Musar על במדבר 24:16

The Zohar (Sullam edition Balak page 64), is very explicit in describing Bileam's low character, giving many examples of his appearing to credit himself with great insights and thereby misleading those who considered him a great Seer. Here are a few quotes from that passage in the Zohar "This wicked man took great pride in claiming to know everything. By doing so he misled people into believing that he had attained a very high stature. He blew up every little achievement of his. Whatever he said concerned the domain of the forces of impurity. He spoke the truth, literally speaking. Anyone listening to him would form the impression that he was the most outstanding of the prophets of the world. When he described himself as שומע אמרי קל, ויודע דעת עליון, "privy to the words of G–d, aware of the knowledge of the Supreme One," the impression is formed that he spoke about the G–d in Heaven, whereas in fact he was privy only to אמרי קל, as distinct from אמרי הקל. Had the Torah added the letter ה, we would have credited Bileam with being addressed directly by G–d. As it is, he communicated with the forces of טומאה, forces considered by the nations as deities, though they really were אל אחר, forces of nature that are no better than idols. When he speaks about knowing the דעת עלין, the listener forms the impression that Bileam claimed to be privy to G–d's range of knowledge, whereas in fact he was privy only to the עליון "the highest" of the forces of impurity that G–d has allowed to govern part of nature. Bileam, technically speaking, spoke truthfully, since he was privy to a power which in its field was considered supreme. However, the listener did not know that this power had no independent authority at all but was only an agent of G–d. When Bileam described himself in 24,4 as אשר מחזה שדי יחזה "someone who has visions of G–d, a reader would assume that this was really so, that Bileam could see what no one else could see. However the term מחזה שדי refers to a branch of the three branches that originate in the name Shaddai, corresponding to the three letters in that word. He would have some access to the domains of חסד, גבורה, תפארת. The Zohar continues that עמלק employed these three spiritual domains in his attack against Israel, and that Balak, whose name contained the last two letters of עמלק, felt encouraged that it would help him in his confrontation with the Patron of Israel.