The Spiritual Power of Stillness
There is a voice within that doesn’t need to shout.
It doesn’t push or perform.
It isn’t born of urgency or noise.
It lives in quiet.
It listens.
And at times, it blesses without saying a word.
In Parshat Balak, the Torah introduces us to Bilaam, a prophet hired to curse the Jewish people. But when he opens his mouth, something unexpected happens. Blessings pour forth. Though his intent was destruction, the words that emerged were holy.
This moment reveals a powerful spiritual truth: beneath all human control and resistance lies a deeper current: undistorted light, already aligned with goodness.
The Hidden Meaning in Bilaam’s Blessing
Chassidic teachings explain that Bilaam’s transformation was not a fluke. It was a glimpse of daas elyon (the higher Divine perspective, where truth flows unhindered and even negativity can become a vessel for light.)
Stillness, through this lens, isn’t passive. It’s an act of bitul (a soft surrender of ego and urgency). Bitul doesn’t erase the self, it refines it. In that state, we become aligned. We stop managing outcomes and start becoming vessels for Divine flow.
When Stillness Becomes Strength
Stillness is not withdrawal.
It’s a reorientation.
It’s not doing nothing.
It’s doing from a deeper place.
When Bilaam opened his mouth, it wasn’t strategy that blessed. It was surrender. A force greater than his will moved through him. And in that moment, the truth within emerged.
This story isn’t locked in ancient narrative. It’s a mirror. A present invitation.
Reclaiming a Soul-Centered Approach
You don’t need to control every outcome.
You don’t need to force forward motion.
Sometimes, the blessing is already within you, waiting quietly, waiting to be received.
Chassidic wisdom reminds us: the soul doesn’t need to win. It needs to remember.
Your chelek Eloka mima’al (your piece of the Divine) already knows the way. It doesn’t rush or push. It emerges in stillness, through faith, through quiet presence.
A Simple Practice to Receive
Try this:
Instead of asking, “What should I do?”
Ask: “What is this moment inviting me to become, if I truly listen?”
Before you speak.
Before you act.
Pause.
Soften.
Let stillness prepare the ground.
You don’t have to chase the blessing.
You only have to quiet enough to hear it arrive.
Sources for Further Study
Likkutei Sichot, Volume 18, Parshat Balak
An in-depth exploration of Bilaam’s blessings and how Divine truth overrides human intent
Maamar “Ma Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov”, Shabbos Parshat Balak 5741
A Chassidic discourse revealing how the essential goodness of the Jewish soul can transform resistance into light
Numbers 23:8–12
The original Torah verses where Bilaam’s intended curses become blessings
