NUM296 Whoever has with him these three qualities, is of the disciples of Abraham our Father; but [if he has] three "other" qualities, he is of the disciples of the wicked Balaam. … Pirkei Avot, Perek V, mishnah 22. … the Midrash distinguishes between the "pairs" by noting their actions. Yet our long history has known of great resemblance between "pairs," between conflicting leaders and contending groups, where Jewry cannot decide by their respective actions: both may act piously; both may claim to be on Heaven's side. Our mishnah's view is longer and more penetrating: By their disciples, it suggests, you shall know them. Balaam was an excellent prophet. When we enter the synagogue of a morning, the first words we utter in prayer are, "How goodly we are your tents, O Jacob; your dwelling-places, O Israel"--from Balaam's oracular apostrophe recorded in Scripture [this verse]. But to judge him, look at his "disciples," those who learned from him to bring Heaven's death to 24,000 Hebrews at Shittim, by enticing them to the greatest sin (Numbers 25:1-9. T.B. Sanhedrin 106a). Down to our day the problem continues: How do you tell the good from the bad when all seem equally worthy? And the mishnah's formula remains valid: watch the disciples. Many believed Moses Mendelson and Avraham Geiger worthy, perhaps eminent links in the chain of developing tradition. Yet see the "disciples" their philosophies spawned! Today we have Jewish academies of study and schools of thought, all claiming the mantle of authority and authenticity. Where does the truth lie? Again, watch the disciples. Note which produce half-baked "leaders" who make up in arrogance what they lack in knowledge, and walk through the garden of sacred values with spiked shoes, blithely unaware.