Kabbalah Library
Zohar for All, Volume 7
And They Killed Balaam, Son of Beor, With a Sword
161. Who killed wicked Balaam, and how was he killed? Pinhas and his men killed him, as it is written, “They killed … with the rest of their slain.” In the city of Midian, Balaam was working with the wisdom of his charms, which flew in the air, he and the kings of Midian. Were it not for the Holy Tzitz* and Pinhas’ prayer, which dropped them to the earth along with their slain, they would not have overcome them, as it is written, They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain,” and as it is written, “And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.”
* A golden plate or crown worn by the High Priest while serving in the Temple.
162. All of wicked Balaam’s words are harsh. It is written, “No prophet has risen in Israel such as Moses.” But we learn that in Israel, he did not rise, but in the nations of the world, he did rise. And who is he? Balaam.
There is no one like Moses in upper Ketarim [pl. of Keter]. There is no one like Balaam in the lower Ketarim. One is on the side of holiness, and one is on the left side. And if all this was in his hand, and he was so strong in wisdom, a man who would praise himself with great force, as it is written, “while I meet the Lord over there,” which means “I will uproot the Lord,” Malchut, from here, how could they kill him?
163. However, King Solomon’s book of wisdom said this: There are three signs—a sign of a transgression is greenness; a sign of folly is excessive speaking, and a sign that he does not know anything is that he praises himself. And one who praises himself defeats all the others because a fool is suspected with all the transgressions and there is everything in him.
164. But it is written, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth.” Does this mean that if there is no other to praise you, it will be your mouth? It is not so. Rather, it means that if there is no one who knows you, open your mouth to say words of Torah and notify words of truth in the Torah. Then, the opening of your mouth in the Torah will praise your words and it will be known who you are, for nothing is recognized in a person unless he opens his mouth; his mouth lets people know who he is.
