Comentario sobre Números 22:23

ותרא האתון AND THE SHE-ASS SAW [THE ANGEL] — but he did not see him, for the Holy One, blessed be He, gave an animal power to see more than the man, for just because he possesses sense his mind would become perturbed if he sees noxious beings.

AND THE ASS SAW THE ANGEL OF THE ETERNAL. Angels of G-d — which are Separate Intelligences⁶³See Vol. I, p. 59, Note 237. See also ibid., pp. 228-231, where Ramban discusses at length the subject of angels in relation to prophecy. — cannot be perceived by the [human] sense of sight, for they are not physical beings which can be apprehended by sight. And when they become visible to prophets or to men possessed of Ruach Hakodesh,⁶⁴Literally, “The Holy Spirit.” See Rambam in Moreh Nebuchim II, 45, at the paragraph beginning: “the second degree of prophecy.” See also above, Seder Korach, Note 71 and Ramban ibid. such as Daniel,⁶⁵Daniel 10:5. The Talmud in Megillah 3a states that Daniel did not attain the status of a prophet, but was worthy of receiving Ruach Hakodesh. they are apprehended by them through the perception of the rational soul which reaches the degree of prophecy or some lower degree, but that they [the angels] should be perceived by the eyes of an animal — that is impossible! Therefore you could explain [the phrase] and the ass saw [the angel of the Eternal] to mean that she felt the presence of something which frightened her off from passing on, namely the angel that had gone forth for an adversary.⁴¹Verse 22. This is a similar expression [to that which says]: yea, my heart ‘ra’ah’ [literally: “had seen”] much wisdom and knowledge,⁶⁶Ecclesiastes 1:16. [the term “seeing” here] being used [in the sense of] perception, and not [in the sense of] physical sight [since the heart does not “see”]. Now when this miracle occurred to the ass, and the Creator gave her [the power of] speech, she said to Balaam, Was I ever wont to do so unto thee?,⁶⁷Further, Verse 30. but [nonetheless] she did not know why she did so now, because she was forced to do so. Therefore she did not say to him: “Behold the angel of G-d stands over against me with his sword drawn in his hand,”⁶⁸See Joshua 5:13 where this expression is used of the angel who appeared to Joshua. since her perception did not reach this knowledge at all. [Our verse] saying: And the ass saw the angel of the Eternal standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand does not mean that she [actually] saw the sword, let alone the angel; but the verse is hinting that since the angel was ready to strike them, she trembled very exceedingly,⁶⁹Genesis 27:33. because she felt as if people were coming to slaughter her. [We must explain that the ass merely felt the angel’s presence, but did not actually see him, because] if we were to say that those angels that appear in human form — as I have mentioned in the section of Vayeira⁷⁰Genesis 18:1 (Vol. I, p. 231). — can be seen even by the eyes of an animal, then how was it that Balaam did not see him, since he was not smitten with blindness! It is, however, possible that He Who gave the ass the power of speech, also bestowed upon her an additional power of vision, so that she saw the likeness of a human being, although Scripture does not mention it. Thus G-d opened the eyes of the ass [and she indeed saw the angel], just as Scripture mentions [later] in regard to her master, [And the Eternal opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Eternal].⁷¹Further, Verse 31. For the whole matter of the ass was a great miracle, being a “new creation” like those that were created at twilight [on the eve of the first Sabbath],⁷²Aboth 5:9. Ten things are listed there, one of them being the “the mouth of the ass [of Balaam which opened and spoke].” But as Ramban clearly indicates, the whole matter of the ass — beginning with her seeing the angel, and culminating in her speech — were like “a new creation” similar to those things created “at twilight on the eve of the first Sabbath.” — Various interpretations have been suggested on the necessity for these special creations. Rambam in his commentary to the Mishnah explains it as follows: Since the law of nature was established by G-d, it was His wish that it be not interfered with under any circumstance. But since He foresaw certain emergencies in the history of His people that would require special intervention in the normal operation of nature He made provision for them at the final completion of creation before the nightfall which ushered in the first Sabbath. and it is not merely called “an opening of eyes.” However, our Rabbis have only mentioned⁷²Aboth 5:9. Ten things are listed there, one of them being the “the mouth of the ass [of Balaam which opened and spoke].” But as Ramban clearly indicates, the whole matter of the ass — beginning with her seeing the angel, and culminating in her speech — were like “a new creation” similar to those things created “at twilight on the eve of the first Sabbath.” — Various interpretations have been suggested on the necessity for these special creations. Rambam in his commentary to the Mishnah explains it as follows: Since the law of nature was established by G-d, it was His wish that it be not interfered with under any circumstance. But since He foresaw certain emergencies in the history of His people that would require special intervention in the normal operation of nature He made provision for them at the final completion of creation before the nightfall which ushered in the first Sabbath. amongst the miracles the opening of the mouth [of the ass, although the whole matter — and especially her seeing the angel — was miraculous in nature]. The reason for this miracle was to show Balaam Who hath made man’s mouth, or Who maketh a man dumb?⁷³Exodus 4:11. and to make him realize that it is G-d Who opens the mouth for the dumb,⁷⁴See Proverbs 31:8. and [since He can make the dumb speak], how much more so can He make dumb at His Will the mouth of those who can speak, and can also put words into their mouths, so that they speak in accordance with His Will, for everything is in His power. It was [thus] a warning to him [Balaam] not to follow enchantments and soothsaying, and [not] to curse Israel thereby, because he was [primarily] an enchanter and soothsayer.⁷⁵Ramban emphasizes this point [that Balaam was primarily an enchanter and soothsayer — see above in Verse 5] in order that his tribute to Israel’s character and future should be viewed entirely as the true word of G-d which came to him in honor of Israel (see Ramban further, Verse 23:16), for on his own merit he could not possibly have risen to such heights, since he was but a mere soothsayer and enchanter.

