Balak:  Propaganda

Strange: there is no great  battle between Moab and Israel. Balak's fear of being overrun  by the Israelites has no basis. Moab and Amon are not zoned for conquest and settlement. Yet, an influencer, a propagandist, is hired to degrade the people. Antisemitism does not require any real threat  The peril is best left vague.

It is possible that absent Balaam and his terrifying description of Israel as a lion, there would have been a battle. Balaam was to encourage the Moabites and their army by laughing at the meek, sidelocked, befringed, ridiculous Jews. Instead, he described them as Israelis... strong and ready for battle. 

The parsha provides lessons in propaganda. (1) Identify the target  (often an audience of one). Balaam is hired by Balak, but Balak is not the audience. Balaam is delivering a message to posterity, a forever text. Balaam, as a seer of truth, knows that Gd is the only listener that counts

(2) Use truth and ambiguity. For all the money in the world, Balaam cannot utter  a falsehood. Balaam is not like a modern politician... he cannot lie expecting that even his videotaped statements can be retracted.  A great propagandist  tells a (deeply distorted) truth; the facts are not for sale.  Reality is viewed through a new mirror, specks of dust  in the microscope lens are interpreted.  Lets look at motive, fairness, nationalism, possibilities.  It is us against them... isn't it?

(3) Try again. It takes two sets of messengers to start Balaam on his journey to Moab.  Donkey troubles will not stop him. He makes three attempts to fulfill the desire of his employer. Repetition  creates the illusion of truth

 (4) Look for angles . Balak has Balaam view sections of the Israelites from three different overlooks.  Much, perhaps all, depends upon the point of view. 

Ultimately, Balaam's praise is a pivot for downfall. Balaam presents Israel's favored status based upon their singular qualities: keeping to themselves:

 הֶן־עָם֙ לְבָדָ֣ד יִשְׁכֹּ֔ן 

They are a nation dwelling onto themselves. 

The choice of   יִשְׁכֹּ֔ן, yishkon, derived from neighbor , can imply that they are a  community.  It may also  communicate that Israel will not conquer Moab, they will be a neighbor that keeps to itself.

כִּ֤י לֹא־נַ֙חַשׁ֙ בְּיַעֲקֹ֔ב וְלֹא־קֶ֖סֶם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל

There is no augury in Jacob,
No divining in Israel:

 The serpent  the nahash נַ֙חַשׁ֙ ,makes an appearance here.  There is a sarcastic element in this word choice. The copper snake ( nachash)  of cure appeared in the last parsha.  Peering upon this image detoxified the bite of the fiery serpent.  I do not understand the world and take my cures wherever I find them. 

This nachash  also echoes  the serpent-tempter of Eden,  the entity that leveraged a miscommunication  between man and wife into their downfall. ( Adam had told Eve not to touch the tree; he amplified Gd's instruction not to eat of the tree. When  she saw that touching the tree was without consequence, she took the next step, she ate.)

 

מַה־טֹּ֥בוּ אֹהָלֶ֖יךָ יַעֲקֹ֑ב 

How fair are your tents, O Jacob,

Rashi quotes the talmud: 

מה טבו אהליך HOW GOODLY ARE THY TENTS — He said this because he saw that the entrances of their tents were not exactly facing each other (Bava Batra 60a; cf. v. 2).

Respect for privacy merits the reward of Divine protection. ( I entertain myself thinking that Louis Brandeis injected the right to privacy into the US constitution [ see Seek and Hide by Amy Gajda) on the basis of his Jewish culture which treasures privacy.)

As the parsha closes, these foundations of blessing are violated by Israel's adulteries with the  Moabites, their new attachment to the Baal Peor idolatry, and the public pornography with  the   Midianite. Twenty four thousand die in the extirpation of these sins, two thousand for every tribe. 

Was the state of blessing restored? It might depend on your point of view.