Curse Turned Into Blessing
בפסוק ואשר שכר עליך כו' ולא אבה ה' כו' לשמוע כו' ויהפוך כו' הקללה לברכה כו'
On the verse, "And he hired Bilam against you... but Hashem refused to listen... and He turned the curse into a blessing" (Devarim 23:5-6).
The Sfas Emes opens with the verse describing how Bilam was hired to curse Bnei Yisrael, but Hashem refused to listen and instead transformed the curse into a blessing.
וקשה מה ענין ולא אבה לרחקות עמון ומואב
There is a difficulty: what does "but Hashem refused" have to do with the matter of distancing Amon and Moav?
He raises a question: why does the Torah's account of Hashem's refusal appear in the context of the law distancing Amon and Moav from entering the congregation?
אמת כי מכיון שמזכיר הענין שעשה בו המקום נס מזכיר ג"כ חסדו ית'
In truth, since the verse mentions the episode in which the Omnipresent performed a miracle for Bnei Yisrael, it also mentions His chesed, may He be blessed.
One answer: since the Torah recalls the miracle Hashem did for Bnei Yisrael in this episode, it naturally recalls His kindness toward them as well.
אמנם נוכל לומר עוד כי פי' ויהפוך שהפך הקללה עליהם [וכמדומה לי שכ"נ ג"כ בספרי] שכיון שרצו לקלל בנ"י והש"י הי' מגן עליהם נתהפך הקללה עליהם כמ"ש מקללך אאור
However, we can further explain that the meaning of "and He turned" is that He turned the curse back upon them themselves [and it seems to me that this is also the view in the Sifrei] — for since they wished to curse Bnei Yisrael and Hashem was shielding them, the curse became reversed upon them, as it is written, "the one who curses you, I will curse" (Bereishis 12:3).
A second approach: "He turned the curse" means Hashem turned it back onto Bilam and those who sent him — because they sought to curse Bnei Yisrael while Hashem protected them, the curse rebounded upon themselves, as in the promise to Avraham that Hashem would curse those who curse him.
והנה פי' מ"ש ויהפוך כו' הקללה לברכה איך יתכן זה ההיפוך
Now, we must explain the meaning of "and He turned the curse into a blessing": how is such a reversal possible?
The Sfas Emes now probes the phrase "turned the curse into a blessing" — how can a curse actually be converted into its opposite?
ויש לפרש ע"פ מ"ש ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם כו' ברכה וקללה
It can be explained based on what is written, "See, I set before you... blessing and curse" (Devarim 11:26).
He grounds his answer in the verse where Moshe Rabbeinu sets both blessing and curse before Bnei Yisrael.
כי שניהם הם לישראל
For both of them belong to Bnei Yisrael.
His point is that blessing and curse are both given over to Bnei Yisrael as part of their spiritual reality.
כי בהיות הקללה עומדת מכוונת נגד הברכה לא תוכל להזיק כי יש לשניהם מקום
For when the curse stands aligned directly opposite the blessing, it cannot do harm, since there is a place for both of them.
When the curse is positioned directly facing the blessing, it loses its power to harm, because each has its own designated place.
לימין ישראל הברכות
To the right of Bnei Yisrael are the blessings,
The blessings are situated on the right side of Bnei Yisrael,
והקללות בשמאל
and the curses are on the left,
while the curses are situated on the left side.
כענין ויהי הענן והחשך ויאר את הלילה כו'
in the manner of "and there was the cloud and the darkness, yet it lit up the night" (Shemos 14:20).
He compares this to the splitting of the sea, where the same cloud was darkness to the Mitzrim yet illuminated the night for Bnei Yisrael — one force serving opposite roles.
ולכן כשקילל בלעם את בנ"י הפך הקב"ה הקללה לברכה
Therefore, when Bilam cursed Bnei Yisrael, the Holy One, Blessed is He, turned the curse into a blessing.
Thus when Bilam attempted to curse Bnei Yisrael, the Holy One, Blessed is He, transformed that curse into a blessing.
פי' להיות מכוונת פנים בפנים נגד הברכה
The meaning is that it became set face to face, directly opposite the blessing,
This was accomplished by setting the curse face to face, directly opposite the blessing, neutralizing its harm.
וממילא נתהפך הקללה על ראשם
and consequently the curse became reversed upon their own heads.
As a result, the curse rebounded and fell back upon the heads of those who issued it.
והדברים מובנים למבין:
And these matters are understood by one who understands.
He closes by noting that the deeper idea will be grasped by one who reflects on it.
Summary: The Sfas Emes examines the verse describing how Hashem refused to let Bilam curse Bnei Yisrael and instead turned the curse into a blessing. He offers two readings of "He turned": that the curse rebounded upon those who sought it, as in Hashem's promise to curse those who curse Avraham, and that the curse was literally converted into blessing. To explain how such a reversal is possible, he teaches that blessing and curse both belong to Bnei Yisrael — the blessings on the right and the curses on the left — and when the curse is set directly facing the blessing it loses all power to harm, like the cloud at the sea that was darkness to the Mitzrim yet light to Bnei Yisrael. Once positioned face to face against the blessing, Bilam's curse was neutralized and rebounded upon the heads of those who issued it.