Chasidut for Numbers 22:22
וַיִּֽחַר־אַ֣ף אֱלֹהִים֮ כִּֽי־הוֹלֵ֣ךְ הוּא֒ וַיִּתְיַצֵּ֞ב מַלְאַ֧ךְ יְהוָ֛ה בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ לְשָׂטָ֣ן ל֑וֹ וְהוּא֙ רֹכֵ֣ב עַל־אֲתֹנ֔וֹ וּשְׁנֵ֥י נְעָרָ֖יו עִמּֽוֹ׃
And God’s anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the LORD placed himself in the way for an adversary against him.—Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.—
Kedushat Levi
Numbers 22,22. “G’d’s anger flared up because Bileam was going.” Nachmanides already poses the question of why G’d was angry at Bileam since He had given him permission to go when He had said: אם לקרוא לך באו האנשים קום לך אתם, “if the men have come to invite you, rise and go with them.” (Numbers 22,20)
The answer to this question has already been provided by Rashi (hundreds of years before Nachmanides posed it) when he commented on that verse: “if their invitation is intended for your personal benefit you may go.” Seeing that the purpose of the call for Bileam to curse the Jewish people was intended to benefit Balak and his people, G’d’s permission clearly did not include such a scenario, and He had reason to be furious. Nachmanides quotes Rashi in his commentary to show that he was aware of this answer.
Our author feels that Bileam’s going with Balak’s emissaries showed that he enjoyed being called upon to curse the Jewish people. This was in clear contradiction to his having been told that the Jewish people who were a blessed people could not be harmed by any curses. Seeing that this was so, he was now culpable not only for the curses he had intended to pronounce, but for the evil intention itself, something G’d usually does not punish a person for.
The answer to this question has already been provided by Rashi (hundreds of years before Nachmanides posed it) when he commented on that verse: “if their invitation is intended for your personal benefit you may go.” Seeing that the purpose of the call for Bileam to curse the Jewish people was intended to benefit Balak and his people, G’d’s permission clearly did not include such a scenario, and He had reason to be furious. Nachmanides quotes Rashi in his commentary to show that he was aware of this answer.
Our author feels that Bileam’s going with Balak’s emissaries showed that he enjoyed being called upon to curse the Jewish people. This was in clear contradiction to his having been told that the Jewish people who were a blessed people could not be harmed by any curses. Seeing that this was so, he was now culpable not only for the curses he had intended to pronounce, but for the evil intention itself, something G’d usually does not punish a person for.
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