🕯️ [[TYPE: In memory of / For the healing of / For the success of / In honor of]]This shiur is dedicated [[detail]] — [[Hebrew name]][[Blessing — e.g.: May the merit of the Torah protect them and all Israel. Amen.]]
Parashat Balak · 5786 · Shiur 4
Bal Am, Amalek and the Remedy
Hungarian Cube · Yira & Ahava · Kalam ↔ Melech
A shiur by M. Yéhouda Himi
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🎙 Full recorded shiur · M. Yéhouda Himi
Balak — Shiur 4 · Bilam, Amalek and the King within
Bilam = Bal Am — he belongs to no nation, and his goal: Am Yisrael shall cease to exist. His weapon: catching the instant of divine anger to say one word: Kalam = annihilation. G-d restrained Himself out of love.
The Arizal: Bilam + Amalek = same letters — Hungarian cube. However you turn it, you get Bilam or Amalek.
The antidote: Yira + Ahava — same phenomenon. Teshuvah from fear defeats Bilam. Teshuvah from love defeats Amalek and brings complete redemption.
Kalam ↔ Melech: Kalam = liver-heart-brain (evil order). Reversed: brain-heart-liver = King. Whoever rules his impulses is king over himself — and brings redemption.
Bilam = Bal Am. Two meanings in one name: (1) he himself belongs to no nation; (2) his goal is that Am Yisrael should cease to exist. His very name encoded his dark mission.
Bilam's end: he went to curse and found himself blessing. From the name "Bal Am" — came the seed of redemption. There is no wisdom and no counsel against G-d.
2 The Instant of Anger — Bilam's Weapon
What was Bilam's unique power?
Every day, within 24 hours, there is one instant when G-d is angry at the nations (for idol worship) — as taught in Tractate Berakhot. How long does this anger last? The time it takes to say the word "rega" (instant).
⭐ Bilam knew exactly when this instant occurred. If he had caught it, he would have said one word: Kalam = destroy them, annihilate them. This was the most dangerous moment in all of Jewish history — because all of Am Yisrael was in one place. G-d restrained His anger out of love, so Bilam could not find the "crack" to curse through.
My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab plotted... in order to know the righteous acts of G-d Micah 6:5
G-d says: Remember that I held Myself back during that period. I did not express anger at all during those days. That is why Bilam could not find "the crack" through which to curse.
3 The Arizal — Bilam + Amalek = Hungarian Cube
The Arizal reveals: write Bilam and below it Amalek. Take the first two letters of each and combine them. Then the last two of each.
📐 Rabbi's Diagram — Bilam + Amalek (English)
However you turn it — you get Bilam or Amalek. Same root. Same agenda. Amalek = "first of nations" — the king of evil among all peoples. To overcome one, you must face both together.
4 The Antidote — Yira + Ahava
If Bilam and Amalek form a Hungarian cube — what is the antidote?
💛 Rabbi's Diagram — Yira + Ahava (Fear + Love)
Yira
Teshuvah from fear defeats Bilam — good, but half the journey.
+
Together
Ahava
Teshuvah from love defeats Amalek and brings complete redemption.
5 Kalam ↔ Melech — Liver · Heart · Brain
Why is the word "kalam" so dangerous beyond mere annihilation?
Kalam = acronym: Kaved (liver), Lev (heart), Moach (brain). This is the order Bilam wanted to impose:
K·A·L·A·M
K = Liver (desires, first)
L = Heart (emotions, second)
M = Brain (discarded last)
Evil Order · Annihilation
⇄
M·E·L·E·C·H
M = Brain (rules, first)
L = Heart (follows brain)
K = Liver (under heart's rule)
Order of Redemption · Kingship
One who rules his spirit is greater than one who conquers a city Proverbs 16:32
Whoever succeeds in having the mind rule emotions and desires — is a king within himself. He brings personal redemption and the redemption of all Israel.
6 Bilam's Final Advice — the Inversion of Order
When cursing failed — what was Bilam's last move?
Step 1: Liver — activate desires (harlotry with daughters of Moab). Step 2: Heart — let emotions take over. Step 3: Brain — discarded. No mind, no worries, no redemption.
This is Kalam in action — the exact opposite of Melech.
Complete redemption requires: brain rules heart, heart rules liver. Teshuvah from love — that is the crowning of the King within. And when we crown the King within — we hasten Melech HaMashiach.
🎯 Test Yourself
Five questions. Click on an answer.
1
What word would Bilam have said in the split-second of divine anger?
In the split-second of divine anger, Bilam would have said "Kalam" = destroy them, annihilate them in one blow. The most dangerous moment in Jewish history.
2
What does the Arizal reveal about Bilam and Amalek?
The Arizal: the first 2 letters of each name combined give Bilam; the last 2 combined give Amalek. They share the same root — the same essential enemy.
3
Teshuvah from love — which enemy does it specifically defeat?
Teshuvah from fear defeats Bilam — good but half the journey. Teshuvah from love defeats Amalek and brings complete, national redemption.
4
What are the initials of "Kalam"?
Kamed=Kaved (desires), Lamed=Lev (emotions), Mem=Moach (intellect). Bilam wanted the brain discarded last — because without intellect, no redemption.
5
Melech = Brain-Heart-Liver. What is its practical meaning?
"One who rules his spirit is greater than one who conquers a city" (Proverbs 16:32). When the mind rules heart and liver — you are king of yourself and bring personal and national redemption.
Result
📅 Seven-Day Programme — Balak Shiur 4
Sunday
Write on paper: "Bilam = Bal Am." Where do you feel something trying to prevent you from being part of a community, a family, a people?
Monday
Read Micah 6:5. G-d says: remember that I held Myself back. Today — hold back once. In the name of love.
Tuesday
Memorize the diagram: Bilam + Amalek = cube. Yira + Ahava = cube. Where are you right now — in fear or in love?
Wednesday
Draw Brain-Heart-Liver in descending order. Ask: which organ is driving my day? Is the brain in control?
Thursday
"One who rules his spirit is greater than one who conquers a city." In which area do you want to be "king of yourself" this year? Write one sentence.
Friday Night
Do one act of teshuvah from love — not out of fear, but because you love G-d. One mitzvah before Shabbat from the depth of Ahava.
Shabbat
At the Shabbat table — share the Melech framework: Brain-Heart-Liver. One who rules himself conquers a city. Personal and national redemption.
Four Practical Steps
🏠
Shalom Bayit — The Mouth at Home
What do you whisper to your children? To your spouse? Reveal a Shalom Bayit card.
🔢
Gematria — Rav Ménaché
Hidden connections in the names according to Rav Ménaché zatsal.
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🕯️ Dedicate This Shiur
Your partnership lights this candle through the generations.
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Forty-nine gates open — the fiftieth hides in a single moment. An ancient secret resurfaces, and one man stands between the rift and the world. Drawn from Talmud and Kabbalah.
