Kabbalah Library
Zohar for All, Volume 7
And He Sent Angels [Messengers] to Balaam
132. “And he sent messengers to Balaam.” There are twenty-eight words in this verse, corresponding to the twenty-eight degrees of sorcerers and magicians with Tzipor. One does who wishes to speak with Balaam and connect with him immediately sends him explicit words, before he comes to him? He said, “Look, a people has come from Egypt. …Come now, curse this people for me.” He should have connected with him first, appease him and bribe him, and then alert his words to him.
134. From this, it is apparent that Balak knew the will of that wicked one, that he always wants to be glorified with great things and has no passion other than to harm. For this reason, he praised as if all the leadership was in his hand, and whomever he wanted, he blessed or cursed, and it would come true. He also notified him that he wants him to curse Israel since he knew that all his aspirations were to harm and damage.
135. Balak made magic and made charms, and established a bird. He knew that Moses’ degrees were high and esteemed, and performed magic with his spells and charmed with his charms, and knew that the degrees of Balaam corresponded to the degrees of Moses. Promptly, “And he sent messengers to Balaam son of Be’or, Ptorah, who was by the river.”
136. Ptorah is the name of a place, as it is written, “from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.” It is called so because it is written, “who set a table for fortune.” He would set a table there each day, for so is the correction of the evil sides: A table is set before them with food and drink, and they do magic and burn incense before the table. At that time, all the spirits of impurity gather there and are notified what they want, and all the charms and magic in the world were on that table. Because of it, the name of the place is called Ptorah, since in Mesopotamia, a table is called Ptorah.
137. It is written, “You shall make a table of acacia wood,” and it is written, “And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always.” The Creator wanted all those vessels of holiness set before Him so as to draw the spirit of holiness from above downward. That wicked one, Balaam, would set up this way for the Sitra Achra, and he would set up a table and bread, called “polluted bread,” as we learned that the Sitra Achra follows the holiness like an ape after humans. King Solomon yelled and said, “for what will the man do who will come after the king, except what has already been done?” and he would want to be like him.
