Musar for Micah 6:5

Another difficulty is the whole question of Bileam cursing the people. What possible difference could it make to G–d if Bileam did or did not curse Israel, seeing that G–d Himself had blessed the nation with peace? – Let us look at the way the Talmud in Berachot 7a, and in Sanhedrin 105b, treats the statement by the prophet Michah 6,5: "My people, remember what Balak king of Moab plotted against you; and how Bileam son of Be'or responded to him. Recall your passage from Shittim to Gilgal, and you will become aware of the gracious acts of the Lord." In response to the question of what is meant by the "gracious acts of the Lord," Rabbi Eliezer said that Israel should recognize how kindly G–d had dealt with them by not being angry at Israel during the period Bileam had been called to curse them. Had G–d at that time allowed Himself to be angry at Israel, not a shred of it would have been left. This is why Bileam begins by saying: "How can I curse where G–d has not seen fit to curse, how can I damn whom G–d has not damned" (23,8)! According to Berachot 7a Bileam knew the exact moment when G–d was angry. He had wanted to capitalize on the precise moment of the presence of the attribute of Justice within the greater presence of the attribute of Mercy. During that period however, G–d did not allow the attribute of Justice to accompany any part of the attribute of Mercy. Hence Bileam felt stymied This is his lament, "how can I curse when G–d failed to allow for such a possibility?" According to Tosaphot on that folio, Bileam would have been able to condense all his curses by uttering the word כלם "destroy them," into the "רגע," moment, that G–d's anger would have lasted. If however, we say that G–d converted the curses into blessings, the situation becomes quite different. He re-arranged the letters in that word to read “מלך,” and that would have been the reversal of what Tosaphot suggested he could have done. This is the deeper meaning of 23,21: ותרועת מלך בו, "and their king's acclaim is in its midst." As a result, there is no need to say that G–d reversed His usual method of allowing a minor presence of the opposite attribute when another attribute was in the ascendancy. The reason that we do not accept the premise of Ibn Ezra that once G–d's זעם, anger, is active there is no trace of mercy, is that the Torah itself describes G–d as practicing justice and mercy at one and the same time in Exodus 15,6: "Your right hand O Lord, glorious in power, Your right hand O G–d, shatters the foe." While G–d metes out justice to Israel's enemies, He practices mercy with His people. Rashi says specifically that the same right hand, i.e. the same attribute which saves Israel, annihilates its enemies.

The reason that men of military age who are engaged in building a house for themselves, or in the planting of a vineyard which has not yet borne fruit, or who have betrothed a bride without as yet having consummated the marriage are free to return to their homes to complete these endeavours is explained by the Rekanati. We are quoting verbatim: "Know that the three categories of people listed by the Torah in 20,5-8 are people who are especially prone to meet with disaster. The attribute of Justice is more likely to seek them out than others. We have proof for this from what happened during the episode of the golden calf. If you will examine the various occasions when the Torah reports the Jewish people as sinning while they were in the desert, you will find that it was almost invariably after they had experienced a spiritual "high." The first set of tablets were smashed because of the golden calf. Our sages explain that the עין הרע the evil eye, had focused on these tablets. After the Israelites had travelled only three days' journey from Mount Sinai, the very next verse (Numbers 10,36) ויהי העם כמתאוננים, רע באזני השם "The people were complaining before the Lord; they spoke evil within the hearing of G–d." All this in spite of the Torah having told us that the Presence of G–d rested over their encampment. The sin of the spies occurred at a time when the people were ready to conquer ארץ ישראל, i.e. they were at a spiritual "high." The sin of בעל פעור occurred immediately after G–d had made Bileam bless the people instead of cursing them as he had been hired to do (Cf. Numbers chapters 24 and 25). After all, Michah 6,5 reminds the Jewish people to remember the advice given to Bileam by Balak how to curse the Jewish people and how Bileam had responded to him. In that admonition of the prophet the Jewish people are addressed by G–d as "My people," i.e. they were on a morally high level at that time. This is the meaning of the statement of our sages in Shabbat 130 that ליכא כתובה דלא רמו בה תיגרא, "There is no marriage contract which does not give rise to some dispute." Thus far the Rekanati.