By Yisrael Yitzchak Rosenfeld
The holy Zohar teaches us something remarkable:
If Balak himself possessed such extraordinary powers of sorcery,
why did he feel the need to summon Balaam?
Why did he send messengers and urgently plead with him to help curse the people of Israel?
The answer is revealed by Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel, who explains that Balaam was actually Lavan the Aramean under a new name.
And why was he now called Balaam?
Because he sought to “swallow up” (livloa) the people of Israel.
In other words:
Although Balak was himself a powerful sorcerer,
he needed an expert in his battle against the Jewish people—
someone who understood their very soul.
And Lavan, who had once sought to uproot everything at its source,
was the one he turned to.
This teaches us a profound truth:
Our enemies know how to unite.
As we declare in the Haggadah:
“In every generation they rise up against us to destroy us…”
They may differ in culture, language, or strategy,
but when it comes to the people of Israel,
they know how to stand together.
And sometimes, a desperate Jew begins to wonder:
“If everyone is against us… perhaps they’re right…”
That is precisely why we have the story of Balaam.
It teaches us that even when the entire world joins forces against us,
even when Balak allies himself with Lavan—
with Amalek lurking in their hearts—
“The Holy One, blessed be He, delivers us from their hands.”
