Balak / Bilaam’s mysterious lads … and facing the failure

Bilaam is one of the more despicable characters in the Torah. Even before he unsuccessfully attempts to curse the Israelite nation, he lies to Balak’s messengers and goes against the wishes of the G-d to Whom he has expressed his devotion, when he agrees to go with Balak’s messengers.

When he does head out on his journey, the Torah tells us, “And G-d was very angry that he went, and so an angel of Hashem stood on the road to obstruct him, and he was riding on his donkey, and his two lads were with him.” (22:22)

Why two lads? This is the only mention of these two lads. They play no role in helping him pack, no role in helping him travel, and there is no reference to them in the tales immediately following, neither with the “talking donkey” nor when dealing with Balak upon arriving in Moav.

Rashi teaches the important lesson, which the Siftei Chachamim calls a “suggestion of derech eretz (proper way-of-the-world conduct)” as opposed to an obligation, that an important person should not go out alone, especially on a journey.

Some might compare this to the story of Avraham (Bereshit 22). Rashi there explained the obligation incumbent on a scholar not to travel alone. One would not compare Bilaam to Avraham as a scholar or righteous individual, but many other aspects of the tale are comparable.

They both travel by donkey, preparing the donkey for travel alone, they both go in the morning (though Avraham seems to leave earlier), they both go on a few-days journey, they both don’t know how the story will turn out. And they both bring two n’arim (young men) to accompany them on the journey, presumably as servants or helpers.

The difference with the lads is that in Avraham’s case, they are prominent in the story. They accompany him, they stay with the donkey as he ascends the mountain with Yitzchak, and he returns to them at the end of the tale as they accompany him on his journey home.

In Bilaam’s case, they make one appearance, only when the angel is standing before him on the road. They do not embark with him at the beginning of his journey, and they are not present for his return journey. It is almost as if they don’t really exist.