Comentario citado sobre Isaías 14:32

[AND G-D CAME UNTO BALAAM AT NIGHT, AND SAID UNTO HIM]: ‘IF THE MEN ARE COME TO CALL THEE.’” ‘If the call be ‘for you’ [for your benefit] and you think you will receive a reward for it, then rise up, go with them. But [you should realize that even] against your will, the word which I speak unto thee, that shalt thou do’.⁴⁰Verse 20. And nevertheless Balaam went [as stated in the following verse], for he said: ‘Perhaps I may persuade Him to agree [that I should curse’].” This is Rashi’s language. “And G-d’s anger was kindled because he went.⁴¹Verse 22. [This was because] Balaam realized that the matter was not pleasing⁴²In our texts of Rashi: “that the matter was evil.” in the sight of the Eternal, and [yet] he longed to go.” This too, is the Rabbi’s language.
And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote: “The Gaon [Rav Saadia]⁴³See Vol. II, p. 99, Note 230. said: If someone wishes to argue, saying: ‘Since He had told Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them,⁴⁴Above, Verse 12. how is it that He told him [afterwards], Rise up, go with them?’ one may answer that G-d [indeed] did not want him to go with the first [emissaries], until more honorable princes than they would come.⁴⁵According to this explanation of Rav Saadia Gaon there was Divine consent in general terms for Balaam to go on the mission, and the meaning of G-d’s words to him is: “thou shalt not go ‘with them,’ but with others, more honorable than they, you may go.” The reason for this may be that since Balaam, speaking against his intention and desire, was later on to confirm G-d’s love of Israel, it was fitting that this be done in the presence of more distinguished men than the former ones. But in my opinion [continues Ibn Ezra] there is no need for this [interpretation of the Gaon], for the meaning [of Rise up, go with them is not that this was a command, but] is like Send thou men⁴⁶Above, 13:2. [which is not a Divine command, but permission in the nature of a concession to Israel’s demand]. For G-d had said to Israel, Go up, take possession,⁴⁷Deuteronomy 1:21. but they did not believe [that they would conquer it], and said instead, Let us send men⁴⁸Ibid., Verse 22. — so Moses asked G-d [and He told him, Send thou men,⁴⁶Above, 13:2. meaning: ‘I do not command you, but if you wish to do so, send them’]. And this case [here too] is similar, for why did Balaam have to tell [Balak’s servants], tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Eternal will speak unto me more,⁴⁹Above, Verse 19. [since G-d had already told him not to go with them]? It was because he harbored an evil intention in his heart [persisting in the hope that G-d would agree that he should go to Balak], and so G-d told him: ‘[You may] go with them, but be careful only to speak that which I will say to you.’ And the proof for my interpretation [that G-d was angry with Balaam for his evil intention in persisting in his request to go to Balak, and that go with them is a concession, not a command], is the following verse, And G-d’s anger was kindled because he went.” These are the words [of Abraham ibn Ezra].
Yet all this availeth me nothing.⁵⁰Esther 5:13. For the explanation of the Gaon [Rav Saadia, that G-d wanted him to go with more honorable men] is not correct, for G-d told Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people, for they are blessed,⁴⁴Above, Verse 12. [thus clearly indicating] that He forbade him to go in order that he should not curse the people, and he did not prohibit him from going because these princes were not sufficiently important, so how could it be permissible for him to go with other princes! And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra’s explanation [that G-d was angry with him because of his persistence in his evil desire to go] is also not correct, [for it would mean] that G-d changed His mind and withdrew His word [in finally allowing Balaam to go], because of the persistence of the person making the request! And the matter of Send thou men⁴⁶Above, 13:2. is not so [as Ibn Ezra explained it]; and I have already explained its [correct] meaning [there]. Furthermore, far be it from G-d to punish [a person for doing] something for which He had [previously] given permission! And in the Midrash the Rabbis have said:⁵¹Tanchuma, Balak 8; Bamidbar Rabbah 20:11. — From this Midrash too, it is obvious that there was no Divine concession here at all to Balaam, but that he was merely led on the path that he desired to tread. “From here you learn that on whichever path a person desires to tread, he is led.”
