“And Hashem opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Bilam, ‘What have I done to you that you have struck me these three times?’” (Bamidbar 22:28)

In this week’s parsha we have an unusual event: Bilam’s donkey speaks to him. This is so supernatural that Chazal tell us that the donkey’s mouth had to be created between the sixth and seventh days of Creation. The Meshech Chochma asks, “What is the purpose of this unusual occurrence?” He explains that it is to prove that the incident came from Hashem, so that the nations of the world will fear starting up with Hashem’s children.

I would like to offer a different approach as to why this miracle was necessary. Many times people see signs and indications about what is going to happen. Whether it be clouds informing us that it is going to rain, or that interest rates are rising, which will cause bonds to go down, they have worked out in their minds that everything is going to occur as they envisioned.

I would like to examine the events that happened in this week’s parsha. Bilam had a vision from Hashem in which Hashem told him not to go with the officers of Balak to attempt to curse the Jews. Bilam manipulated that vision so that it meant, “I can’t go with you.” Bilam had another vision from Hashem in which it was quite clear that Hashem did not want him to curse the Jews and would not let it happen. Bilam the prophet, knowing exactly what Hashem had said, discounted the vision and proceeded to go along as if his original plans would work out. What was Bilam thinking?

We hear of people being treated in the hospital for lung cancer, and when no one was looking they would sneak out to the terrace and have a cigarette. In this case we don’t ask, “What are they thinking” because we know they aren’t thinking! They are just driven by their addiction to cigarettes, for which they could always find some justification why it is OK for them to smoke right now.

This part of human nature seems to us like a quirk, but it is really a misused gift from Hashem.

Avraham the Patriarch was told by Hashem that Sodom must be destroyed, as the inhabitants were great sinners. It seems obvious to me that Hashem weighed the pros and cons, coming to a clear conclusion that His proposed action was the right thing to do. Then He let his prophet know what was going to happen as a sign of His closeness to His prophet. Reb Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi points out that that is not how Avraham saw the situation. He understood that Hashem was looking to him to be a defending advocate to placate Hashem and to save Sodom.

This is counter to seeing things on a superficial level. Avraham, just like Bilam, interpreted the prophecy in the opposite way that one naturally would. But his using this gift for the good revealed the beauty of man, in that he can rise above the simple understanding of the world around him.

Bilam, on the other hand, used a demented approach to explain away that Hashem was giving him the opportunity to change His mind. This was Bilam’s way of life. By the plague of Hail, it says (Shemos 9:21) that those who didn’t pay attention to the word of Hashem, left their slaves and animals in the field. The Targum Yonatan Ben Uziel says that this verse refers to Bilam!

I would like to suggest that a person who misuses the gifts G-d gave is worse than an animal who never even had these gifts. Imagine that the donkey tells Bilam, “Even I can see what is coming! What is with YOU?!” Again, he goes off to argue and discuss the situation with his donkey, as if there is nothing unusual in having an intelligent conversation with a donkey!

Hashem was pointing out to him, “Can’t you see? If not, then you are misreading the situation!”. Yet, Bilam forged forward. I believe the lesson to us is that a person can always legitimize what he wants to do – but perhaps it is worthwhile to stop and take stock of the situation from an unbiased viewpoint and make sure we are reading things in the right way.