ותלך בשדה, this is when he abandoned his two attendants and the dignitaries of Moav. [the ass on its own took a path of her own enabling what followed to become possible. Ed.] Naturally, neither the lads nor the dignitaries of Moav had any idea of what transpired now.

ותרא האתון את מלאך ה', “The ass saw the angel of Hashem, etc.” Nachmanides writes that it is impossible to understand these words literally, i.e. that the ass had a vision of an angel that held a sword, etc. Angels are disembodied beings not visible to the eyes of mortal creatures. Whenever prophets did have visions of angels, this was not a perception with their physical eyes, but they had been given supernaturally charged “eyesight” which enabled them to “see” these disembodies beings. There can be no question that beasts, that do not even possess a נשמה, divine soul, should be so endowed, even for such an occasion. We may therefore explain the words ותרא האתון את ה' as “the ass noticed something that frightened her very much,” the Torah explaining to us what it was that frightened her so much, i.e. the angel. Concerning the graphic description of the angel having a drawn sword in his hand,

ותרא האתון את מלאך ה' נצב בדרך, “When the she-ass saw the angel of Hashem standing in the way, etc.” The word “saw” in this instance does not mean “saw with its eyes,” but “she realised, she had a distinct feeling of a dangerous obstruction in front of her.” Seeing that as a rule angels do not appear in such guise in front of human beings, the likelihood for them to reveal themselves in such a fashion to animals is nil. We do not have to stress that this was not a mental vision, something originating in the brain seeing that animals do not possess such a brain, i.e. intelligence. All the ass knew was that if faced a frightening phenomenon and therefore she tried to dodge the obstacle she perceived. Had the ass had a clearer perception of precisely who it was that blocked her way, she would have said to Bileam: “an angel of G’d with drawn sword is facing me and therefore I had to deviate from the path.” This is Nachmanides’ view of the incident (page 290 Chavell edition).

This evil one abandoned the tools of his trade. Rashi is answering the question: Even without a sword the angel could still have killed him! In response he explains that the angel said “this evil one…” This is why it is written that it was שלופה ["drawn"], as if to say שלו פה ["the mouth is his"], that the mouth belongs to Yisroel who pray to Hashem, but not to you.

ותרא האתון, The ass saw, etc. Why did G'd allow the angel to become visible to the ass? Why was the angel allowed to take up a threatening position three times? What was the point of squeezing Bileam's legs? Why did he strike the ass? Why did G'd open the mouth of the ass? Everything which happened here appears quite mysterious.

