Who wrote the various books of the Holy Scriptures? Moshe wrote his book (= the Pentateuch) and the story of Bil'am, Yehoshua wrote his book...

(Gemara Bava Basra 14b)

The Gemara tells us that aside from writing the entire Torah, Moshe also recorded the episode of Bil'am and Balak. Why does the Gemara distinguish between the section dealing with Bil'am and the rest of the Torah? Isn't Bil'am's story just one part of the Torah? If he gave us the Torah in its entirety, then obviously Moshe gave us the story of Bil'am as well!

In order to resolve this question, some of the commentators suggest that the "story of Bil'am" that the Gemara refers to here is not the story that we read in this week's Parasha. Rather, it is a separate volume dedicated to the details of Bil'am's foiled plot to stop our nation from reaching its destination -- a record apparently lost over the generations, and no longer extant (Ritva; Tziyoni, cited by the Shelah in a footnote). Other early commentators, however, contend that the Gemara should be taken at its face value, as referring to the section of the Torah that we read this week (Yad Remah; this is the implication of Rashi ad loc. as well). Why, then, was this section of the Torah singled out?

Another, even stranger, Midrash, discusses the extraordinary level of prophecy the Bil'am attained. Inconceivably comparing him to Moshe the Lawgiver, the Midrash states:

"In the nation of Israel, there never arose another prophet of Moshe's stature" (Devarim 34:10) -- In the nation of Israel there did not arise, but among the other nations there *did* arise. Who was that? Bil'am!"

(Sifri, end of Sefer Devarim, see also Bamidbar Raba 14:34)

The Gemara tells us (Yevamot 49b) that all the prophets saw their visions through "a clouded glass," while Moshe's prophecy was through "a clear glass." In what way is a prophet's vision clouded? Is the Divine Word not clearly revealed to him? Rav Diskin explains as follows: When Hashem delivers a prophetic message to a prophet, it must first "materialize" into a worldly vision, one that is within the grasp of the prophet. The prophet must then apply himself to the task of understanding the meaning of the vision. Ultimately, the accuracy of his interpretation will depend on how closely he grasps the ways of the Creator, or how much he has subordinated himself to the Divine Will. The barrier of physicality that stands between the prophet and heaven "clouds" the prophet's vision.

Does that mean that sometimes a prophet can "miss the point?" If he can "misread" his vision, at times, how are we ever to know whether his prophecy can be relied upon? Rav Diskin answers that even if a prophet does not grasp all the fine points, and interprets part of it other than ideally, his interpretation will certainly come true. Once he is appointed to be a prophet of Hashem, he is entrusted with "prophetic license" to interpret the Divine communications that reach him as he sees fit, and Hashem will follow through based on the prophet's interpretation. The concept of a Divine message being subject to human explication is, after all, not a new one. With regard to meaningful dreams (which our Sages term "a minor prophecy," Berachot 57b), we are told that "Dreams are fulfilled according to the interpretation that one suggests for them" (Berachot 55b -- This concept in fact has parallels in the license afforded to Talmudic scholars to interpret the Written Law based on the 13 principles of the Oral Law).

Nevertheless, since human intervention is involved there is some element of what might be called "distortion" in a prophetic message. The Gemara tells us (Yoma 73b), "A prophet's word may be recalled, but the word of the Urim v'Tumim is never recalled." Divine messages transferred via the Urim v'Tumim, a Holy Name that allows the High Priest to be answered with the Word of G-d under special circumstances, come directly from above. Since there is no human intervention involved in their delivery, they are the absolute truth of Hashem. The word of a prophet (especially when he is cautioning others to repent in the face of impending disaster, as with the prophet Yonah), lacks that element, and therefore may be recalled. (See Parasha-Page, Parashat Vayishlach 5757, where we discussed this matter at length.)

Moshe, though, was different from all other prophets. He obtained the loftiest spiritual level that a man of flesh and blood can attain -- he totally subordinated his will to that of the Creator (Bamidbar 12:3). His grasp of the Divine Will was therefore total; his visions were through a "clear glass." (See also Rashi, beginning of Parashat Matot, "Other prophets would announce, "*Thus* has Hashem spoken." Moshe had an additional element to his prophecy; he announced, "*This* is what Hashem has spoken.")

In fact, this is the answer to the question we posed earlier (at the beginning of section II): How did Bil'am expect to curse the Jews after Hashem explicitly told him, "Don't curse them!"? The answer is that Bil'am thought that it would *not be necessary* to curse them. He was confident that he could "use" his gift of *prophecy* to foretell evil for Israel, by perceiving a gray-colored vision through his own thickly clouded spectacles!

In order to avoid this, Hashem changed the ordinary manner of prophecy in this one case. Bil'am was shown crystal-clear, pure visions -- he was treated to the unadulterated word of Hashem. ("What Hashem puts *in my mouth*, I shall speak" -- 22:38.) There was nothing for him to misinterpret and mis-foretell. His word was like that of the Urim v'Tumim! In this manner, his prophecy was just like that of Moshe.

We can now answer our original question. The Sifri does not mean to propose the preposterous suggestion that Bil'am reached as lofty a level as Moshe. It means that there was *one particular* aspect of prophecy that no prophet shared with Moshe but Bil'am. That is, as far as *clarity* of prophecy is concerned, Bil'am's visions were as clear and unfiltered as Moshe's own visions. (This also seems to be the approach of Rabeinu Bachye, 24:4.)

We can now understand why our Sages distinguished between the rest of the Torah and the story of Bil'am. The entire Torah is termed "Moshe's Torah" (end of Sefer Malachi). Even though the Torah includes stories that were not introduced by Moshe but were already familiar to the nation, and it includes the prophecies of other prophets, such as our forefathers, nevertheless the Torah is "Moshe's." The reason for this is that when Moshe copied down the Torah, every word of the Torah was written directly from the mouth of Hashem. In the words of the familiar stories were stashed innumerable allusions and teachings. The prophecy of the forefathers, which was originally perceived through an "unclear glass," was now related to Moshe directly through Hashem's narrative. It took on a new meaning as he recorded it, and it is therefore fitting to refer to it as "Moshe's Torah."

There is but one exception to this rule. Bil'am's prophetic visions were *already* received in their purest form. There was nothing for Moshe to add to them, since they had already been viewed "through a clear glass," as we have explained above. That is why the Gemara tells us that Moshe recorded for us "his Torah" -- i.e. the Torah that was brought down to earth through him, and "the section dealing with Bil'am" -- which was already brought down to earth, and had but to be recorded! (A similar approach to this matter is attributed to Rav Chaim Soloveitchik -- see, for example, Ma'atikei Shemu'ah, vol. 2 p.81.)

After reading the Torah on Shabbos, we read a selection from the Books of the Prophets. Before we start, the reader recites a blessing praising Hashem for revealing to us His Will through the prophets. The blessing, though, contains some puzzling lines: "Blessed are You... Who chose good prophets, and approved of their words, which were said over truthfully.

"Who chose *good* prophets" -- are there, then, good and bad prophets? A prophet is a prophet, he just delivers the word of G-d; how does his "goodness" make him a more worthy prophet? "He approved of their words" -- if the prophets but said over *His* words, what words did the prophets utter to earn His approval or disapproval?

In light of Rav Diskin's explanation, the words of this blessing can be easily understood. When a prophet interprets a vision, it involves human input. His interpretation will obviously be influenced by his personal character. Hashem therefore took care to choose us "good prophets," who will be able to interpret their prophecy for our good. Similarly, since their input is involved, it is indeed appropriate to say that Hashem "approves of their words, which are said over truthfully!"