Musar sobre Números 24:26

Although there is not a single one of the 613 commandments listed in this פרשה, the famous blessing of מה טובו אהליך יעקב משכנותיך ישראל "How goodly are your tents O Jacob, your dwellings O Israel," is contained in our portion. Our sages have said that the expression "your tents," refers to periods when Israel is at peace in its homeland, whereas the word "your dwellings," refers even to periods when the Land and Temple of Israel is in ruins (24,5). Rashi explains that משכון is also "pledge", that even when there is no "temple," its very ruins are the guarantee that Israel will try to qualify for atonement. He quotes Eychah Rabbah on Lamentations 4,11 as his support.

Maimonides, in his ספר המדע writes as follows: "We must appreciate a fundamental truth, something basic to all knowledge. There is a SINGLE original Cause who in turn has created all other phenomena. If you ever were to think that HE does not exist, it would follow that none of the phenomena we perceive exist either. If you could imagine that all other phenomena would cease to exist, HE still would continue to exist, since all phenomena need Him for their continued existence, whereas He does not need them for His existence. His "truth" is therefore not comparable to any other kind of "truth," and this is why the prophet says: וה' אלוקים הוא לבדו אמת, "And the Lord G–d is truth" (Jeremiah 10,10). This is also what the Torah means in Deut. 4,35 ואין עוד מלבדו, "There is no one else beside Him." No truth exists independent of G–d. It is His Existence that is the supreme G–d of the universe, and He guides the universe. It is a positive commandment to acquire knowledge of and guard these facts, for the Torah says: "I am the Lord your G–d, etc." Anyone who entertains the thought that there is any other deity is a כופר בעיקר, violates a fundamental negative commandment, because the Torah says: "You must not have any other god in My Presence." Such a person denies the central pillar of the Jewish faith that everything depends upon Him. Thus far Maimonides.

[Continuation of the Zohar:] וגללו את האבן. The combined forces of the emanations will roll away the heavy stone, the harsh decree from the mouth of the well, i.e. the lowest of the emanations מלכות, so that the Torah in the באר will be able to sustain us during the remainder of the exile and our flocks (people) will be watered, (sustained by Torah). At the end of this long "day," G–d will lead us back to ארץ ישראל. When Bileam speaks about the אחרית הימים, "the end of days" during which Israel is described as revenging itself on Moab (Numers 24,14), he refers to the period during which Israel has suffered in exile and at the end of which G–d will take revenge on those nations who have mistreated Israel while the latter were in exile. The "day" which Jacob speaks about to the shepherds is an allusion to that אחרים הימים. Thus far the Zohar.

What she meant to say was that this seed would not live indefinitely until the era of the Messiah, but would at that time fulfill the promise of Numbers 24,17: וקרקר כל בני שת, "and he will dig up the foundation of all the children of Sheth." In Kabbalistic terms: This means that the Messiah will remove all the קליפות, the negative influences surrounding the fruit, the pure interior. At that time the world will be founded on the principles envisaged by G–d at the time of Creation. G–d will then truly derive pleasure from His creatures, death will be banished and people will live forever wearing garments woven out of light -as I have explained in the introduction to my treatise תולדות אדם. Israel will then be known as אדם, בצלם ודמות עליון, as reflecting the likeness of man's celestial counterpart. Procreation will take place at a fast pace, as described in Shabbat 30: "In the future, a woman will give birth daily. When Noach came out of the ark, however, and his descendants are described (10,1), the word תולדת is spelled defective since only the survival of mankind as a species had been assured, seeing that man had forfeited the true צלם. What man had retained was only a דמיון הצלם, a resemblance of the Divine image, something more like the דמות. The so-called צלם nowadays is more like man's shadow, צל, sometimes more visible, other times less pronounced, depending on the spiritual level of the individual.

We must try and understand why Rabbenu Bachyah was so selective in his comparison of the creation with the construction of the Tabernacle. He could have cited additional parallels. A look at a lengthy Midrash in Shemot Rabbah 33,4 quotes Rabbi Berechyah as presenting a long list of parallels between the Tabernacle and מעשה בראשית. The list includes many items found in the heavens such as ערפל, זבול, עצי שטים, כרובים, אופנים and many others. In each case Rabbi Berechyah demonstrates that the Tabernacle contained something parallel.