The correct interpretation of this matter appears to me to be that at first G-d forbade him to curse the people, for they are blessed,⁴⁴Above, Verse 12. and so there was no purpose in Balaam going with them [the elders], since he could not curse them [Israel], and they did not require him for any other reason. Therefore He said [to Balaam], “Thou shalt not go with them,⁴⁴Above, Verse 12. and do not curse the people, for they are blessed.” Now it is self-understood that Balaam informed them of G-d’s words [although Scripture does not expressly say so], but [nonetheless] Balak sent him [messengers] a second time, because he did not believe him [that G-d did not allow him to go, but thought that he merely wanted a greater reward], and so he showed him greater honor by sending princes, more in number, and more honorable than³⁷Verse 15. the first, and promised to increase his reward and honor. But Balaam answered them that the matter did not depend upon money, nor upon his [own] will; but it was entirely in the hand of G-d, and he would again ask Him what He commands him [to do].⁵²Verses 18-19. This [answer of Balaam] was properly given, for what could he know of the knowledge of the Most High⁵³Further, 24:16. — and the counsel of the Eternal is good forever,⁵⁴See Psalms 33:11. In other words, it is always good to seek G-d’s advice. and He doth instruct sinners in the way,⁵⁵Ibid., 25:8. G-d is hereby described as giving instructions even to sinners [such as Balaam] in the path they should follow. and He would inform him what he shall answer the messengers of the nation,⁵⁶Isaiah 14:32. or He would tell him what would happen to them [the Moabites] in the future. And G-d told him: “I have already informed you that the people are blessed and that you will not be able to curse them.⁴⁴Above, Verse 12. But now that they [the messengers] have come back to you, if the men are come merely to call thee, meaning that they will agree to your going with them [although it is] on condition that you shall not curse the people, as I informed you at the beginning, then rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak unto thee, that shalt thou do, for even if I command you to bless them, you shall [do so and] not be afraid of Balak.” This then is the meaning of [the expression], if the men are come ‘to call thee’ [i.e., if they merely ask you to go with them, despite being fully aware that you may not curse Israel — then go with them]. And this was the wish of the Glorious Name⁵⁷Deuteronomy 28:58. from the [very] beginning — that he [Balaam] should go with them after telling them that he would not curse them [Israel], and that he would conduct himself towards them [entirely] as G-d would command him — because it was the Will of G-d, blessed be He, to bless Israel through the mouth of the prophet of the nations. Thus Balaam ought to have disclosed this to the princes of Balak and to say to them: “Now G-d has only permitted me to be invited by you [i.e., to accompany you], and [only] on the express condition that I do not curse the people, and that if He commands me to bless them, that I shall do so, and if they are not agreeable to these [conditions], they should leave me alone.” But even on this second occasion Balak said, come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people,⁵⁸Verse 17. [thus indicating that] he did not want Balaam for the purpose of fortelling future events or for any other purpose, except that of cursing the people. And Balaam, because of his overriding desire to go, did not inform them of this [Divine message with the conditions mentioned above], and did not tell them anything at all; [instead], Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with them,⁵⁹Verse 21. like someone who is eager to fulfill their wish. Therefore G-d’s anger was kindled because he went,⁴¹Verse 22. for had he informed them [of the conditions], he would not [necessarily] have gone [because they might have refused to let him come under such conditions]. Furthermore a profanation of G-d’s Name was involved in this [behavior of Balaam], for since he went with them without explanation, whereas he was in fact under the control of G-d, they thought that He had given him permission to curse the people for them. Therefore [they thought that] G-d had reneged on that which He had said originally, thou shalt not curse the people, for they are blessed⁴⁴Above, Verse 12. — according to what Balaam had told them — and when they saw later on that he did not curse them, they said that He changed [His word] yet again, or that He is mocking them as one mocketh a man.⁶⁰Job 13:9. Far be it from G-d to do after this manner,⁶¹Genesis 18:25. for the Eternal One of Israel will not … repent!⁶²I Samuel 15:29.

In this verse Solomon explained to us the usefulness (on a functional level) of practicing charity and the great reward in store for performance of this commandment both in this life and in the world to come. It is a well known fact that the eyes of the wealthy person are turned inwards towards his wealth or to the many people whom he believes to be his friends. Solomon himself said in Proverbs 14,20 that the rich have many friends. The poor on the other hand, has no one to focus his eyes on except Hashem. He cannot rely on his personal wealth, seeing he does not have any. He cannot turn to his friends either, seeing that the poor do not have many friends. Even if he had friends from before he became poor, they will likely abandon him as they do not want to be associated with “a loser,” a person whom they now perceive as a failure. Solomon already taught us this piece of human psychology in Proverbs 19,7: where he said: “all the brothers of a poor man hate him; how much more is he shunned by his one time friends. He pursues them with words but they are not to be found.” In verse 4 of that same chapter Solomon had already said that a poor man finds himself separated from his friend. Solomon means that even if he had one solitary friend left, this one too soon turns his back on him. Seeing the poor is shunned by his peers, G’d loves him instead.
This point is made succinctly in Isaiah 14,32: “in it (Zion) the needy of His people shall find shelter.” Seeing that the Jewish people (Zion) act as lenders to Hashem in supporting the poor when they perform charity, Hashem in turn is indebted to them and has to repay them both in this life and in the hereafter. It is not the custom for the Book of Proverbs to mention commandments explicitly written in the Torah unless a new dimension of that commandment is added to our understanding of it thereby. When Solomon speaks about חונן דל instead of מרחם, in Proverbs 19,17 “granting grace to the poor, instead of extending mercy to the poor,” the reason is that the word חונן suggests חינם, extending help for free, without demanding any sort of recompense from the recipient. Even when the recipient did not have a claim on such largesse, G’d extends it “without strings attached.” He had explained this as being one of His attributes when He told Moses at Mount Sinai וחנותי את אשר ארחם, “I reserve the right to extend My grace to whomsoever I will extend My mercy” (Exodus 33,19).
