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The Book of Numbers- ‫ספר במדבר‬

Torah Portion Balak

In Torah portion Balak, we hear of Bilaam, who wanted to curse the Children of
Israel, but eventually blessed them.

A story is told about one of the students of R' Yonatan Eybeshutz who decided to
continue his studies in the great yeshiva in Vilna.
He asked R' Yonatan for a letter of recommendation, and

R' Yonatan took a blank sheet of paper and wrote on one side the word "who"
(mi) and then wrote the word "who" (mi) on the other side of the sheet as well.

The young man looked at the sheet and did not understand what the rabbi meant.

When he arrived in the city of Vilna, he showed the sheet to the Vilna Gaon. The
Gaon looked at the sheet, smiled and said:

R' Yonatan meant the acronym "M.I."
It appears in the will of R' Akavia ben Mehalel for his son.

"Your deeds will bring you close (Ma'asecha yIkrivucha), your deeds will
distance you (Ma'asecha yIrachakucha)."

This will is fitting for everybody because we all pave our path in life with our
deeds, and the heavens lead us in the way that we chose for ourselves.

Thus we find that in the end of the matter, Bilaam was allowed to take the path
that he chose – to curse the nation of Israel despite the fact that he knew that it
was not the will of God.

Bilaam indeed went on his way to curse, but his curses were turned into blessings
as is said in the verse:

"How good are your tents, Yaakov, your dwelling places, Israel." (24:5)

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