Kommentar zu Bamidbar 25:1

בשטים — Thus was its name: SHITTIM.

AND ISRAEL ABODE IN SHITTIM, AND THE PEOPLE BEGAN TO COMMIT HARLOTRY WITH THE DAUGHTERS OF MOAB — “because of the advice of Balaam, as is related in [the Chapter of] Cheilek.”²²⁸Literally: “Portion” — “All Israel have ‘a portion’ in the World to Come.” Sanhedrin 106a. The story of the Israelites committing immorality with the Moabite women is related in the following chapter of the Torah, and tradition has it that this plan was suggested by Balaam in his parting words to Balak. This, as Rashi explains, is the reason why he used the phrase “I will ‘counsel thee’ what this people shall do”, meaning: “I will counsel thee how to lead the people astray, and I will tell you what this people shall do …” Ramban explains the phrase “I will counsel thee” differently. This is Rashi’s language. And indeed this [seduction to] immorality was not instigated as a plan of the [Moabite] women, but was done upon the advice of their men and their leaders. [The idea] came to them from the elders of Midian, as it says of the Midianites, for they harass you, by their wiles wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor,³⁰⁵Further, 25:18. for they beguiled them by means of immorality in order to draw them astray [to worship] Baal-peor. Therefore it is [indeed] possible that Balaam was behind this counsel, since he was considered by them [the Moabites] great in counsel,³⁰⁶Jeremiah 32:19. and his intention was to bring evil upon Israel, and therefore he did everything in his power to this end, as it is said, And the Eternal thy G-d would not hearken unto Balaam,³⁰⁷Deuteronomy 23:6. and therefore they slew him with the sword.³⁰⁸Further, 31:8.
But according to the simple meaning of Scripture, it is not alluding here to the counsel of Balaam, but only [alludes to it] when it says afterwards, Behold, these [women] caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam etc.,³⁰⁹Ibid., Verse 16. just as it does not mention here the counsel of the elders of Midian, and only [mentions it] when it says, for they harass you.³⁰⁵Further, 25:18. Thus [it is only] after the event [had happened], at the time of [describing] their punishment, that He mentions what was the source of the evil that befell them. He is [thus] saying that what happened [to them] as a result of the desire for sexual pleasure which exists naturally in men and women from [the time of] their youth, was only [the result] of an evil plan [whose purpose was] to lead them astray [into worshipping Baal-peor]; therefore [the instigators of this plan] deserve a severe punishment. The interpretation of the verse, Come and I will counsel thee what this people shall do to thy people in the end of days³¹⁰Above, 24:14. is thus indeed as I have explained [there].
It is also possible according to the simple meaning of Scripture that Balak at first wanted to curse them [the Israelites] and to wage war against them, and he did not want to give them permission to enter his borders at all. But when Balaam told him³¹¹See Ramban above, Verse 17. that he would not prevail over them, and informed him that they would only destroy his land and his people in the end of days,³¹⁰Above, 24:14. then he [Balak] brought forth bread and wine³¹²Genesis 14:18. See Ramban to Deuteronomy 23:5, that the Moabites did meet the Israelites with bread and water when they were near their country; only the Ammonites failed to do so. — Ramban introduces here the element of “wine,” as a clear reference to what the Rabbis in the Sifre here have stated: “[The Israelite] entered; a gourd of wine lay near her. Said she to him, ‘Wouldst thou like to drink?’ etc.” in the plains of Moab [i.e., in Shittim], and enticed them [with the daughters of Moab] as if he were their friend. This is [the meaning of the phrase] ‘bidvar’ (through ‘the word’ of) Balaam,³⁰⁹Ibid., Verse 16. for it was because of his words [i.e., his prophecy that the Israelites would not conquer their land now, that the Moabites] did so [i.e., that they did not fight them, but tried to seduce them and lead them astray through their women]. But because it was Balaam’s desire to curse them, and he allowed Balak to hire him [and would indeed have cursed them] were it not for the righteous acts of the Eternal³¹³See Micah 6:5. Who turned the curse into a blessing,³⁰⁷Deuteronomy 23:6. therefore they slew him with the sword,³⁰⁸Further, 31:8. for both the hirer [Moab] and the hired one [Balaam] were punished, just as He said, and because he hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor etc.³¹⁴Deuteronomy 23:5.

ויחל העם לזנות, originally, there had been no intention of committing idolatrous acts at all. All that the males had intended was to indulge their libido with the womenfolk who made themselves available. However, these people fell victim to precisely the warning of the Torah in Exodus 34,15-16 of what would happen if Jews would allow the Canaanites to remain in their country and conclude a covenant with them. They would be invited to their social gatherings resulting in their eating forbidden foods, and eventually intermarriage followed by lip service to their gods.

