All the [evil traits] that Balaam had, Moses was suspected of having as well. For as long as the ascension of the Shechinah is not complete, as it will be in the Messianic Era, when the impure shells will be annulled and G-d will swallow up death forever (Isaiah 25:8), all the elevations can only occur in the mind of an upright individual. And an upright individual can only reach and ascend to his root by means of his opposite. That is, when [evil] comes to his mind, and he becomes motivated to [serve] G-d.⁸ Pri Ha’Aretz, Matos

footnotes: ⁸ Every human being contains the entire world, whose myriad creatures are reflected in the endless thoughts that pass through his mind each day. Good thoughts parallel good creatures and evil thoughts are related to harmful ones. By subduing the evil in one’s own thoughts, the evil in the world is also overcome. The non-Jewish prophet and sorcerer Balaam was the very opposite of Moses, and embodied every possible evil trait; yet he too existed within Moses’ thoughts, and through his presence there, Moses was inspired to overcome his own evil and attain the level of a Tzaddik. This is the process of uplifting the sparks of holiness from among the impure shells that will continue until the coming of the Messiah.