Bilam arose in the morning and saddled his donkey… (Bamidbar 22:21)

Bilam the prophet knew the ways of Hashem; when Balak asked him to curse Klal Yisrael, Bilam arose early in the morning, saddled his donkey by himself, and set out on his journey. The Gemora tells us that Hashem responded to Bilam’s action by saying, “Wicked One! Avraham Avinu already beat you to it, for he got up early to go to the akeida!” This Chazal is quite puzzling! What did Avraham beat him to?

Many people are lethargic and will easily waste an hour for a task that should only take 20 minutes. There are also those that say, “Why do today what you can push off until tomorrow!?” A typical teenager will wake up late every day and push things off, yet this same teenager will almost naturally wake up early on the day of a major trip just due to his excitement! On a simple level we understand that Bilam had this same excitement that caused him to get up early and saddle his donkey himself. He was eager to curse Klal Yisrael. If so, what is the meaning of the response from Hashem, “Avraham Avinu already beat you to it!” This did not seem to be a strategic move; rather it was an emotional response of Bilam doing something that he wanted to do. But from the Medrash it sounds like a well-considered act. Why did Bilaam think that this would get Hashem to allow him to curse Bnei Yisrael?

Rav Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi explains Bilam’s motives based on a passage in Mesilas Yesharim (Chapter 6), which notes Yechezkel Hanavi’s comment that the Angels scurry about with alacrity. Chazal teach us that alacrity is virtuous on its own. It isn’t a virtue to just to beat the clock, rather the virtue is for a person to be alert and doing what he is doing with a true zest and zeal. It was clear to Bilam that Hashem did not want him to curse klal Yisrael, but Hashem gave him some “wiggle room”. In order to win Hashem over to his side and to get Hashem to help him out with his nefarious plan, Bilam needed some merits. Chazal tell us about Bilam, “in the manner that a person wants to go, Hashem will take him there…” So, this was Bilam’s plan: If I do something which shows exuberance in my actions, that will put me in a good light and Hashem will therefore allow me to curse klal Yisrael. Meaning that the positive trait of alacrity is a goal in and of itself which gains one favor in Hashem’s eyes. This would be true to the point that even if it is used for evil, Hashem would “appreciate” the mida by itself. This is what Bilam was hoping for in order to  gain allowance to curse Bnei Yisrael.

However, to this Hashem responded, “You think with your alacrity you can find favor in my eyes and let Klal Yisrael lose their favor in my eyes? Avraham Avinu, even when asked to sacrifice his own very dear son, did not waste any time and expedited it as soon as possible. That is the type of alacrity that will win me over – Avraham Avinu’s alacrity beats yours hands down!”

In our own lives, there are often things that we have to do, and we push them off. We think nothing of it as long as it eventually gets done. The Mesilas Yesharim teaches us that when we do things with zeal and at the first opportunity, that it is a merit which equates us to the Angels.

There is a question in halacha if “zerizim makdimin l’mitzvos” (it is meritorious to perform a mitzvah at the earliest possible opportunity) is an aspect of each particular mitzvah, or if it is a general rule on how we should conduct our lives. That question is debatable only in the field of halacha. But everyone agrees that an essential part of everyone’s growth in life is by doing everything they do with zeal.

There are those who say that the month of Tammuz is an acronym for זמן תשובה ממשמש ובא (the time for repenting is on the verge of coming). Many of us think that we have time until Elul to start doing Teshuva. The “angelic” approach is to be alacritous and start now.