אלשיך — וירא בלק / ויגר מואב

Q — The opening verses present two responses to Israel's arrival: Balak's ('וירא בלק'), and Moav's ('ויגר מואב מפני העם מאד כי רב הוא'). What's the difference, and why does the Torah distinguish them?

A — Two diagnoses of the same threat. Both Balak and Moav knew Israel had two advantages — large numbers, and divine accompaniment. The wisdom lies in correctly identifying which advantage is primary. Balak — described as a chacham — *saw firsthand* what Israel did to Sichon, the conquest of Cheshbon (a city no army could take), the drowning of Moavites in the Arnon. He concluded: 'לא ריבוי עם עושה כל אלה, כי אם ישראל באשר ה' איתם.' He set his lev not on the numbers but on the divine factor — which is why he turned to Bilam, a counter-spiritual weapon. Moav, who only *heard* the stories — and one is not as impressed by hearing as by seeing — feared the numbers ('מאד כי רב הוא') and only obliquely noted the Israelite identity. Different diagnoses produce different proposed remedies.