Seeing The Inner Essence

כסה כו' עין הארץ

"They cover [over] the eye of the land" (Bamidbar 22:5).

Bilaam describes Bnei Yisrael as covering the "eye of the land," and the Sfas Emes reads this as a clue to their unique spiritual influence.

היא הסתכלות ארציות שבנ"י האירו להיות הראי' רק אל הפנימיות בכל דבר

This refers to the earthly, physical way of looking at things, for Bnei Yisrael illuminated the world so that the seeing should be directed only toward the inner essence within every thing.

Bnei Yisrael's avodah is to train the eye to look past the physical surface and see the inner, Godly essence — the pnimius — hidden inside every created thing.

ולבטל הסתכלות חיצוני מה שנראה לכאורה בעין הגשמיי שיש התנגדות מעניני עוה"ז להקדושה

And [their light came] to nullify the external way of looking — namely, that which appears at first glance to the physical eye, that there is opposition from the matters of this world to kedushah.

Their light comes to cancel the superficial gaze, the impression that the physical world stands in opposition to kedushah.

אבל באמת אינו רק הסתר ואחיזת עינים שלא לראות האמת

But in truth this is nothing more than a concealment and a sleight of the eyes, so that one should not perceive the emes.

That apparent opposition is only an illusion, a concealment that hides the truth that everything is in truth from Hashem.

וע"ז חרה להם [ועמ"ש לקמן]:

And it was over this that they became enraged [and see what is written further on].

It was precisely this power of Bnei Yisrael — to see through the illusion to the emes — that infuriated Bilaam and the nations.

Summary: The Sfas Emes expounds Bilaam's complaint that Bnei Yisrael "cover the eye of the land." The "eye of the land" is the earthly, surface way of looking at the world, which sees physical matters as standing in opposition to kedushah. Bnei Yisrael, however, illuminate the world to look only at the inner pnimius within every thing, thereby nullifying that superficial gaze. For in emes, the seeming opposition of this world to holiness is nothing but a concealment and a sleight of the eyes that hides the truth. It was this very power to see through the illusion that enraged Bilaam and the nations of the world.