וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל-בִּלְעָם, לֹא תֵלֵךְ עִמָּהֶם לֹא תָאֹר אֶת-הָעָם, כִּי בָרוּךְ הוּא. – And God said to Bilaam: 'You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.' (Numbers 22:12)
Regarding this verse, Rashi compares Bilaam to a wasp and intimates Gd's words are like those of the maxim 'neither by your honey nor by your sting.' Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Rubenstein explains that the sweet honey of the bee does not come internally from the insect but from outside its being, however the stinger is of the body of the bee and the same is true of this evil prophet. The blessing that would come from Bilaam would originate from outside the prophet – it would be that of Gd; whereas the curse for Israel would be from deep within the heart of the prophet as it is his nature.
