Being in the Wrong Place at the Right Time - Matos 5784

 

ואת בלעם בן בעור הרגו בחרב

And Bilaam ben Beor, they killed him by sword.

רש"י: בלעם הלך שם ליטול שכר עשרים וארבעה אלף שהפיל מישראל בעצתו

Rashi: Bilaam traveled there to collect the reward for the 24,000 people from Israel who died on account of his advice.

Poor, poor Bilaam. It’s a shame they didn’t have electronic funds transfers in his time. The only way to get paid was for him to personally come to Midian to collect payment for his dues. He very unwisely left the comfort of his personal fortress, and made his way to Midian to stuff his pockets. Unfortunately for him, at exactly the same time, there were 12,000 Israeli warriors who came personally to Midian to collect payment for their dues. 

What inauspicious timing. He just happened to be at the wrong place at the right time.

Apparently, the Cherev Missile went sailing through his guesthouse window at 2:00 am and got him and his latest Ham-Ass accomplice.

That was the end of Bilaam.

I wonder what happened to all the money.

Of course, since he was a cohort with Balak, he should have been fully protected by the Midianian Secret Service. What in Heaven’s name went wrong with their security detail?

Heaven only knows.

Whenever a major world event happens in our times, there is always some portent of it in the current Parsha.

One Bilaam of today, our very distant cousin, Ismail Haniyeh, unwisely left the comfort of his protected fortress in Qatar Turkey to visit his buddy Ayatollah Ali Balak Khamenei. Why did he go there? 

Well, the official narrative is that he came to attend the inauguration of the new Iranian President, YSh"V. He certainly did so. But, I have a hunch that while he was there, he had some other items on his agenda. He probably wanted to "collect" for dead Israelis, past and future (R"L).

Regardless, he should have been safe there and protected by the Iranian Secret Service. But I suppose there were some leaks in their security. The Iranian Secret Service couldn’t keep a secret (or their Royal Guard was caught off-guard).

In any case, the Tzitz brought him down. Rashi tells us this in BaMidbar 31:6. He writes:

Klei Hakodesh - This is the Aron and the Tzitz. Because Bilaam was with them [in Midian] and he elevated the kings of Midian with his sorcery and he was flying with them. [Pinchas] showed to him the Tzitz upon which is engraved the name of G-d, and they fell to earth.

The Tzitz is an instrument that can see through anything. It sees through all the windows.

הנה זה עומד אחר כתלנו משגיח מן החלנות מציץ מן החרכים

We bid fareHell to Ismail Haniyeh. Like his predecessor, he just happened to be at the wrong place at the right time.

 

He will be sorely [dis]missed.

כן יאבדו כל אויביך ה'...ותשקט הארץ