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We read in Parashat Balak of the attempt made by the nation of Moab to destroy Beneh Yisrael by hiring Bilam, a gentile prophet, to place a curse upon them. This initiative was conceived by Balak, the king of Moab, but there were actually two nations involved in this scheme – Moab and Midyan. The Torah writes, "The elders of Moab and the elders of Midyan went with instruments of sorcery in their hands; they came to Bilam and spoke to him the words of Balak" (22:7).

Curiously, however, the elders of Midyan quickly disappear from the story. After Bilam hears of Balak’s request to come and curse Beneh Yisrael, Bilam tells them to stay overnight so he can hear God’s reaction to the idea. The Torah then says, "The officers of Moab stayed with Bilam." It is clear from the text that only the Moabite officials stayed; the Midyanite delegation members, apparently, left and did not stay that night in Bilam’s home.

The Midrash explains that the Midyanite dignitaries left because they realized that the mission was doomed to failure. They asked themselves, "Is there a father who despises his son?" The Midyanites understood God’s love for Beneh Yisrael, and that Bilam’s curse was not going to change that. Realizing that this plan had no chance of success, they left the delegation and returned home.

The obvious question arises, why did the Midyanite officials come to this realization only now? Didn’t they realize from the outset that these efforts are futile? Why did they come to Bilam in the first place if they knew that God would not allow Beneh Yisrael to be destroyed?

Rav Zeitchik answered that the Midyanite officials realized their mistake when they were given a chance to pause and think. So often, people get caught up in their emotions and reach irrational decisions without thinking things through logically. Excitement and anger have a way of overtaking a person and leading him to act irrationally. The Midyanite officials were caught up in their hatred of Beneh Yisrael, and in the excitement of the prospect of their demise through Bilam’s curse. The flood of emotions drove them to proceed with the plan, despite its obvious absurdity. But once Bilam told them to stay overnight, and they had a chance to stop and think, it occurred to them that the scheme could not possibly work, that no person can persuade the Almighty to annihilate His beloved nation. At this point, they turned around and left.

So many of our problems could be avoided if we would learn and internalize this lesson – to stop and think rationally before acting on emotion. Our emotions have a way of paralyzing our intellect and leading us to do things that we regret later, when our emotions are cooled. It happens so often that we react viscerally to an insulting remark without first pausing and thinking about how to best respond to the situation. We then say words that we regret only when it is too late, when the wounds are too deep to heal.

This is an especially important lesson nowadays, when so much of our communication takes place via email. It just takes a moment to type an angry letter and click "send." If we don’t think very carefully before we compose the letter and send it, we can end up shattering relationships. Once we click "send," there is no turning back; the damage is done, and often irreparable.

If we take some time to think before reacting, our reactions will be infinitely wiser, more prudent and more calculated. Acting with raw emotion without exercising the mind is a dangerous affair. Yes, we have what to learn even from the elders of Midyan – the importance of thinking very carefully before speaking or acting, to calculate our words and deeds rather than allow our emotions to control us.