Bilaam the navi

[Ellie Bergin]

I'm sure this is an old question which I have heard before but  to which I can't remember or find a good answer.

Rashi at the beginning of the parasha suggests that Hashem grants prophecy to a non Jewish Rasha in order to refute a potential claim by the nations that had they only had neviim that would have returned to righteous ways.

Seemingly to prove a point, bilaam is given nevuah.....and look what happens.

Surely the question is reinforced. The nations could claim klall yisroel had prophets like Moshe and Aaron who were tzaddikim.

The one prophet they had turned out to be a complete rasha! What chance did the nations have?

Surely the better way to refute the claim would have been to bestow bilaams level of nevius on a non Jew who had demonstrated a level of personal spiritual attainment?

[M L]

To strengthen your question , both Iyov and Yitro were around . 

However A Speculative MAYBE : 

what happened to Yitro is the key . As a priest to Avodot Zarah he was honoured but as a monotheist his contemporaries totally blanked him( rashi Shemot 2:16 )  even before Moshe turns up . 

So it's not so simple : the nations needed a prophet they would at least potentially follow ... Bilaam was such a man . 

All Gd wanted from them is 7 Mitzvot bnei Noach . And within those Bilam is not berated for not moving them forward to monotheism . That was a step too far.  ... He is berated for leading them BACKWARDS from where they already were after the flood back towards licentiousness .... Advice Midian jumped to take even though it was not their fight . 

A maybe answer ... I hope it helps 

Regards

Moshe

Sent from my iPhone

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[Eytan Storfer]

Rav Stav's shiur called chochmah bli Torah addresses this point. I think the clue is in the title.

[Eytan Storfer]