Introduction
A talking donkey and a sword-brandishing angel draw us into the story of Bilaam, a non-Israelite prophet who communicated directly with YHVH, the Hebrews' Divinity.  The Moabite king, Balak, was terrified of the Israelites after their conquest of neighboring tribes and promised Bilaam riches in exchange for cursing the Children of Israel.  However as YHVH promised,  Bilaam could only speak the words that YHVH placed in his mouth – despite Bilaam’s intention to curse the Hebrews, only words of blessing were uttered:  “Ma tovu ohaleykha Ya’akov, mishk’noteykha Yisrael –  how goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel.”  (Numbers 24:5)   In the beginning of the story, Bilaam’s eyes were metaphorically-covered and he could not see an angel that was blocking his path. His faithful donkey had to begin speaking to startle Bilaam into awakening. 

Spiritual Sight
What does it take for me to walk through the world with eyes uncovered --to see the hidden levels of Reality?   Conversely, what might it mean for me to be seen by the eyes of the Divine? Our story teaches us about spiritual sight and inspires us to ask what it means to act in alignment with the Divine Will.

For Rebbe Nahman (Likutei MoHoRan 13:4), our holy deeds allow the Divine power of vision – koah ha-r’ut, to focus on us and to thereby influence our lives.   If Divinity sees me as I live through increasing awareness of the underlying Unity, I am influenced to bring more Sprit and intentional action into my life.  We remember that we are the eyes through which the Conscious Field experiences the universe –[“ner Hashem nishmat adam – the human soul is God’s lamp” – Proverbs 20:27].

The role of holy friends and community is to allow us to see God more clearly and to allow God to see us more clearly.  Through the power of Divine seeing, we are able to discern more clearly our soul’s purpose.  As we evolve and become more transparent to the Unity - as we are seen more clearly - our will and the Divine Will are increasingly aligned, and then our mission can manifest more clearly.  Through our prayer, study and rightful action [as the Sages tell us (Pirke Avot 1:2) , these  are the 3 foundations of the world -  al ha Torah- learning, al haAvoda- Divine Service, al g’melut hasadim-deeds of generosity],  we become more transparent to Divinity. And the better the Holy One sees us, the closer my desires – as refracted by my limited consciousness - are in Alignment with that which the Universe desires for me.

Let us be blessed that our eyes be opened to the wonders around us and to the multiple levels of Reality, as Bilaam’s eyes were opened.  Let us hear the voices of all the creatures and see the angels in our paths who are just trying to guide us.  Whenever we open our mouths to speak negativity, let only words of goodness and blessing be spoken!!!  May we live lives of increasing transparency to the Divine Eyes so we can fulfill our paths and purposes.