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Having blessed the Jewish people three times, Balaam prophesied the fate of Balak’s people, as well as that of other nations, in the future. In these prophecies, he also mentioned how the Jewish people’s future king – the Messiah – would bring all humanity to serve G-d.

When he saw Amalek, he began to recite his parable, and said, “Amalek was the first of the nations, and his end will be everlasting destruction.” 

Numbers 24:20

The Torah commanded the Jewish people to displace the seven Canaanite nations that occupied the Land of Israel: the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites. Allegorically, these seven nations embodied the misdirected versions of our seven emotions (love, fear, mercy, trust, sincerity, fidelity, and lowliness). The commandment to conquer these seven nations is thus also a commandment to control our emotions, reorienting them toward their intended Divine focus.

Although Amalek was not one of these nations, the Torah here refers to them as their progenitor (“the first of the nations”). Amalek embodied egocentricity, which is the root of all the evil emotions. When a person is focused on himself, he loves the wrong things, fears the wrong things, is merciful to the wrong things, and so on. By meditating on Divinity properly, we can neutralize our self-centeredness. This, in turn, will cause our emotions to be properly directed.

—From Daily WIsdom