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And they won’t be reckoned among the goyim….

Written by Benjamin Rose

“U’Vagoyim Lo Yischashav… – And they won’t be reckoned (or held accountable – see Rashi) among the goyim [nations]”. [Bamidbar 23:9]
An analysis of Bilaam’s repeated failures to curse the Jewish people are the basis of hundreds, if not thousands of peirushim (explanations) throughout the ages. The Divrei Yisrael offers a timeless insight into the nature of our relationship with the often antagonistic, non-Jewish world that surrounds us, and how HaKadosh Baruch Hu protects us nonetheless.
Rashi quotes a seemingly odd Midrash on this pasuk: “When things go well for the goyim, they [the Jews] eat with them all, and it will not be charged to their account”. The Divrei Yisrael asks the obvious question: Is this the kind of praise that lauds Klal Yisrael – that they eat with the goyim, they are forced to depend on and even seek out their [dubious] generosity? How can that be?

The answer to this anomaly is that this world is filled with “klipot” (husks or shells – spiritual barriers that hold us back from coming closer to Hashem), and “m’katregim” (accusers – the results of our various aveiros or sins), that limit and disturb the flow of Divine shefa [bounty] coming down to Klal Yisrael.
The klipot and m’katregim suggest that we make an accounting and see if in fact Klal Yisrael deserve and merit that shefa from Hashem. What does Hashem do? He takes the shefa and wealth that was already on its way to the goyim, and reroutes it to Klal Yisrael. As a result, the accusers are circumvented. For Above, they compare Klal Yisrael to the goyim, noticing that the latter are blessed with plenty.
So, if this is how those who defy Hashem’s Will are rewarded, how much greater should be the reward for those that follow the Will of Hashem! This shefa comes down for the benefit of the Jewish people, with no accusations levied against us.

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