English Explanation of Pirkei Avot 5:19

Whoever possesses these three things, he is of the disciples of Abraham, our father; and [whoever possesses] three other things, he is of the disciples of Balaam, the wicked. A good eye, a humble spirit and a moderate appetite he is of the disciples of Abraham, our father. An evil eye, a haughty spirit and a limitless appetite he is of the disciples of Balaam, the wicked.
What is the difference between the disciples of Abraham, our father, and the disciples of Balaam, the wicked? The disciples of Abraham, our father, enjoy this world, and inherit the world to come, as it is said: “I will endow those who love me with substance, I will fill their treasuries” (Proverbs 8:21). But the disciples of Balaam, the wicked, inherit gehinnom, and descend into the nethermost pit, as it is said: “For you, O God, will bring them down to the nethermost pit those murderous and treacherous men; they shall not live out half their days; but I trust in You” (Psalms 55:24).
This mishnah contrasts those who follow the ways of Abraham with those who follow the ways of Balaam, the wicked prophet who was hired by Balak to curse Israel (Numbers 22-24). We should note that the rabbis understood Balaam as an archetype of evil, even though in the Torah itself he seems to be more of an ambivalent character, acting as merely a passive messenger of God. In Sanhedrin 10:2 we learned that Balaam does not have a portion in the world to come. Balaam is also seen by the rabbis as greedy for he attempted to take a bribe to curse Israel.
In contrasting Abraham with Balaam we should note that both saddle their own donkeys in the Torah (Abraham in Genesis 23:2 and Balaam in Numbers 22:21). Perhaps this similarity led to their comparison in our mishnah, and in several other sources.
Abraham is known for three things: generosity, humility and temperance. He demonstrates his generosity when he brings generous portions of food to the messengers who visit his home (Genesis 18:17). He is humble when he negotiates the purchase of a grave for Sarah. He states, “I am a resident alien among you” (Genesis 23:4, see also his words in 18:27). His temperance in appetite is learned from a midrash on Gen. 12:11, where he states to Sarah, “Behold, I now know that you are a beautiful woman”. According to the midrash Abraham had not looked at her until that moment.
In contrast, Balaam is greedy for he pursues the reward he would have received for cursing Israel. In Numbers 22:18 he states, “Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold”. Rashi comments that from here we can see that Balak had already begun to think about the material reward that he might receive. He is haughty as we can see from his statement, “The word of him who hears God’s speech, who obtains knowledge from the Most High” (Num 24:16). He has a limitless appetite, for a midrash teaches that after he failed in cursing Israel, he advised Balak to allow the Moabite women to prostitute themselves to Israel, and thereby ensnare them in idol worship (see the beginning of Numbers 25). He would not have advised such a thing if he himself did not desire such sexual licentiousness.
The second half of the mishnah teaches the rewards that will be given to the disciples of Abraham and the punishments that will be given to the disciples of Balaam. The verse from Proverbs is understood as referring to Abraham’s disciples since “those who love me” is also used in reference to Abraham (Isaiah 41:18). The verse in Psalms is understood as referring to Balaam since he was murderous, for he advised Balak to seduce Israel and thereby led to the death of 24,000 Israelites (Num 25:9).