V. 23. שלף ,וחרבו שלופה siehe Schmot 23, 8.

ותלך בשדה, “she (the ass) walked in the field (instead of on the path).” Rashi’s comment on verse 26 based on Tanchuma that the angel showed Bileam a hint of the three founding fathers of the Jewish people, needs a super commentary. It appears to mean the following: the first time the angel positioned himself as an obstacle on the path, he did so that the ass could pass either to the right or to the left of him but could not proceed without making a detour, the choice that Avraham had given Lot (Genesis, 13,9). The sons of Avraham by Keturah and Hagar are viewed as partially his descendants, as they had a different mother than Sarah. In other words, Bileam would not be permitted to curse Yitzchak who was a descendant of both Avraham and Sarah. The second time the angel tried to obstruct the ass in a narrow passage in the vineyard, he did so in a manner that allowed the ass to squeeze by but painfully, this was a hint that even cursing Yitzchok’s descendants would be allowed only if he cursed Esau, not Yaakov and his descendants. The third obstruction, which forced the ass to lie down, as passage was blocked completely, was a hint to Bileam that on no account would he be permitted to curse any of the descendants of Yaakov and his twelve sons. This is what the angel showed Bileam, using the patriarchs as his symbol.

וחרבו שלופה בידו, “with his sword drawn in his sword.” This is a case of the punishment fitting the crime, i.e. Bileam had said that he would kill his ass for its rebellious behaviour; (verse 29) now the angel makes Bileam realise that the one who deserved to be killed for rebelling against G-d was not the ass but Bileam himself.

וחרבו שלופה בידו AND HIS SWORD DRAWN IN HIS HAND — He (God) said: This wicked man has abandoned the tools of his own craft, — for the offensive weapons of the heathen peoples consist in the sword, — and he is attacking them with his mouth which is their metier; I will take his implement and come against him with his own metier. Thus, indeed, was his end (Numbers 31:8): “And Balaam the son of Beor they slew by the sword” (Midrash Tanchuma 4:7:23).

וחרבו שלופה בידו, the ass neither saw the angel nor the sword. The Torah tells us that the ass felt it was about to be struck, and therefore the Torah describes its fear in these terms. The ass had the impression that someone or something was about to slaughter it. This is why when the ass was suddenly miraculously enabled to speak, it asked Bileam if it had ever been in the habit of conducting itself in the manner displayed most recently. The ass itself was not clear why it had acted as it did all of a sudden. Had the ass seen an angel with her physical eyes, seeing that it had been granted the ability to speak, it would certainly have told Bileam that it had seen an angel with drawn sword, a most frightening spectacle, and that this was why it had acted so strangely. If we were to say that angels appeared to beasts as visible to their physical eyes, how are we to explain that Bileam, who was a prophet to boot, did not see this apparition? It is, of course, possible that G’d lent special powers of perception to the ass at that time, just as He enabled it to suddenly speak coherently. The reason why G’d bothered to perform this miracle was to demonstrate to Bileam Who it was that endowed man (or beast) with the power of speech, or Who may therefore prevent him from speaking if He so pleases. It was an oblique warning not to resort to sorcery to enable him to curse the Jewish people seeing that Hashem had already pre-empted him. At any rate, our sages, when discussing this whole episode, mention only one miracle, i.e. the sudden ability of the ass to speak intelligently and coherently. This was so that Bileam should realize that the same G’d Who enabled the ass to speak could certainly make man say what He wanted Him to say.

