Rabbi Allan Berkowitz Approachable Congregation Beth

PARASHAT Numbers 22:2-25:19

1. Overview A) Structure of the Blessings 1st Oracle/Blessing Num 23:7-10 2nd Oracle/Blessing Num 23:18-24 3rd Oracle/Blessing Num 24:3-9 4th Oracle/Blessing Num 24:15-19

B) The Emergence of Bilaam • In the first oracle/blessing Bilaam sees the from the heights and realizes they are too powerful to curse (and that God is with them). • In the second oracle/blessing Bilaam realizes that sacrificial offering can’t sway God; God is with ; and intends for them to be blessed. • In the 3rd oracle/blessing Bilaam learns that the power of blessing or curse belongs to God and often bounces back onto the one blessing or cursing. He renounces divination. • In the 4th oracle/blessing Bilaam still prophesizes but this time in support of Israel and against Balak and .

C) Who Is Balak? • In the first oracle he is ‘Balak King of Moab’ • In the second oracle he is ‘Balak the son of Zippor’ • In the 3rd and 4th oracles he is absent completely.

D) A Problem Numbers 22:20-22 (20) That night God came to Bilaam and said to him, “If these men have come to invite you, you may go with them. But whatever I command you, that you shall do.” (21) When he arose in the morning, Bilaam saddled his ass and departed with the Moabite dignitaries. (22) But God was incensed at his going; so an of the Lord placed himself in his way as an adversary.

2. The Two Halves of Bilaam: Enlightened Saint or Dimwitted Fool?

A) Enlightened Saint:

Chapter 22 (8) He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I shall reply to you as the LORD may instruct me.”

13) Bilaam arose in the morning and said to Balak’s dignitaries, “Go back to your own country, for the LORD will not let me go with you.”

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(18) Bilaam replied to Balak’s officials, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of and , I could not do anything, big or little, contrary to the command of the LORD my God.

(38) But Bilaam said to Balak, “And now that I have come to you, have I the power to speak freely? I can utter only the word that God puts into my mouth.”

Chapter 23 (5) And the LORD put a word in Bilaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak and speak thus.” (12) He replied, “I can only repeat faithfully what the LORD puts in my mouth. (16) The LORD manifested Himself to Bilaam and put a word in his mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and speak thus.”

Chapter 24 (1) Now Bilaam, seeing that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, did not, as on previous occasions, go in search of omens, but turned his face toward the wilderness. (2) As Bilaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the spirit of God came upon him.

(13) ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not of my own accord do anything good or bad contrary to the LORD’s command. What the LORD says, that I must say.’

(15) He took up his theme, and said: Word of Bilaam son of Beor. Word of the man whose eye is true (16) Word of him who hears God’s speech, Who obtains knowledge from the Most High, And beholds visions from the Almighty, prostrate, but with eyes unveiled.

Question For Thought: What picture emerges of Bilaam from these verses?

B) Dimwitted Fool: Chapter 22 (22) But God was incensed at his going; so an angel of the Lord placed himself in his way as an adversary. He was riding on his she-ass, with his two servants alongside, (23) when the ass caught sight of the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn in his hand. The ass swerved from the road and went into the fields; and Bilaam beat the ass to turn her back onto the road.

(24) The angel of the Lord then stationed himself in a lane between the vineyards, with a fence on either side. (25) The ass, seeing the angel of the Lord, pressed herself against the wall and squeezed Bilaam’s foot against the wall; so he beat her again. (26) Once more the angel of the Lord moved forward and stationed himself on a spot so narrow that there was no room to swerve right or left. (27) When the ass now saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Bilaam; and Bilaam was furious and beat the ass with his stick.