The Zohar (Sullam edition Balak page 64), is very explicit in describing Bileam's low character, giving many examples of his appearing to credit himself with great insights and thereby misleading those who considered him a great Seer. Here are a few quotes from that passage in the Zohar "This wicked man took great pride in claiming to know everything. By doing so he misled people into believing that he had attained a very high stature. He blew up every little achievement of his. Whatever he said concerned the domain of the forces of impurity. He spoke the truth, literally speaking. Anyone listening to him would form the impression that he was the most outstanding of the prophets of the world. When he described himself as שומע אמרי קל, ויודע דעת עליון, "privy to the words of G–d, aware of the knowledge of the Supreme One," the impression is formed that he spoke about the G–d in Heaven, whereas in fact he was privy only to אמרי קל, as distinct from אמרי הקל. Had the Torah added the letter ה, we would have credited Bileam with being addressed directly by G–d. As it is, he communicated with the forces of טומאה, forces considered by the nations as deities, though they really were אל אחר, forces of nature that are no better than idols. When he speaks about knowing the דעת עלין, the listener forms the impression that Bileam claimed to be privy to G–d's range of knowledge, whereas in fact he was privy only to the עליון "the highest" of the forces of impurity that G–d has allowed to govern part of nature. Bileam, technically speaking, spoke truthfully, since he was privy to a power which in its field was considered supreme. However, the listener did not know that this power had no independent authority at all but was only an agent of G–d. When Bileam described himself in 24,4 as אשר מחזה שדי יחזה "someone who has visions of G–d, a reader would assume that this was really so, that Bileam could see what no one else could see. However the term מחזה שדי refers to a branch of the three branches that originate in the name Shaddai, corresponding to the three letters in that word. He would have some access to the domains of חסד, גבורה, תפארת. The Zohar continues that עמלק employed these three spiritual domains in his attack against Israel, and that Balak, whose name contained the last two letters of עמלק, felt encouraged that it would help him in his confrontation with the Patron of Israel.

Now we understand what is meant by the Talmud that "Moses wrote his own book and the book of Bileam." Do not err to think that only because G–d taught him did Moses reach levels Bileam had reached, and that his learning was vicarious, second hand. Rather, Moses had attained the levels Bileam had attained by his own independent intellectual and spiritual efforts. The Talmud tells us that Moses learned all this as an experience, not like we learn history, i.e. from books describing what happened once to someone else.. Whatever Bileam had been able to work out by himself concerning Israel's future, Moses had been able to work out without special assists from G–d. What the Talmud means is that actually the whole portion of Bileam could just as easily have been recorded by Moses without instruction from G–d. There would have been no need for Bileam to pronounce blessings to enable us to learn all the lessons that our sages derive from them. The only "novelty" in the whole phenomenon is the fact that the קטיגור, "counselor for the prosecution," turned into a סניגור, "attorney for the defense." This is something that could only have occurred through Bileam, since he was Moses' counterpart among the nations. We have now illustrated the statement we set out from. The סטרא אחרא is bound to become a source of blessing if one only traces it far enough towards its holy source. We have described this earlier as "blood turning into milk." It follows (again as we have tried to describe earlier) that it is the Gentile nations who are in reality the source of Israel's refinement and consequently of its redemption.