ותט האתון מן הדרך ותלך בשדה, “the she-ass turned from the path and walked in the field.” Bileam’s desire to curse the Israelites was so strong that he was blind to any indications which were designed to deflect him from his purpose. Anyone else in his place would have noticed if not the first sign then the second sign or at least the third sign. Bileam, the “seer” was so blind on this occasion that he ignored even the clearest indications that his mission was not to be crowned with success. It is almost inconceivable that an individual whose profession was the interpretation of all unusual phenomena, who interpreted every inconsistency in nature, should not have realized that he was being given the grossest possible hints of G’d’s displeasure. Even the power of speech which the she-ass suddenly displayed did not stun him into realising the error of his ways. He should have realized what Moses was told in Exodus 4,11 when he used his speech impediment as an excuse not to accept the position of leader of the people that G’d can grant the power of speech to whomsoever He wants to just as He can withhold it from those who possessed it. The fact that Bileam did not display the slightest amazement at the ass talking is his greatest indictment. This is why eventually the angel had to reveal his presence to him and had to address him directly telling him that as of this time, he had to continue on his way but could only say what he was told to say. The reason Bileam had offered to abandon his journey and to return home was that once he had seen that even his ass could talk, he realized that his so-called power of speech was quite meaningless. He could no longer boast of his power of speech.

We may assume that the entire paragraph was designed to show us how G'd humbled Bileam seeing he had given Balak's delegates the impression that he was free to curse and that his curse against the Israelites would be effective. If Bileam had revealed to the emissaries of Balak before he set out on the way that G'd had severely restricted his freedom to curse the Israelites he would not now have been humbled. G'd paid him back by humbling him in front of the delegates and in front of the ass in a most degrading fashion. We are all aware that the composition of animals which have not been equipped with the power of speech is radically different from the composition of human beings who enjoy the power of speech. In order to suitably humble Bileam by means of an animal, G'd had to effect a transformation in the physical composition of the body of the animal in question. G'd accomplished this by means of stationing the angel in three different locations on three different occasions and by enabling the ass to see the angel in each location. In order for a creature to possess the power of speech its components must be endowed with three prerequisites. A) Since it possesses the ability to grow, something every living organism does, this component of it must be altered so that it can function even after it has been equipped with the ability to speak. B) A similar transformation must be effected in the animal's ability to move freely. C) It must be endowed with the power to verbalise its thoughts and emotions. When the angel took up position opposite the ass for the first time, the ass's basic components were altered so that they could function if equipped with the power to speak. It was enabled to see spiritual beings. When the ass saw the angel the second time its ability to move freely was altered so that it would also be able to move once it would be equipped with the power to verbalise its thoughts and emotions. After the ass had seen the angel for a third time it became equipped with the power to speak similar to a human being. As soon as this had occurred it opened its mouth, spoke intelligently and put Bileam to shame as a result. It actually put down Bileam in the presence of his assistants. The shame resulting from this occurrence was twofold and left a deep impression. 1) The ability of the animal to speak. 2) The revelation that Bileam the great prophet had been in the habit of using his she-ass as one uses a wife, i.e. as his sexual mate.

We still have to explain why the angel had to take up position in three different locations instead of appearing three times in the same location. Perhaps the three locations in which the angel took up position corresponded to three acts of evil Bileam had committed. 1) G'd' had told him once: "do not go and do not curse;" Bileam had failed to tell Balak's emissaries that he had been forbidden to curse. This had become the cause for Balak sending a second set of delegates. This became the reason why G'd told the angel to take up position on the way. The ass was forced to turn aside, parallel to Bileam having "turned aside" part of G'd's response to him. 2) Bileam's second sin was that G'd had told him that he was to go only if לקרא לך, if it had become certain that the mission would be of advantage to him. Seeing Bileam had failed to ascertain this he should not have gone at all. He had ignored G'd's implied warning. This is why the angel took up position in the narrow passage between the vineyards and squeezed his legs as if to remind him that G'd had tried to squeeze him to the correct path by the wording of His reply. 3) Bileam's third sin concerned the fact that G'd had made His permission conditional on Bileam saying only words G'd would put into his mouth (verse 20), meaning that he would have no latitude to even slightly alter what G'd would inspire him to say. We have already demonstrated how Bileam schemed to deviate from this restriction when we mentioned the significance of the words הולך הוא, i.e. that he did not view himself as G'd's instrument but planned to have things his own way. This impression was further reinforced by the Torah describing Bileam as riding on his ass with his two attendants. The angel stationed himself in a place so narrow that the ass -and therefore Bileam- could not even squeeze by to remind him that he had sinned intentionally. G'd employed these three incidents to show Bileam that He was displeased by what he had set out to do.