Kabbalah Library

52. It is written, “Do not fear, My servant Jacob,” the spells of Balaam, and do not dread the magic of Balak.

53. The two of them were conniving with each other against Israel. Balaam said, “Jacob was in the house of Lavan, my father’s father, who was making spells against him, but he prevailed over him.” “I will set up spells against Jacob,” Balak said, “and I will set up magic to the name called Israel.”

54. At that time, a spirit came out from the side of Joseph, from within the branches of the tree, and blew into these spells and canceled them. This is as Joseph said, “A man such as I can certainly practice divination.” “A man such as I” means that for me, there is a man who will revoke the spells, who are called “magic,” for your children. “For me” is above, Yesod, for whom Joseph is his Merkava [chariot/structure]. This is “A man such as I.”

“As I” means that there is a man above, Yesod, who elicits a spirit out of the tree below, Malchut, and blows in that magic and revokes it. The spells are revoked by Yesod, and the magic are revoked by Malchut.

55. It is written, “Magic on the king’s lips.” The king is the tree below, Malchut, who revokes the magic. At that time, Balaam replied and said, “For there is no spell against Jacob and no divination against Israel.” Both of them, Balaam and Balak, were on both these sides.

56. There has not been a day since the world was created when the Creator had to be with the people of Israel as on that time when Balaam wanted to obliterate Israel’s enemies from the world. The Creator said about this, “Balaam wanted to obliterate you from the world, but I will not do so. Rather, as it is written, “I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have scattered you, I will not completely destroy you.”

57. Even if all the peoples of the world come, they will not be able to obliterate you from the world. At first, Lavan came and wanted to uproot only Jacob from the world. The Creator came and protected him, as it is written, “Beware lest you speak with Jacob of good things or of bad things.”

Pharaoh came and wanted to obliterate them from the world. The Creator came and protected the, as it is written, “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad.”

Haman came and wanted to obliterate them from the world. The Creator came and put everything back in its place. So it is in each and every generation: The Creator always protects Israel.

58. Israel say, “The mercies of the Lord, for we have not ceased.” But should it not have said, “The mercies of the Lord have not ceased”? However, “the mercies of the Lord” means that in each and every generation, He helps us. “We have not ceased” means that we have not been obliterated from the world, since we were not denied His mercy, as it is written, “For His mercies have not ended.”

59. At first, it is written, “And he sent messengers to Balaam,” and afterwards, “And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with magic in their hand, and they came to Balaam.” It should have said, “And the messengers went.” Why did he change his words from what he said at first, and called them the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian?

60. That wicked one Balak was wise in all the degrees of above, in those that make connections by which to do spells and magic, in all those degrees above them, by which they were forcing the lower degrees.

61. Balak said to Balaam, “At all times, we charmers and magicians and soothsayers have certain degrees and certain messengers that are known to sorcerers and magicians. But from here on, you should look in a different, high place.”

62. He wrote for him other names from among the holy degrees. Such is the way of sorcerers and magicians who know these degrees where there is magic, who do magic and adjure‎ them in other degrees, higher than they are, and do what they do.

63. He sent him this: “That nation, their connection is not as that of other nations in the world. Rather, their connection is in a different, high place, which connects above all the degrees.”

64. He wrote and sent him the lineage of paternity of twelve sparks that surround the wheels of the Merkava [chariot/structure] of the holy throne, Malchut, and said to him, “If you look at Israel, look at the twelve sparks, since these twelve sparks connect to twelve tribes.

“And if you do magic in their form below, of the twelve tribes and twelve spread out banners, we can overcome them, and we will wage war against them and uproot them from the world.”

65. It is written, “And he sent messengers,” who are upper messengers. “With magic in their hand” is the lineage of the holy angels that they were bringing with their hands. But he did not know that all the upper degrees are in the hands of the Creator.

Balak thought that the people of Israel was given to angels like the rest of the nations in the world. This is why he wrote the names of these twelve angels and sent to him. This is the meaning of “And he sent messengers.”

66. He said, “All the degrees that make connections to break this people are from the north side, and from the north side, Israel are destined to fall. Our government of spells is from the north side. Now we can wage war against them since those twelve that connect in them begin to count them from the north side.

67. Since their strength begins from the left, since they begin to count the twelve from the left, he grows weaker and breaks since all their strength is to that side. Where did we hear this? It is written, “Standing over twelve oxen, who are twelve sparks, three turning northward. Thus, he begins to count from the north.

He said, “Our strength is from the north, and they are forty degrees minus one, which are stronger than iron and copper, and underneath them, countless degrees. For this reason, we can wage war against them and provoke them.

68. The Creator did not do so. He did not leave Israel to the angels or to the armies of heaven. Rather, they are the Creator’s alone, and He divided all the great trees—which are important degrees—and the ministers, to the other nations.

When Israel came, He alone took them and settled them in the power of the foliage of the tree, ZA, and did not leave them in the hands of the angels or in the hand of an appointee and the ministers of the world, as it is written, “When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel,” which are twelve tribes. These twelve boundaries of the nations are confined to the four sides of the world.

After He scattered the branches and leaves of the tree to the nations of the world, He took Israel and settled them in the power of the foliage of the tree, as it is written, “For the portion of the Lord is His people; Jacob, the lot of His inheritance.”

69. Rabbi Elazar said, “How good and well is what you said. Happy is our way, for we have seen and gained several high and holy matters.”

That Jew was there before them. He said to them, “Wise men, all those things are so good, and they are high and holy matters. Afterwards, it is written, ‘will find him in a desert land.’ What does that mean?”

70. He said to him, “If you know a thing about it, speak, for this matter was explained with regard to Abraham, whom the Creator had found in a land where they were performing idol-worship and did not know of the faith in the Creator, but rather everyone was wandering after idol-worship. But Abraham arose and grew among them, and became a complete branch before the Lord of the world, and He had found him there.

71. “The Creator took that branch and planted it and watered it, and exerted on it, and uprooted it from there and planted it in another land, as it is written, “Go forth from your land and from your kindred, and from your father’s house.” He made of it a holy nation, and this is the find that the Creator found in the land, that they did not believe in him and did not know who he was. It is written about it, “will find him in a desert land.”

72. That Jew said, “This is well and true, but we should ask, ‘Is Abraham the form on which we needed to hear ‘will find him in a desert land’?’ Also, the writing does not imply at all that it concerns Abraham, since it does not mention Abraham or Isaac, but only Jacob, as it is written, ‘For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob, the lot of His inheritance,’ and afterwards, it is written, ‘will find him in a desert land.’”

73. Rabbi Elazar said, “There is no question here, since Abraham came from idol-worshipers; for this reason, finding pertains to him. Although Jacob is mentioned here, it pertains to Abraham, and there is no question about the matter whatsoever. However, if you know a matter or an innovation, speak.”