Parshas Balak - Yes and No?

Does God change His mind?

Balak, King of Moab, sent messengers to the gentile prophet Bilaam, asking him to curse “the people that came out of Egypt.” God appears to Bilaam in a vision that night and tells him: “Do not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” (Numbers 22:2-12). A few days later, Balak sends more distinguished messengers to Bilaam with the same request. This time, however, God tells Bilaam: “If the men have come to call you, arise and go with them. However, whatever I say to you, you will do.” (22:20).

What happened?

In a 2010 essay Rabbi Jonathan Sacks addresses this question by quoting the midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah, 20:1), which instructs us: “Man is led down the path he chooses to tread.” He explains that God expressed His will clearly to Bilaam the first time but when Bilaam sought another answer, God let Bilaam follow his mistaken inclination. Ultimately, Bilaam’s stubborn insistence led to his own embarrassment – first with his donkey and later in the complete failure of his mission to curse the Jewish people. A few weeks later Bilaam's folly resulted in his untimely death in battle with the Jewish people (see Rashi on Numbers 31:6). 

Don’t we, at times, engage in the same foolishness? We know what our religious imperatives are and yet we look for a loophole, a lenient interpretation, or we console ourselves that ‘extenuating circumstances’ give us license to be lax. And when lightning does not strike us, and no sign of divine disfavor appears in the clouds, we consider our actions endorsed. God, of course, gives us the freedom to take those steps away from His will and, by doing so, to lose precious opportunities to strengthen our faith, our commitment, and our focus in life.