[The evil Bil'am raised his voice in prophecy and proclaimed,] "These are the words of Bil'am son of Be'or... the words of he who hears the speech of G-d and knows the mind of the Most High!"

(Bemidbar 24:15-16)

"G-d becomes enraged every day" (Tehillim 7:12). How long does His rage last? It lasts just one moment ("Regga"). No human being in the world knows when that moment is -- none, that is, but the wicked Bil'am of whom it is written "he knows the mind of the Most High." Did Bil'am really know the Almighty's plans? If he did not even know the mind of his beast (Bemidbar 22:23-31), how could he claim to know the mind of the Most High?! Rather, what he meant to say was that he was able to determine the moment of Hashem's wrath. [He would take advantage of this knowledge by cursing people at the moment of Hashem's wrath, thereby directing the anger of the Almighty at those he cursed.] How long does Hashem's "moment" of anger last? The amount of time it takes to pronounce the word "Regga."

(Avodah Zara 4a-b)

If the moment of Hashem's anger is so brief, then what curse could Bil'am have pronounced during that time span? He wanted to utter the word "Kallem" (=Annihilate them). However, G-d reversed the letters of this intended curse, as it says (Devarim 23:6) "Hashem your G-d did not consent to listen to Bil'am, and He *reversed* the curse, transforming it into a blessing". Instead of "Kallem" (spelled Kaf, Lamed, Mem), Bil'am said "Melech" (spelled Mem, Lamed, Kaf, which means "king"). It is for this reason that we find in Bil'am's prophetic vision (23:21) the word "king" -- "The *King's* love is always with the Bnai Yisroel."

(Tosafot; in Avodah Zara 4b s.v. "Regga", and in Da'at Zekeinim to Bemidbar 23:8)

This requires further explanation. Doesn't Hashem grant every person his just due in any case? How can a curse, regardless of who utters it, persuade Him to bring calamity upon someone who would otherwise not be deserving of it?

Another question we may ask is why would Bil'am have intended to utter specifically the word "Kallem". He could just as well have said "Kill them" (Hargem) or "Eradicate them" (Abdem) or several other such synonyms, all of which can be expressed in one two-syllable word in Hebrew. What is the significance of this particular word?

Hashem's anger cannot be aroused through a curse unless there has been a sin committed to which the curser wishes to call Hashem's attention. If the sin is brought up for reconsideration at the "opportune" moment, when Hashem is not "deferring wrath," the ensuing wrath that is aroused by the sin can bring the Almighty to promptly collect his due in full. This was the tactic that Bil'am attempted to use to the disadvantage of the Bnai Yisroel.

But what sin could Bil'am find to bring punishment to the entire nation of Yisroel as one? Undoubtedly, the sin of the Golden Calf (Sh'mot 32), for which Hashem had already threatened to annihilate the entire nation! When Moshe prayed to Hashem to forgive His people for that incident, Hashem agreed, but stipulated that "On the day that I punish them, I will punish them for [this] sin too" (ibid. 32:34). Rashi explains this to mean, "I have agreed to your request for now, but from now on, continuously, whenever I bring punishment upon them for some other matter, I will include punishment for the Golden Calf as well." The effect of this sin was thus never fully eradicated, but has lingered on throughout Jewish history. Apparently, full punishment was never meted out for serving the Golden Calf. Hashem instead deferred the implementation of His wrath. If Hashem's wrath were to be aroused against Israel for that sin, G-d forbid, none would survive.

In fact, Hashem Himself alludes to this idea in the aftermath of the Golden Calf incident: "You are a stubborn people; if I go among you, in one instant ("Regga") I could annihilate you" (ibid. 33:5). Rashi explains (ad loc.) that Hashem's mention of "one instant" was a reference to the Regga of His wrath which occurs daily. Hashem was saying that if this grave sin were to be brought before Him during that ill-fated Regga, it could bring the annihilation of His people!

Similarly, when the people rose up against Moshe during the Korach rebellion, Hashem said "Separate yourselves from this evil congregation, and I will annihilate them in a 'Regga' " (Bemidbar 16:21). In the next incident of insurrection, Hashem again says "I will annihilate them in a 'Regga' " (ibid. 17:10). As the Meshech Chochma (Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, d. 1932) points out, these are clear references to the Regga of Hashem's wrath that the Gemara was discussing in Avodah Zara. Hashem was saying that since the Bnai Yisroel were angering Him with their actions, they would bring about their annihilation during the daily Regga of Hashem's concentrated anger. Perhaps their new sins once again aroused the sin of the Golden Calf, which could cause their annihilation during the Regga of wrath. The sin of the Golden Calf always lurks in the background, waiting for the right "Regga" to arrive -- "When I punish them, I will punish them for this sin too." It is the Achilles' heel of the Jewish nation.

"Bil'am said, `Whether or not He wants to curse them, I will mention their sins and the curse will take effect automatically.' This is why the verse continues, `and he turned his face toward the desert' -- that is, as Targum translates, 'toward the sin of the Golden Calf that was committed in the desert.' "

(Rashi, Bemidbar 24:1)

Now we can understand why Tosafot says that it was specifically the word "Kallem" [=annihilate them] that Bil'am had in mind to utter. This is precisely the word that Hashem Himself used when describing the potential punishment for the sin of the Golden Calf (Sh'mot 32:10): "My wrath will burn against them and I will annihilate them (root: Kalleh)." And again in 33:5: "In one instant ('Regga') I could annihilate you (root: Kalleh)." (The same root is used in the references cited above, section II, from Parashat Korach.) Since Bil'am's entire plan of action was to allude to the sin of the Golden Calf, he naturally would choose a word that described Hashem's anger over that event -- the word which Hashem Himself used in that connection.

This is also what is meant when Hashem said to Pinchas (the one who brought a stop to the plague), "Pinchas... turned away My wrath from the B'nei Yisrael... so that I did not *annihilate* (root: Kalleh) the B'nei Yisrael in My vengeance" (ibid. 25:11).

And as Tosafot pointed out, instead of carrying out Bil'am's intended curse of "annihilation," Hashem transformed the curse into a blessing of "king." Perhaps that is why Bil'am declared (verse 23:21, see Rashi), "Hashem doesn't look at the sins of Yakov, nor at the wrongdoing of Yisroel (=the sin of the Golden Calf), He doesn't budge from their midst (=by allowing me to pronounce on them 'Kallem'); the *King's* love (='Melech', the reverse of Kallem) is always with them!"