The Mishna in Pirkeh Avot (5:19) draws a contrast between two very different men – Avraham Avinu, and Bilam.
Avraham, of course, was the founder of our nation, one of the most righteous men who ever lived. Bilam, meanwhile, was a wicked man, who wanted to place a curse upon Beneh Yisrael so they would be annihilated. Even when Hashem told him that He does not want Beneh Yisrael to be cursed, Bilam kept trying, though in the end, he was forced to bless the people, instead of cursing them.
The Mishna says that Avraham and Bilam had three opposite attributes. Avraham was characterized by the qualities of עין טובה, רוח נמוכה, נפש שפלה. This means he looked at people positively (עין טובה), he was humble (רוח נמוכה), and he was generous and not greedy (נפש שפלה). Bilam, on the other hand, was characterized by the three opposite attributes – עין רעה, רוח גבוהה, נפש רחבה – he looked upon people negatively (עין רעה), was arrogant (רוח גבוהה), and was greedy (נפש רחבה).
We must wonder, are these the only three differences between these two men? Avraham was one of the greatest tzadikim who ever lived, and Bilam was one of the worst people who ever lived. This is like someone asking us to find three differences between Hitler and the Hafetz Haim. Really? Are there only three differences? These two have nothing at all to do with each other; they should not even be mentioned in the same sentence!
The answer is that the Mishna is teaching us about the foundations that led these two men to their drastically different paths.
Avraham Avinu’s character was built on the foundation of the qualities of humility, kindness and generosity, whereas Bilam’s character was built upon the qualities of arrogance, greed and hostility. These opposite foundations are what led to the opposite results.
When Avraham journeyed to Jerusalem for the test of the akedah, to bind his beloved on the altar and prepare to slaughter him, he went with his two נערים (young attendants). Bilam, too, had two נערים with him when he traveled to Moav to curse Beneh Yisrael. The word נער alludes to these three qualities: נפש שפלה/רחבה, עין טובה/רעה, רוח נמוכה/גבוהה. Avraham and Bilam journeyed through life with these opposite middot. And this is how Avraham became such a righteous figure, and Bilam became such a wicked person.
We might sometimes wonder how it is that some people who study Torah do not act properly. If we believe that Torah refines and cleanses a personality, then why do we occasionally meet people who learn lots of Torah but are not particularly nice, friendly, courteous, honest or well-mannered?
The answer is that the Torah puts on a journey to greatness – but that journey depends on our foundations. Bilam was granted great wisdom and insight; he was a prophet whose prophecy is, in a sense, compared to that of Moshe Rabbenu. But his wisdom led him to evil, because his “journey” was taken on a foundation of bad middot. He started with negative character traits, so he used his spiritual gifts for evil. Avraham began his journey on the foundation of hesed and other positive middot, and so he achieved greatness.
We absolutely believe that Torah refines and purifies our characters – but only if we begin the process with the right foundation, with the foundation built for us by Avraham Avinu, the foundation of hesed, of humility, of graciousness, and love for all people. Once we’ve established this foundation, the Torah will truly make us great.