Parshas Balak: Bilam's Kalem Turned to Melech

AI summary (may contain mistakes)

What curse could Bilam have said in the single moment of Hashem's anger? One answer brought on the Gemara: Bilam would have said the one word kalem, which Hashem turned around into melech. A teaching brought reads melech as moach, lev and kaved: the mind rules the heart, and the heart rules the drive of the liver. Kalem reverses that order, and Yosef HaTzaddik became a melech by first ruling over himself.

Key points

• One answer has Bilam saying kalem, a three letter word meaning destroy them.
• We learn that a melech first rules over himself, as Yosef HaTzaddik did.
• Kalem puts the kaved first, so base instincts lead the heart and the mind.

In this shiur

1. 0:00Bilam and the moment of anger
2. 1:33A curse in one moment
3. 3:22A second answer: beginning the curse
4. 4:01Beginning Shema before the zman
5. 5:43Mind, heart and liver
6. 7:35A melech rules over himself
7. 8:58Bilam's curse of kalem
8. 10:33Tefillin and the retzuos

Topics

• Bilam
• Yosef HaTzaddik
• Tefillin