| The Portion of Balak The Almighty's Garden of Eden Balak, the king of Moav, sees what had happened to his Emorite neighbors and understands that, in order to defend his people from the Israelites, he needs to devise a different and more successful strategy. He hires Bilam the sorcerer who is known for his ability to curse, and he believes that in this way he will be able to rout the Israelites. Bilam makes every effort to succeed in his mission. He builds altars and offers sacrifices, but despite his "best" intentions, he finds himself, time after time, blessing the Children of Israel rather than cursing them. Bilam's most well known blessing begins with the words "How goodly are your tents O Jacob" (Numbers 24;5) and continues in the following verse "They extend like streams, like gardens by the river, like aloes which the Lord planted, like cedars by the water." That which G-d planted is already referred to in the story of Creation, as it is written "and the Lord G-d planted a garden in Eden from the east…" (Genesis 2;8). An allusion to this is found in the addition found at the bottom of the letter "ayin" in the word "nata"(planted). (Remazei Rabbenu Yoel) (I have also noted the addition to the letter "nun" which is not mentioned in Remazei Rabbenu Yoel.)
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