Miriam Subdues Balak and Bilaam

The Daily Lesson from our teacher, the holy Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a – Balak and Bilaam are present in every generation

Monday, 5 Tammuz 5782, lesson delivered after the Maariv prayer

At that time, no one knew; it was a secret. No one knew that Balak and Bilaam the curser—who knew about this? He ascends to the top of the peak, he ascends... Who knew about this?

No one knew! Moshe revealed this on the 7th of Adar, before his passing, so that we would know what had happened.

Balak and Bilaam have the same gematria as Rachel and Leah—exactly 274. At night, they draw sustenance from the heels of Leah. Balak and Bilaam draw from the heels of Leah, and the heels of Leah enter into the crown of Rachel. When they enter into the crown of Rachel, the sustenance of Balak and Bilaam is nullified. Their entire objective is to create a separation between Rachel and Leah, and then there is sustenance for Balak and Bilaam.

Because they are in every generation; Balak and Bilaam are found in every generation. It is impossible—the same Balak, the same Bilaam—who can, with his mouth alone, destroy 6 million, 9 million! They are found in every generation, and only Miriam the Prophetess can subdue them. It is impossible to subdue Miriam the Prophetess! Because the king said that he would kill her, "Know that next time I will kill you, this is your end! Why aren't you killing them?! You aren't strangling the children, you aren't doing what I told you!" Because three years earlier, three and four months before Moshe was born, the astrologers said, "Know that the one who is about to be born—we don't know if he is a Jew or a gentile—will take away your crown, will take away your side-locks and your beard, he will take everything away from you!"

The king was terrified and was in a dilemma. He said, "Every son that is born, you shall cast into the river." All the sons were to be thrown straight into the Nile. Before that, he had told them to strangle them at birth. It is possible to strangle during birth, but how many can you strangle during birth? 600,000 children... 600,000 children were born! All of them were at the Giving of the Torah. Miriam said, "Let him kill me, what does it matter?" Just like Queen Esther, who said to the king, "Kill me, if you want, hang me. I only want to save the People of Israel. I will not give you rest, not by day and not by night!"

"And Esther spoke yet again before the king."