent turned the words of his mouth he uttered blessings corresponding to the contents of those curses which he had wished to pronounce as it is related in the chapter beginning with the word חלק Sanhedrin 105a.

כנחלים נטיו, for indeed Torah academies and synagogues are for the multitude what the brooks carrying water to irrigate their fields are as a material blessing. People spend their times in Torah academies and synagogues will receive for their souls what their fields receive from the waters of the brooks Bileam describes. This is why he used the simile כגנות עלי נהר, “as the gardens alongside a river.” These gardens never fail to deliver the fruit expected of them. Our sages paraphrase this when they said that the covenant of the 13 attributes of G’d He made with Moses means that he who invokes them in his prayer will be assured that he will have at least part of his prayer granted. (Rosh Hashanah 17)

כנחלים נטיו, "As valleys stretched out, etc." Our sages in Sanhedrin 105 offer many interpretations on this verse. I believe we may do well to explain the verse in the following manner. Bileam speaks of four different groups of righteous people amongst the Jewish nation. One category is similar to the prophet Samuel who used to tour the whole land of Israel year after year in order to spread Torah knowledge (Shabbat 56). The second group of righteous men are the ones who made their headquarters on the Temple Mount near the Sanctuary teaching and judging. Actually, this group is not basically different from people such as the prophet Samuel except that people wishing to hear the word of G'd had to come there instead of the word of G'd coming to them. The group of people who emulate the prophet Samuel are superior to this group as they bring the word of G'd to all parts of the country. The third category of righteous people is the group who study Torah for its own sake, i.e. without ulterior motives. The group mentioned previously is superior in that it not only studies but also teaches. The fourth category of the righteous are the ones who provide the financial backing for those who study by going out to earn the money necessary to support both themselves and the people studying Torah.