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(28) Then the Lord opened the ass’s mouth, and she said to Bilaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” (29) Bilaam said to the ass, “You have made a mockery of me! If I had a sword with me, I’d kill you.” (30) The ass said to Bilaam, “Look, I am the ass that you have been riding all along until this day! Have I been in the habit of doing thus to you?” And he answered, “No.” (31) Then the Lord uncovered Bilaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, his drawn sword in his hand; thereupon he bowed right down to the ground. (32) The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you beaten your ass these three times? It is I who came out as an adversary, for the errand is obnoxious to me. (33) And when the ass saw me, she shied away because of me those three times. If she had not shied away from me, you are the one I should have killed, while sparing her.” (34) Bilaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I erred because I did not know that you were standing in my way. If you still disapprove, I will turn back.” (35) But the angel of the Lord said to Bilaam, “Go with the men. But you must say nothing except what I tell you.” So Bilaam went on with Balak’s dignitaries.

Questions For Thought: What picture emerges of Bilaam from these verses? In what ways does Bilaam’s behavior here contradict his behavior at other times?

C) JPS Excursus 57 The goal of the episode is doubtless the humiliation of Bilaam, evidenced by the strain of irony that runs through the entire pericope (and recognized by the ). Bilaam, who desires to subdue Israel with words, cannot even subdue his ass with a stick (Tanh. Balak 9). Bilaam, who claims prophetic sight (24:4,17), cannot see what his ass sees three times. Bilaam, who claims prophetic speech since the Lord puts words into his mouth (22:38; 23:5,12,16), is now matched by his ass (v. 28). Bilaam, who boasts that "his knowledge is from the Most High" (24:16), has to admit, "I did not know" (v. 34; Tanh. Balak 10). Bilaam, who is the wisest of the wise, is bested in a verbal exchange with the most stupid of beasts (v. 30; Gen. R. 93:10; Num. R. 20:14). Bilaam, who wishes to slay a whole people with his words, can only kill his ass with a sword (Num. R. 20:14). Bilaam, who would slay his ass if only he could find a sword (v. 29), does not see the sword extended by the angel (v. 23).

Thus "the ass in this episode plays the role of Bilaam--beholding divine visions with eyes unveiled--to Bilaam's Balak." In truth, Bilaam is depicted on a level lower than his ass: more unseeing in his inability to detect the angel, more stupid in being defeated verbally by his ass, and more beastly in subduing it with his stick whereas it responds with tempered speech.

The lampooning of Bilaam, then, serves the purpose of downgrading his reputation. It aims to demonstrate that this heathen seer, who was intent on cursing Israel without God's consent, is in reality a fool, a caricature of a seer, one outwitted even by his dumb beast. This image of Bilaam--as wicked--is the one reflected in the later biblical and postbiblical literature. He is depicted as one whose Pharaonic malice toward Israel will be frustrated by Israel's God as He transforms Bilaam's curses into blessings.

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3. How is Bilaam Treated in Jewish History?

A) Neutral: It Was God Pulling the Strings

• Deut. 23:6 "The Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, for the Lord your God loves you"

• Josh. 24:9-10 "He (Balak) sent for Bilaam son of Beor to curse but the Lord your God refused to destroy you."

• Sanhedrin 105b: “And the Lord put a word in his mouth Rabbi said: an angel; Rabbi Yohanan said: a hook. Nehama Leibowitz (20th c., Israel) explains this as, “According to Rabbi Eliezer, Bilaam was merely guided from above to bless and not curse…According to Rabbi Yohanan, however, he uttered the blessing in spite of himself, forced against his will, struggling and in distress like a fish that is hooked, to do the bidding of his master.”

B) Negative View of Bilaam A preponderance of sources and commentaries vilify Bilaam

• 5:19 Whoever possesses these three things, he is of the disciples of , our father; and [whoever possesses] three other things, he is of the disciples of Bilaam, 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 Bilaam, the wicked. What is the difference between the disciples of Abraham, our father, and the disciples of Bilaam, 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 Bilaam, 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” ( 55:24).