The two words "לאמר" that we mentioned earlier as apparently superfluous, have something in common. The repeated "דבור" suggests that there was an exoteric (נגלה) as well as an esoteric (נסתר) element in what the Torah tells us here. In 25,10 the exoteric meaning is to inform the people of the noble lineage Pinchas was descended from, whereas in 25,12 they are to be informed of an additional dimension of Pinchas' greatness, i.e. that he is equated with the prophet Elijah. This is alluded to in the words "because he displayed jealous fervor on behalf of his G–d" (25,13). The letters in the expression “לאל-היו,” are identical with the word “לאליהו,” “to Elijah.” The latter also excelled by displaying jealousy on behalf of G–d, something that he himself is quoted as saying to G–d in Kings I 19,10. He referred to his having slain four hundred Jewish priests who had forsaken the Torah to serve the idol Baal instead. Elijah's performance on Mount Carmel was similar to that of Pinchas at Shittim. The name אליהו (which in the Bible is frequently spelled without the letter Vav at the end) contains two names of G–d, i.e. El and Ya-h. In his encounter with Zimri Pinchas restored the honor of the name El, since the Israelites at the time had been guilty of insulting that name of G–d by serving the El of the Moabites and Midianites, "וישתחוו לאלהיהן" (Numbers 24,2). The second of the Ten Commandments specifically prohibits a Jew prostrating himself before an alien deity (Exodus 20,4). Pinchas' deed restored the relations between G–d and Israel which the people's behaviour had upset. His deed, when analysed, consisted of discrediting a man and a woman who respectively were leaders of their tribes, or, in the case of Cozbi, whose father was an ancestral tribal head. The Torah emphasizes the word איש and אשה, when referring to these two both in 25,8, and in 26,14-15, although there is no need for this. We have mentioned repeatedly that the letters "י and ה" in the Hebrew for "man" and "woman" teach us that only when they remain aware of G–d's Presence in this world are they safe from burning up in the passion of their sexuality, seeing that without those letters of G–d's name their names would signal merely masculine and feminine "fire" respectively. The name of G–d contained in those two people whom Pinchas slew was Ya-h. These two had disgraced the name of G–d by their conduct. The Torah in order to draw our attention to all this repeats: …. ושם … איש … ושם האשה, (26,14, 26,15). Rashi already explained that at the count of the people after this episode the peculiarly worded names of the tribes i.e. ה-ראובנ-י, and not simply ראובן demonstrated that the name of each tribe contained the name of G–d. G–d thus personally testified-that the members of all these tribes were conceived while their respective parents maintained absolute chastity. This too is the meaning of Psalms 122,4: שבטי י-ה עדות לישראל, "Israel are G–d's tribes, as per G–d's personal testimony." The letter ו in the word שלום, is "amputated" in 25,12. Baal Haturim points out that the numerical value of that word equals זהו משיח, "this is the Messiah." By diminishing the size of that letter, it is as if one had not thought about the last letter in the name of אליהו. Elijah is the prophet who announces the imminent arrival of the Messiah and prepares people for that. Removing part of the letter ו is meant to convey to us that Elijah (as alluded to by the absence of the last letter in his name), will materialise when one least thinks of him.. The letters added to the names of the tribes during this count therefore can be viewed as making up the second name of G–d contained in the name אליה, the name Ya-h. The Torah informs us in Exodus 6,25 that Pinchas' father had married one of the daughters of Putiel, who according to Midrash Hagadol fattened (play on word Putiel) all the idols in the world and the other tribes despised him on account of his ancestry. Since the name פוטיאל concludes with the letters of the name of G–d, however, the Torah alerts us to the fact that he converted to monotheism, i.e. El Ya-h. The whole verse is an allusion to Joseph who controlled his desire in his involvement with the wife of his master Potiphar, whose similarly sounding name reminds us of what took place then. Just as Joseph preserved the holy covenant with G–d at that time, so Pinchas, his descendant maternally, restored the holy covenant with G–d by taking G–d's revenge on Zimri. As a result, G–d granted him "My covenant Peace." Targum Yonathan on that verse says that Pinchas was made into an angel who would live until he could announce the final redemption. It is further written (of Pinchas) that G–d's covenant of life and well-being was with him (Malachi 2,5), that "the true Torah was in his mouth. He walked with Me in peace and equity, nothing perverse was on his lips. He served Me with complete loyalty; he held many back from committing iniquity, for the lips of a priest guard knowledge and people seek Torah from his mouth, seeing that he is an angel of the Lord G–d of Hosts" (Ibid 6). This verse clearly alludes to Pinchas, since Pinchas became an angel, as our sages comment on Joshua 2,4, (Tanchuma quoted by Rashi). Since Pinchas held back many from sinning, he is described by the prophet as having the true Torah issuing forth from his mouth. "Truth" is an element that reinforces and strengthens religious belief and practice. It is not something merely personal, but is something that must be demonstrated to the community in order to be capable of convincing such a community to do penitence. Such a result is called אמת, truth. Truth is something of an everlasting nature.

