Balaam arrived in Moab. Balak proceeded to take Balaam to a place he thought would be conducive to cursing the Jews. But G‑d forced Balaam to praise and bless the Jews rather than curse them.
Hidden Treasure
מִי מָנָה עֲפַר יַעֲקֹב וגו':
(במדבר כג:י)
[Balaam said,] “Who can count the dust of Jacob?”
Numbers 23:10
The Jewish people are here compared (positively) to dust. Just as there are hidden treasures buried in the earth, so are there treasures of pure faith in G‑d and deep love and fear of Him hidden in every Jew. These treasures may at times be hard to uncover, just as the treasures buried in the earth are often buried deep below the surface. But they are there, nonetheless, and with sufficient effort they can be revealed.1
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