Balak - Rachel Stole Lavan's Fetishes
"Rachel stole the fetishes that belonged to her father."
Earlier we discussed Balam and the Evil in the world, as well as Balak and the hatred they both had toward Israel. We also mentioned the connection of both, through reincarnation, to Lavan. The explanation of this goes back to Rachel stealing the fetishes (terafim) of her father Lavan.
But first, why did she do it? Some say that she wanted Lavan to stop worshiping idols, others - that she did not want him to use them for divination, to find out where Jacob was (and indeed, he did not know). Josephus says that she did it to gain her father's pardon.
What does this all have to do with the story of Balak?
Rachel and Leah are not only sisters, but they are also spiritual entities that complement each other in the spiritual worlds. Leah has a connection to strict judgment (her daughter was called Dinah, which means Judgment), and this is most manifest in the spiritual world where Leah's domain ends and Rachel's begins. This is Leah's heels, the place of least sensitivity and reduced light. They push and pierce through (“bolkim” in Hebrew), and reach the head of Rachel.
Evil forces immediately cling to the reduced light and have some hold in Leah's heels. They thus can push and pierce through into the head of Rachel. That evil force, hinted by “bolkim” is Balak. Thus he finds the place to dwell and to try to achieve dominion.
But why is it Balak who waits for diminished light between Leah and Rachel? Balak is in some sense a descendant of Jethro, he is connected to the bad side of Cain, and his name contains multiple hints to the highest spiritual universes. The evil is thus connected to good, has its root in good, and good itself cannot be without evil existing in the world also. Our task is to recognize that, but to limit the power of evil by adding to the good forces through our study, and especially the study of Kabbalah.
Art: Charles Le Brun - Daughters of Jethro