We must ask why Rashi comments on the comparison of Israel to the cedars by saying that these are not Bileam's words at all, but that the שכינה inserted those words! Moreover, all the comparisons drawn by Bileam in these blessings such as the rivulets etc. in 24,6, are all viewed by the Aggadah as having been said by the שכינה! For instance, when Bileam described Israel as similar to גנות, "like gardens," the שכינה is supposed to have added עלי נהר, "along the river." The reason the שכינה added these variations was to rob the previous term of its possible negative connotation. This is a wonderful explanation and enables us to solve a different difficulty, namely the comment of Rashi that neither the honey nor the sting of the hornet is welcome, (based on Bamidbar Rabbah 20,10: לא מדובשך ולא מעוקצך, "spare me your honey and your sting!") How is this an appropriate comparison seeing that in the Midrash the positive, i.e. the honey is mentioned first, whereas Bileam mentioned the negative aspects first? The answer must be that the whole comment is addressed to Bileam's blessings. The Midrash draws our attention to the fact that each blessing contained a deliberate, though not obvious, negative side. This is why the Midrash said that G–d told Bileam, who had offered to bless Israel, seeing that he had not been allowed to curse them, that just as one does not want to have anything to do with the hornet, preferring to forego its honey, so Bileam should not trouble himself to bless Israel.

Prayer is especially effective in the synagogue, the place that is designated for prayer. The synagogue helps purify a person’s thoughts. Thus the Sages comment on the verse, “Like the winding brooks, etc.” (Bamidbar 24:6): Why are synagogues likened to brooks? To teach you that just as a brook can raise a person from defilement to purity, so do the synagogues purify, etc.” (Yalkut Shimoni 771). Therefore a person should engage in introspection in the synagogue and speak with his whole heart before the One who knows thoughts. And let him weep and groan brokenheartedly at the thought of his sins, even those of his youth. For a man’s heart knows how much damage he brought about through the sins of his youth, all of which are inscribed and kept on record. But if he repents completely his iniquities are erased from the record and the stains and blemishes that he caused are purified and whitened. In place of judgment and punishment he will find salvation and deliverance when he comes before the Throne of Hashem to make his reckoning, when he is called to the judgement that was decreed upon him by the Holy One, blessed is He. Therefore let a man engage in prayer, for the Day of Judgment will come suddenly like an eagle swooping down. But Hashem in His mercy will receive his soul when his time comes, and he will go from peace to peace.

Ephron, or rather the people of his town also hinted at that fact when they said in 23,15 נשיא אלוקים אתה בתוכנו, "you are a prince in our midst." They realized that while Abraham represented the essence of what was good, Ishmael represented the קליפה on the "right," Esau that on the "left." We here view grandchildren as being in the same class as children. Isaac, who is described in the grace after meals as the recipient of the blessing מכל, has only one קליפה, Esau attached to him. Jacob, on the other hand, is totally free of any קליפה sticking to him. He represents the tree of life in the centre of the garden.

Why does Bileam keep changing the terms he uses for curses such as קבה, ארה, זעם, and does not conform to the request made of him by Balak his employer? Furthermore, what do קסמים, charms, have to do with prophecy? Once Bileam boasts of employing his prophetic powers, why does he consult קסמים?

