Parshas Balak (Welcome back to the cycle bnei chutz l’aretz)
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Obviously we know why Balak mentioned Bilam’s power to curse, but why mention the power to bless?
Two Pshatim (both seen in the tallilei oros)
1. (M’lo HaOmer) The Zohar writes that in order to do damage to someone with an Ayin Hara, one first needs to praise the one the hope to inflict (say a few nice things etc.) in order for the ayin hara to be effective. So Balak is saying ?? ?????, ?? ???-???? ????, I know that when you bless the one who is blessed (e.g. Klal Yisroel), only after can we effectively ???? ???, ????, cause the damage.
2. (Or HaChaim)Where do we see that Bilaam had the power to bless? In reality, he did not! Bilaam was a massive rasha, and he saw things via the mazalos,(stars) astrologically. Rather than tell the person what was destined, he’d bless them that it would happen, until the point it happened. The one who got blessed would then believe it happened due to the bracha of Bilaam (when in reality he had no thing to do with it).
This was how it was with Balak. Bilaam saw that Balak was going to rule over Moav. Sensing the opportunity, Bilaam went and blessed Balak until he successfully ascended to Moav’s throne in order to trick Balak into believing that it was all the work of Bilaam’s brachos.