In this week’s Parsha of Balak we read of the attempts by Balak to hire Bilaam, a non-Jewish prophet – for the sole purpose of cursing the Jewish people.
He began his failed endeavor by saying, “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east saying, ‘Come, curse Jacob for me and come invoke wrath against Israel.’”
Rashi explains the double expression, “He told him to curse them with their two names, for perhaps one of them was not their distinctive one.”
In American lingo this is called covering one’s bases. In case the curse against Yaakov is ineffective, at least the blasphemy against Yisrael will take hold. And vice versa.
Ultimately, he wound up blessing the Jews instead. (He really had no choice, as he proclaimed in the next verse, “How can I curse whom God has not cursed, and how can I invoke wrath if the Lord has not been angered?” As a prophet he could only utter the words G-d put in his mouth).
And if neither Yaakov (Jacob) nor Yisrael (Israel) is cursed, all the proclamations in the world will be useless.*
Covering one’s bases only works when we are not playing with poison. But Balak was playing with poison. And in that case, asking for more is simply doing more harm.
***
We all like to cover our own bases. It’s our natural human weakness to look out for ourselves. So perhaps we should take Bilaam’s advice after all. Just do the opposite!
Cover someone else’s bases when blessing them. Find numerous ways to compliment, encourage and uplift others. When it comes to goodness and holiness, all bases ought to be covered.
* Ultimately Bilaam blessed the Jewish people, proclaiming, "How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!"