Afterwards, as a result of Bileam "walking" i.e. setting out on an errand that was meant to harm the Jewish people, G–d transformed the intended curses into blessings in inverse ratio to the wickedness intended by him. As Solomon says in Proverbs 10,24: "The fear of the wicked will come upon him; the desire of the righteous will be granted." When Bileam next announces "ואדעה מה יוסף ה' דבר עמי," "I will know what else G–d will speak to me" (22,19), he is already inadvertently hinting that he will become the instrument by means of which G–d will bless Israel. An example of this additional blessing can be seen in the words "how goodly are your tents O Jacob, your dwellings O Israel." Whereas, originally the blessing was valid only while Israel was secure in its land, the additional words referring to temporary abodes of Israel, i.e. משכנותיך, include periods during which Israel will be exiled (24,5). The very exile is a source of blessing, since it produces repentance and subsequently a rejuvenation of the Jewish people. This is why the name Jacob, and the temporary nature of the dwellings called "huts," is associated with the former temporary residence of the Jewish people, on their own land, whereas "Israel," the choicest of names for this people, as well as "dwellings," is employed when it describes-paradoxically,-its state of exile. The Talmud in Baba Metzia 68a, in trying to define a mortgage which is called in Aramaic mashkanta, a word resembling the Hebrew Mishkan, dwelling, describes it as something that constantly “dwells” with the owner of the field against which a loan has been made. The constant awareness of one's dependence acts as a spur to rid oneself of such an obligation. The exile experience of the Jewish people is meant to do the same, to imbue us with the urgent desire to do all in our power to become worthy of redemption. At that time G–d's promise (Leviticus 26,11) ונתתי משכני בתוככם "I will give My dwelling to be in your midst," will be fulfilled. The destruction of the Temple and the Jewish state was a necessary prelude to building a better Jewish nation. This is the meaning of the prophecy וירד מיעקב והאביד שריד מעיר, "A victor will issue forth from Jacob to wipe out what is left of ‘lr’" (24,19). Bileam saw a vision of the greatness of the Messiah, someone greater than himself. What he did not appreciate was that purity could be rooted in impurity, just as Abraham came forth out of a Terach. When the Messiah arrives, the last vestiges of the dross remaining from former efforts at distilling the pure out of the impure will vanish. The מלאך רע, "evil angel," who is personified by Bileam, had to acknowledge this, i.e. say Amen" to this concept. Bileam expanded on this theme of redemption when he said: "What I see for them is not yet, what I behold will not be soon" (24,17). He seems to be repeating himself. Another difficulty in Bileam's words is the fact that they seem to be contradictory. First he says: "I can see it," suggesting a clear vision, whereas immediately afterwards he describes this as in the distant future, i.e. not being so clear. What is meant is that every single day that passes contains elements of the eventual total Redemption. This is what Bileam realises clearly. What he does not see so clearly is the date on which this process will be complete. Our Rabbis have described this process as "a single sheep resides amongst seventy wolves. These wolves attempt daily to devour the sheep, but the Almighty saves it from their clutches," as in Pessikta Rabbah 9,2. The very fact that the Jewish nation continues to exist is part of the proof that the Redemption is an ongoing process. G–d is busy performing such miracles without the person for whom such miracles are being performed even becoming aware of them. This is why Bileam says "I see it," i.e. as an ongoing process, "but not now," i.e. the true Redemption, the arrival of the Messiah, has not yet come to pass. Subsequently, Bileam turns to the vision of the Redemption, of which he says: "I see it, but not in the near future." He reveals that there is a date that G–d has fixed for it, though if the people were deserving that date could be advanced. This is parallel to the explanation of the sages on the apparent paradox in Isaiah 60,22, "at its appointed time, I will hasten it." The meaning is that though there is an appointed time beyond which the Redemption will not be delayed, it may occur sooner if Israel deserves it (Sanhedrin 98a). אשורנו, means "I can see it if Israel does penitence," whereas ולא קרוב, means that if they were not worthy then that Redemption would not be in the near future. It is at that time that all previous curses will turn into blessings, for the Redemption was brought about sooner as a result of Israel responding positively to the curses it has had to suffer. We read in Deuteronomy 23,6: "G–d transformed the curse (Bileam's) into a blessing for you, for the Lord your G–d loves you." The last words seem superfluous, since no one would assume that someone who hates you turns your curses into blessings. The meaning, however, may be that repentance is "great," since it has the power to convert former misdeeds into merits. Such repentance indeed has such power when it is the result of love of G–d and not the fear of punishment. Curses may be a hidden display of G–d's love, for once they have fulfilled their purpose, they eventually enable Him to turn them into blessings. Love for G–d by the repentant sinner is reciprocated by Him so that what used to be demerits are accounted as merits retroactively.

