The Origin Story of Bilaam - Rabbi Mordechai Burg

how does bilimaharasha become bilaam hazal tell us that he had the same level of navu as maisha abbano this is clearly a man who had amazing spiritual kaisers yet maisha abbaynu becomes maisha abbayno and billamarusa a hired assassin designed to vanquish claudius how do you become such a terrible russia not only that ghazal tell us that the piha asan the mouth of the donkey that spoke to billam was created by nash at the very last moments of creation why does the kadashbarahu say that creation cannot be completed until the piha ason is there why is that so fundamental to creation itself hazal tell us that bilum comes from a lotion of biliam he had no nation in contrast to moshe abenu who had so much belonging the conflict for moshe abbanu was which family would he belong to but belonging he had in spades on the one hand he could have been a jew he had a mother who nursed him he had a sister who followed him into the river a brother who went out to greet him in the desert my shabbato had the most beautiful jewish family but he also had an egyptian family an egyptian princess took him in from the water she named him that's the name we call him he had para who was taking care of him he had all of the luxuries of living in the palace so moshe bainu had so much belonging the only question was who would mushra bainu become and he chose he chose to belong to you so that's what he wanted when a person has belonging ah the things they could do in this world bilaam is bili'am he belonged nowhere he had nowhere to come home to he had nobody who loved him a kid who has no one who loves him can become a terrible russia and that's how bill um became bilum and we see it today children that don't feel like they could be themselves that they're not loved and accepted and cherished for who they are they could go off and do terrible things they're not bad people they're just not rooted anywhere so what's the antidote the antidote is the pihasa the mouth of the donkey when the mouth of the donkey opened up it was akadeshwar who's way of saying to bilaam you don't have to be this way you do belong for me the rabbanislam says creation could not be complete until there was a mechanism to return you bilam harasha to the path of chuva in fact rashi points out that the malach that spoke to bill was a malach of amala whose design was to tell billam don't do this don't do this avaira lest you will be lost lest you will perish barclay was trying to tell billam you belong when we don't have belonging in our lives we can do terrible things when there are people in the world that come to us and say we're here for you come back there is a place for you that's the time when we have the capacity to return and to become the people that we're truly meant to be bilaam could have become a moishrabenu the problem is he didn't have my shape and his family it's a big muscle for us do we belong where do we belong who are the people in our lives that make us feel like we belong and who are we giving the gift of belonging to do our children feel like they belong in our homes our friends our spouses the gift of belonging is the gift of being and we should give this gift wherever we can you