We are commanded to emulate this attribute of Hashem when the Torah writes in Deut. 28,9: והלכת בדרכיו, “you shall walk in His ways,” i.e. just as G’d extends His mercy not asking for anything in return, we too must relate to the poor without asking anything in return. When someone practices this commandment and he makes certain requests from Hashem in the course of his prayer, his prayer will be favorably received. We have proof of this In Psalms 30,9 where David says: “I called to You my Lord, to my Lord I made appeal.” The repetition is an explanation of why David thinks he has a right to make such an appeal. Moses did something similar in the first verse of our portion when he describes himself as having pleaded with G’d, i.e. ואתחנן. He was busy for 40 days and 40 nights praying and none of his prayers was responded to positively until he used the תחנה prayer.

A Midrashic approach to our verse based on Shemot Rabbah 31,15. The words: “when you lend money to My people,” are a reminder that all of G’d’s creatures are constantly borrowing from each other as well as lending to one another. The day borrows from the night and the night borrows from the day. They did not need to resort to litigation on account of this, ever. This is the meaning of Psalms 19, 3-4: “Day to Day makes utterance, Night to Night speaks out; there is no utterance, there are no words whose sound goes unheard.” The moon borrows from the stars and the stars borrow from the moon; whenever G’d so desires He does not display either of them. This is the meaning of Job 9,7: “Who commands the sun not to shine; who seals up the stars.” Light borrows from the Sun and the Sun borrows from Light; this is the meaning of: “sun and moon stand still on high;” (Chabakuk 3,11). Wisdom borrows from Understanding, and Understanding borrows from Wisdom as we know from Proverbs 7,4: “Say to Wisdom “you are my sister and call Understanding a kinswoman.” Heaven borrows from Earth and Earth borrows from Heaven. This is the meaning of Deut. 28,12: “The Lord will open for you His bounteous store, the heavens, to provide rain for your land at its appropriate season.” His creatures borrow from each other and repay each other. Contrast this with the behaviour of man who lends only if he can swallow the borrower through charging him interest. This is why the psalmist described an upright individual, as someone “who does not lend his money by charging interest nor accepting bribes against the innocent” (Psalms 15,5).
Please note that anyone who is wealthy and who gives charity to the poor and does not charge interest on the loans he extends is considered as if he personally had kept all the recipients alive. This is what David meant when he said (Psalms 15,5) “he who does all these will never be shaken.” Who was an individual who fitted the description mentioned by the psalmist? This was Ovadiah, who was both wealthy and a supervisor of the treasury of King Achav, King of Israel. We read in Kings I 18,3: “Achav called Ovadiah who was in charge of his palace.” He was exceedingly wealthy, spending all his money on charitable deeds as we know from verse 13 in that same chapter in Kings where he told the prophet Elijah: “I have hidden one hundred of G’d’s prophets, fifty and fifty in two different caves each. I have supplied all of them with bread and water (food and drink).” When the famine decreed by Elijah materialized this man was forced to borrow from Yehoram, Achhav’s son, (paying him interest) in order to ensure the continued survival of these prophets. Actually, Ovadiah had not meant to pay the interest to Yehoram. This is the meaning of כספו לא נתן בנשך, “he did not give his money as interest”. Yehoram had a different idea, however. He had every intention of collecting the interest agreed upon. This is why G’d dispatched Yehu to kill him. This is the true meaning of (Kings II 9,24) “Yehu drew his bow and hit Yehoram between the shoulders so that the arrow pierced his heart and he collapsed in his chariot.” In this way we can understand the statement of Ezekiel 18,13: “he has lent at advanced interest or exacted accrued interest—shall he live?” To warn us of all this the Torah here exhorts us by writing: “when you lend money to My people you must not charge interest.”
An alternate approach (based on Shemot Rabbah 31,10) the unusual formulation in our verse where the Torah writes עמי, “My people,” is a hint that G’d considers the poor as “My people” by excellence. The word עמו “His people,” is found in Scripture repeatedly in reference to the poor. Examples: Isaiah 49,13 “for the Lord has comforted His people and has taken His afflicted ones in love.” Or, Isaiah 14,32: ”that Zion has been established by the Lord. In it the needy of His people shall find shelter.” It is a characteristic amongst people not to want to be saddled with poor relatives. This is what Proverbs 19,7 describes as: “all the brothers of a poor man hate him;” in chapter 14,20 Solomon expands on this further when he writes: “the poor man is hated even by his own neighbor, but the rich has many friends.” Contrast the way G’d relates to the poor. He is certainly wealthy as testified to by Chronicles I 29,12: “Riches and Honor are Yours to dispense; You have dominion over all.” Or, Chagai 2,8: “Silver is Mine and gold is Mine- says the Lord of Hosts.” Nonetheless He extends His cover and protection only to the poor as we know from Isaiah 14,32: “that Zion has been established by the Lord. In it the needy of His people shall find shelter.” This is the message of the verse commencing with the words: “when you lend money to My people.”