This matter is also alluded to in Numbers 14,17: דרך כו-כב מיעקב, "A star rose from Jacob." The Zohar divides the word כוכב into 26=כו, and 22=כב, an allusion to the Ineffable four-lettered Name of G–d=26, which can be spelled in twelve different combinations of its letters as we have demonstrated, all of which have their origin in the emanation תפארת, which represents the characteristic of our patriarch Jacob. Afterwards, (since מטתו שלמה, he produced only spiritually loyal offspring), that offspring was given the Torah, i.e. the 22=כב letters that make up the Torah's alphabet. The reason that all this had to be alluded to at this point was that Jacob had set out to pick a bride and found the family that in turn would consist of the founders of the twelve tribes.

The expression שער השמים, refers to the place from where our prayers ascend to heaven, a gate which, alas, is closed to us now; Rabbi Eleazar in Berachot 32, quotes Lamentations 3,8: גם כי אזעק ואשוע שתם תפלתי, "Though I cry out and and plead, He shuts out my prayers," as proof that the gates of prayer have been shut since the destruction of the Temple. He agrees, however, that the gates of tears have remained open. It is to be noted that the word שתם, "He shut out," is not spelled with the customary letter ס, but with the letter ש, which, by its opening to the top side suggests less than a total shut-out. We observe a similar use of the letter ש, when Bileam describes himself as שתם העין "open eyed" in Numbers 24,3 and 24,15. G–d will receive our prayers gladly in the rebuilt Temple. Even though the gate is closed while we are in exile, as long as we are not in Israel, our prayers are "detoured" from wherever they emanate via the land of Israel.

There follows פרשת קדושים which deals with how to sanctify oneself, how to get rid of the residual pollutant of the serpent. The very purpose of the legislation in this פרשה is alluded to in 19,26: לא תנחשו, "do not indulge in practices reminiscent of the נחש, the serpent." The Rekanati comments on this verse as follows: "Do not commit the error of following the path of the original serpent which is known as the spirit of impurity, whose actions are known as ניחוש. We know about this from Bileam of whom the Torah reports in Numbers 24,1 that he discontinued consulting נחשים as had been his practice. Such consultations involved calling upon the assistance of impure spirits by swearing some kind of allegiance to them. These spirits are presumed not only to know the future but also to be able to reveal it to man. Anyone who prefers to rely on these spirits will find that G–d withdraws from him, and delivers him up to the mercy of those spirits. This is the meaning of Pessachim 110: כל דקפיד קפדינן בהדיה, "The more one is worried [about the influence of negative forces, מזיקים, Ed.] the more power these forces will have over such a person. When such a person dies, the aforementioned forces will accompany his body in accordance with the statement of our sages: בדרך שאדם רוצה לילך בה מוליכין אותו, "One leads man along the path he has chosen for himself" (Makkot 10). There are other commentators who see a warning in the verse exhorting us not to be מנחש, not to do something similar to what the serpent did when it upset the equilibrium of the Celestial equivalent of Eve by seducing Eve on earth.

It is well known that Amaleik, who is the “first of nations” (Bamidbar 24:20), is a descendant of the wicked Eisav. He has a share in the concept of an “other god,” because the value of Amaleik [עמלק] is 240, which is equal to the words אל אחר — “other god.” The corresponding principle on the side of holiness is רוח יהו"ה — “the spirit of Hashem” (Shoftim 11:29), which also has a value of 240. Corresponding to the husks of the ox and donkey on the side of holiness are the two Moshiachs. Moshiach son of David overcomes the husk of the donkey, as it is stated, “A humble man riding on a donkey” (Zecharyah 9:9), while Moshiach son of Yosef is called an “ox,” as in the verse, “He has the majesty of a firstborn ox” (Devarim 33:17). It is related in the Zohar (3:124b; Zohar Chadash Ruth, 101b) that from the joining of the two husks of the ox and donkey came another husk known as the “viper” [tzefa], as in the verse, “From the root of the serpent comes a viper” (Yeshayahu 14:29). The value of צפע equals that of “Amaleik” — 240. Therefore the ink with which a Torah scroll is written must contain mei afatz — “gallnut water” (Gittin 19a), because the word עפץ is the reverse of צפע. Thus, by writing the Torah scroll with gallnut water, we subjugate the husk of the viper.