וישב ישראל בשטים. Israel abode in Shittim, etc. What need was there for the Torah to write this introduction? Tanchuma on our verse explains that the location was a cause for the seduction to succeed. As long as the Israelites had dwelled in the desert instead of in or near populated areas there had not been a single incidence of unchaste behaviour. The Torah may have indicated that this place was singularly apt to arouse the animalistic instincts in man. The immediate cause may have been that the Israelites took strolls in the neighbourhood of their camp and encountered Moabite women. The Torah's emphasis on וישבו may be because instead of merely going for a stroll they made themselves at home there. The root of the word שטים occurs in Numbers 11,8 where the Torah describes the daily stroll to pick up the manna with the words שטו העם ולקטו.

לזנות בבנות מואב, “to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moav.” Rashi, basing himself on the Talmud in Sanhedrin 106 where Bileam is reputed to have suggested to the Moabites that they seduce the Israelites adopts that version in the Talmud as fact. Nachmanides writes that the harlotry described here was not a sexually motivated kind of harlotry initiated by the Moabite women at all. These women were encouraged by their husbands to trap the Israelites into committing a capital offence against the moral code of the Torah, as a result of which they would become guilty of the death penalty. The elders of Midian were instrumental in all this, and this is why a Midianite princess had seduced the leader of the tribe of Shimon. (verse 14-15) Seeing that Bileam was one of these, he too was killed subsequently by the sword of the Israelites. However, looking at the unadorned text, the פשט, we must remember that the Torah did not spell out the nature of the advice Bileam offered Balak. All the Torah did spell out was that when the members of the punitive expedition against the Midianites returned from their campaign and among the loot there were female prisoners, Moses became angry at their officers, chiding them for having allowed the very women who had seduced the people at Shittim to live. () He explained that the main reason why the campaign had been fought was to take revenge on the seducers. By explaining that the Midianites had a prominent share of the guilt in that debacle, he had hinted at the source of the plan to seduce the Israelites. (25,17-18) Bileam’s prediction of what the Israelites would do to the Moabites in the distant future had its rationale in what the Moabites were now about to do to this people, a people who had not provoked them but had meticulously respected their borders. It is possible further, that by following the plain meaning of the text, Balak was originally intent on cursing the Jewish people and to wage war against them, but that when Bileam had warned him that he would not succeed, and he had added that at any rate the Israelites would not pose a threat to him even ecologially, at least not until the distant future, Balak decided to welcome them as neighbours, bringing out food to show that he was interested in friendly relations. He seduced them by making believe that he was sincere, and this is the meaning of the words בדבר בלעם, (31,16) i.e. due to the reassurance received from Bileam that he was in no immediate danger. At that time Balak had no evil intentions. However, the fact that he had harboured hostile intentions and had gone to the length of hiring Bileam is enough reason why he should be punished. In the event, the retribution would be long delayed. The Torah spells this out in Deut. 23,5 when Balak is once more referred to as having hired Bileam

This was its name. Meaning: Although there are Midrashic interpretations explaining why it was called שטים ["Shittim"], alluding to the מעשה שטות ["foolish act "] they performed there, these Midrashic interpretations do not come close to the plain meaning of the verse. Therefore, Rashi explains that this was its name. It appears that Rashi’s inference is that since בַשיטים is written with a patach under the [letter] beis, it implies that it is a well known name. This is not so for the Midrashic interpretations. R. Yaakov Triosh.

Kap. 25. V. 1. Nicht fremdes Schwert, nicht fremder Fluch vermag Israel zu verderben. Nur es selber vermag Unglück über sich herbeizuziehen, indem es von Gott und seinem Gesetze abfällt. וישב וגו׳. Es hatte sich, wie מ׳׳ר bemerkt, nach den siegreichen Kämpfen mit Sichon und Og beutereich der behaglichen, genießenden Ruhe hingegeben. בַשִטִים nichtבְשִטִים . Die Gegend heißtהַשִטִים (Micha 6, 5). Es war also eine baumreiche, schattige Gegend, nach langer Wanderung im Sonnenbrand der Wüste eine sehr willkommene Rast. — כל מקום שנאמר העם לשון גנאי :ויחל העם, bemerkt hierzu וכל מקום שנאמר ישראל לשון שבח הוא ,מ׳׳ר, der Ausdruck העם komme nur bei einem tadelnden Bericht vor, während ישראל der Ausdruck bei einem rühmlichen Bericht sei. So: ויהי העם כמתאננים (Kap. 11, 1); וידבר באלקים ובשה (Kap. 21, 5); ויבכו העמ בלילה ההוא (Kap. 14, 1); עד אנה ינאצני העם (Kap. 14, 11) usw. – לזנות אל וגו׳ : sie fingen an von der bisher bewährten sittlichen Pflichttreue abzufallen und sich den Töchtern Moabs hinzugeben. In diesem לא liegt schon, dass die Initiative von den בנות מואב ausgegangen (s. Kap. 25, 18 und 31, 16 und oben zu Kap. 24, 14).

