Parashat Matot-Masei: When Honor Isn’t Really About You

“And Bilam son of Beor they killed with the sword” (Bamidbar 31:8).

Why does the Torah tell us the manner of Bilam’s death? The Ben Ish Chai answers with a remarkable mashal.

Once, an unlearned man came to the Bet Knesset on Shabbat. As the man entered, the entire congregation rose from their seats. His heart swelled with pride. Certain that the congregation had risen in his honor, he confidently made his way to the mizrach—the section reserved for the community’s distinguished members—and took a seat.

A few moments later, the gabbai approached and said politely, “I’m sorry, but you’ve taken the seat reserved for the head of the community.” The gabbai then escorted the man to the guest seating at the back of the Bet Knesset.

Shortly afterward, the head of the community arrived. This time, only those seated near the aisle through which he walked rose briefly in his honor.

After davening, the man returned home overflowing with excitement.

“You should really appreciate your husband,” he announced.

“What happened today?” his wife asked.

“When I walked into the Bet Knesset, everyone stood up for me! Everyone honored me—except for that foolish gabbai, who moved me from the mizrach to the back. Even when the head of the community came in, not everyone stood. Only those sitting near the aisle stood for him.”

His wife, who was wiser than he, replied, “Do you know why everyone stood when you entered?”

“Why?”

“You must have walked in precisely when the congregation was reciting Vayevarech David, during which it is customary for everyone to stand.”

The man dismissed her explanation.

She then asked, “When the gabbai moved you from the mizrach to the back of the Bet Knesset, did everyone stand then?”

Embarrassed, the man answered, “No.”

“Did even those sitting beside the aisle stand as you walked past them?”

“No.”

“Then,” she replied, “there is your answer.”

The Ben Ish Chai explains that Bilam fell into the very same error.

The Torah states, “No prophet ever arose in am Yisrael like Moshe” (Devarim 34:10). Chazal explain that while no prophet arose like Moshe among am Yisrael, one did arise among the nations of the world—Bilam.

When Bilam saw that his prophecies had been recorded in the Torah, his heart became filled with pride. Bilam assumed that because both Moshe’s prophecies and his own were recorded in the Torah, they must be equal in stature.

But Bilam misunderstood why his words had been preserved.

His prophecies were not recorded because of his greatness. They were recorded because they contain magnificent blessings for am Yisrael. The Torah did not “stand up” for Bilam any more than the congregation had stood for that man entering the Bet Knesset. Just as the congregation stood for Vayevarech David, not for him, the Torah preserved Bilam’s words for the blessings they contain—not for the honor of Bilam himself.

The proof is found in Bilam’s own prophecy.

Bilam declared, “Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like theirs” (Bamidbar 23:10), believing that a noble death awaited him.

Instead, the Torah records the reality:

“And Bilam son of Beor they killed with the sword.”

Bilam believed that the Torah had elevated him. In truth, it preserved his words only because of the blessings they contained for am Yisrael. Pride distorted what Bilam saw; humility allows us to see things as they truly are.

Based on teachings from Rav Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman, zt”l, and Naeh Doresh.

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Rabbi Leeor Dahan, a graduate of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim/RSA, is a noted scholar and teacher, well-versed in halachah. He currently leads Kehilat Avodat Hashem in Hillcrest, Queens, inspiring his congregation to delve into Torah study and embrace its eternal teachings.