C) Positive View of Bilaam

• 6:5 "My people, remember what Balak king of Moab plotted against you and how Bilaam son of Beor responded to him"

JPS Excursus 58 • Praise of Bilaam reaches its summit in the following midrash: "There were three features possessed by the prophecy of Bilaam that were absent from that of : (1) Moses did not know who was speaking with him (see Exod. 3:6; Exod. R. p), whereas Bilaam knew who was speaking with him (24:4).

4 Rabbi Allan Berkowitz Approachable Torah Congregation Beth David (2) Moses did not know when the Holy One Blessed Be He would speak with him, whereas Bilaam knew (24:16a,'3). In illustration of this, Bilaam has been compared with a king's cook who knows what fare the king will have on his table and how much is spent by the king on his board. It was in the same way that Bilaam knew what the Holy One Blessed Be He would speak to him about. (3) Bilaam spoke with Him whenever he pleased, for it says: 'prostrate, but with eyes unveiled' (24:4,16), which signifies that he used to prostrate himself on his face and straightway his eyes were unveiled to anything he inquired about. Moses, however, did not speak with Him whenever he wished (Num. R. 14:20)."

4. Making Homiletic Hay From This Donkey’s Tale a) Kedushat (Torah commentary by Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev, 18th c. )

Numbers 24:5 “how fair are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwellings O Israel.” This may best be understood in light of the sages urging us to set aside definitive hours each day for Torah study. (Avot 1:15). “Yaakov” is the name used for Israel when it is at “low” ebb spiritually, whereas “Israel,” is the name applied to the Jewish people when they are spiritually at their best. When Torah study is only an occasional activity of the Jewish people, they are on the level of “Yaakov.”

b) From Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (21st c. England)

1. Micah 6 Verse 5 “My people, Remember what Balak king of Moab plotted against you, and how son of Beor responded to him. [Recall your passage] from Shittim to Gilgal— And you will recognize the gracious acts of the LORD.” Verse 8 “He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk modestly with your God”

Bilam, the pagan , is the most unlikely vehicle for God’s blessings. But that is God’s way. He chose an aged, infertile couple to be the grandparents of the Jewish people. He chose a man who couldn’t speak to be the mouthpiece of his word. He chose Bilam, who hated Israel, to be the messenger of His love. Moses says explicitly: “The Lord your God would not listen to Bilam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.” That is what the story is about: not Balak, or Bilam, or Moab, or , or what happened next. It is about God’s love for a people, their strength, resilience, their willingness to be different, their family life (tents, dwelling places), and their ability to outlive empires. I believe that, if we follow the Rambam in saying that all God’s acts have a moral message for us, God is teaching us that love can turn curses into blessings. It is the only force capable of defeating hate. Love heals the wounds of the world.

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2) There is yet one more example of the difference between Abraham and Bilaam. The Torah reports that each of them "arose early in the morning and saddled his donkey." (Abraham in Genesis 22:3, and Bilaam in Numbers 22:21). In Hebrew, the word for "saddled" (yach'vosh) is closely related to the verb "to conquer." And the word for "donkey" (chamor) matches the word for "physicality" (chomer.)

The interpretation is as follows: When Abraham "saddled his donkey," he conquered his physical drives in service of God. Thus when Abraham went to receive prophecy at Mount Moriah, he leaves the donkey behind (Genesis 22:5) – as if to say "I am free from the grip of desire."

Contrast this with Bilaam, who arose early in order to scheme the downfall of others in his pursuit of wealth and glory. In Bilaam's case it is the donkey itself who gets the prophecy (Numbers 22:25) – proving itself on a higher level than Bilaam himself! No wonder God predicts Bilaam's demise with the words: "Their forefather Abraham has already preceded you." (Talmud, Sanhedrin 102b)

3) In Numbers 24:5, as Bilaam attempts to curse the , what emerges is a beautiful blessing instead: "How goodly are your tents, O , your dwelling places Israel." These are the first words that a Jew utters each morning when entering the to pray. For 3,000 years, Jews have used Bilaam's words to strengthen their commitment to God.

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