וישב ישראל בשטים ויחל העם לזנות, “Israel had settled down at a place known as Shittim, when the common people profaned themselves by whoring.” It is well known that whenever the Torah commences a paragraph with the word: וישב, what follows is some kind of disaster. Compare Genesis 37,1 when Yaakov “settled” down and the disaster with Joseph followed and he was sold by his brothers. When in chapter 50,22 of Genesis Joseph is described as having settled down, this is followed by his announcing to his brothers his premature death. (Genesis 50,24) When Israel is described as having settled down in Egypt, (Genesis 47,27) this is followed shortly by the report about Yaakov’s (premature) sickness and death. (verse 29) In Kings I,5,5 we read that the people of Israel including the tribe of Yehudah had settled securely, this is followed by a report in chapter 11,14, by: G–d arranging a revolt by the King of Edom against Solomon’s kingdom. [The Edomites had paid annual tribute to the state of Israel since David’s time. G–d had arranged this as His response to Solomon allowing his wife to erect an altar to the Moabite idol chemosh. Ed.]

לזנות אל בנות מואב TO COMMIT WHOREDOM WITH THE DAUGHTERS OF MOAB — by the advice of Balaam, — as is related in the chapter חלק (Sanhedrin 106a).

ויאכל העם וישתחוו לאלוהיהן. This was a classic demonstration of how the evil urge works, first suggesting minor infractions of Torah law and then, gradually, suggesting major sins. (compare Shabbat 108)

As stated in “Chelek.” Meaning that there it explains the advice that Bil’am gave as to how to seduce them, even though they distance themselves from illicit relationships. As is taught there, that the younger one would sit inside and the older one outside… However he does not mean as stated in Chelek that Bil’am gave this advice. For this is evident from the verse, as Rashi explains above (24:14) that [the Torah] writes (31:16): “They were the very same ones who, on Bil’am’s advice were involved with Bnei Yisroel.”

ויתל העם לזנות אל בנות מואב, The people debased themselves to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moav. The word ויחל may be understood as profaning oneself. The word זנות implies the straying after alien deities. The reason the Torah coined the unusual construction אל בנות, instead of עם בנות, or something similar, has been explained by Tanchuma to indicate that the daughters of Moav did not offer themselves to the Israelites without conditions, but demanded that these first commit an act of obeisance to one of their deities. The Torah hints by the word אל that the Israelites who became guilty of this extracurricular sex had first bowed TO something that the daughters of Moav customarily bowed to. The Torah makes a point of describing the Israelites who became guilty of this aberration as only העם. The spiritual elite, who are customarily referred to as Israelites, was not involved.

בשטים, according to Rabbi Elazar this had been the name of that place already previously. Rabbi Yoshua disagrees and says that it was so named after what happened there, i.e. that many Israelites committed the ultimate folly, shtuss, of sleeping around with gentiles and prostrating themselves to idols; [in order to please their partners who considered this as payment for granting them sexual favours. Ed.]

ויחל העם, “the people profaned themselves.” The word ויחל means to profane something which previously was sacred, holy. We encounter the same word in connection with Noach (Genesis 9,2), when Noach planted a vineyard and became drunk. Judaism describes people who are meticulous in their sexual mores as ”holy,” whereas those that are not are considered as “profane.” Whenever the Torah refers to the Israelites simply as העם, this term implies a criticism of their spiritual level (at that time). The Following are some examples of the Torah using this terminology: Numbers 11,1: “the people were looking for something to complain about.” Numbers 20,3: “the people quarrelled.” Numbers 21,5: “the people spoke out against G’d.” On the other hand, whenever the people of Israel are referred to as עמי, this is to be taken as a complimentary term; examples are: Psalms 81,14: “if only My people would listen to Me.” Exodus 7,4: “I will take out the hosts of My people.” Isaiah 40,1: “comfort, comfort My people.”

ויחל העם לזנות. They profaned themselves by falling victim to the advice Bileam had given to Balak to lure them into harlotry, a great sin the eyes of the Jewish G–d. (Compare Talmud tractate Gittin, folio 56)

לזנות את בני מואב, “to whore with the daughters of Moav.” This reminds us of the popular proverb: “When one throws a stick into the air it always lands on its broad side.” The reference is to the fact that the people of Moav had their origin in Lot’s older daughter who had devised the plan that she and her younger sister sleep with their father (Genesis 19,31). The fact that she had had the audacity to call her son מאב, alluding to the fact that he was born “from my father” speaks for itself, although originally, the Torah had not faulted the scheme itself seeing it was based on an innocent assessment of their chances to perpetuate the family or even mankind. Similarly, the daughters (also married women) of Moav lured the Israelites to their tents after having made themselves alluring.