Midrash sur Les Nombres 24:3

R. Jochanan said: "Bil'am was lame on one foot and blind in one eye, as it is said (Num. 24, 15) Whose one eye is open."

(Numb. 23:11-14:) “And Balak said to Balaam, ‘What have you done to me; to curse….’ And Balaam answered and said, ‘Is it not that that which God places into my mouth….’ And Balak said to Balaam, ‘Please go [and] I will take you….’ So he took him to the Field of Zophim [at the top of Pisgah].” He saw that Israel would be breached there, for it was there that Moses died, as stated (in Deut. 3:27), “Go up to the top of Pisgah …, [for you shall not cross over this Jordan].” Is there a breach greater than this? What he saw was through divinations, and he was of the opinion that because of him they would fall there. (Numb. 23:14-16:) “And he built seven altars [and offered a ram and a bull on each altar]. Then he said unto Balak, ‘Stand here [beside your burnt offerings and let me make myself available to the Lord over there]….’ And God appeared to Balaam and he placed a word (davar) in his mouth.” Like a man who places a bit upon the mouth of his animal and twists him to where he wants [it to go]. So was the Holy One, blessed be He, twisting his mouth. When he said to him, “Return to Balak and bless them,” he said, “Why should I go to him to anguish him?” [So] he sought to go to [his own home] and not to Balak. The Holy One, blessed be He, put a bit into his mouth, [and said] (in Numb. 23:16, cont.) “Return to Balak and speak thus.” (Numb 23:17:) “So he [came] unto him, and there he was standing beside his burnt offerings together with the ministers of Moab.” Concerning the first occasion, it is written (in Numb. 23:6), “with all the ministers of Moab.”⁵⁹Numb. R. 20:20. When they saw that they had derived no benefit at all, they left him; and only a small portion of the ministers of Moab were left with him. (Numb. 23:17:) “Balak said to him, ‘What did the Lord say?’” When he saw that [Balaam] was not in control of himself to say what he wanted, [Balak] sat himself down and mocked him. As soon as he saw that he was mocking him, Balaam said to him, “Get up from there. It is not fitting to sit while the words of the Omnipresent are being spoken.” (Numb. 23:18:) “Rise up Balak and listen; give ear to me, you son of Zippor!” Both of them were [distinguished] sons of [undistinguished] fathers, for they had made themselves greater than their fathers.⁶⁰On the importance of having a distinguished lineage, see, e.g., Ta‘an 21b. [Hence (in Numb. 24:3),] “An oracle of Balaam son of Beor (literally, his son is Beor)”; (in Numb 23:18) “give ear to me, you son of Zippor (literally, his son is Zippor)!” ⁶¹The unusual wording of Numb. 23:18 and 24:3 suggests that Balak and Balaam both had fathers undistinguished enough to be called their sons. (Numb. 23:19:) “God is not a human, that he should speak falsehood.” He is not like flesh and blood. [When a person of] flesh and blood acquires friends and finds others nicer than they, he forsakes the former ones. But [the Holy One, blessed be He,] is not like that. It is not possible [for Him] to be false to the oath of the early ancestors. (Ibid., cont.:) “Has he promised and not fulfilled?” (This phrase can also be read as, “He has promised and not fulfilled.”) When he promises to bring evils upon them, He will cancel them, if they have repented. You find it written (in Exod. 22:19), “Whoever sacrifices to a god shall be devoted to destruction.” When they made the calf, they merited destruction. So I thought to curse and destroy them. But when they repented a little, He suspended [any punishment] and (according to Exod. 32:14) “The Lord repented of the evil which He had planned to do to His people.” And so too in many places. As he said to Jochaniah (in Jer. 22:30), “as none of his seed shall succeed….” But He said to his son’s son (in Hag. 2:22), “And I will overturn the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the might of the kingdoms of the nations,” since it is stated (Hag. 2:23), “’On that day,’ declares the Lord of Hosts, ‘I will take you, O My servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and make you as a signet.’” And so He suspended what He said to his [grand]father (in Jer. 22:24), “’As I live,’ declares the Lord, ‘if you, O King Coniah, son of Jehoiakim, of Judah, were a signet on My right hand, I would tear you off even from there.’” And so with the men of Anatoth, it is written (in Jer. 11:23), “No remnant shall be left of them, for I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth.” [But] once they repented, see what is written (in Neh. 7:27), “The men of Anatoth were one hundred and twenty-eight.”

(Numb. 24:3:) “So he took up his theme and said.”⁷⁶These words also appear in Numb. 23:7, 18; 24:15, 20, 21, 23, but the context of this verse certainly fits the sense of the midrash. Let our master instruct us:⁷⁷Yelammedenu rabbenu. When these words appear at the beginning of a section along with the response, “Thus have our masters taught…,” they commonly introduce a new parashah. In the case of one who eats without washing his hands, what penalty will he incur?⁷⁸Numb. R. 20:21. Thus have our masters taught: Washing hands before the meal is an option; after the meal it is an obligation.⁷⁹Hul. 105a, but not in the Mishnah. It once happened that there was an Israelite shopkeeper who would cook [and sell] both clean meat and pork, so that they would not notice that he was a Jew. Now his custom was this: Whenever anyone came into his shop and did not wash his hands, he knew that he was a foreigner and he would set pork before him; but whenever anyone washed his hands and recited the blessing, he knew that he was a Jew and would serve him clean meat. Once a certain Jew came in to eat there but did not wash his hands. Thinking that he was a foreigner, he set pork before him. He ate without saying the blessing. When he came to settle the account with him for the bread and for the meat, the pork was expensively priced. He said to him, “I have such and such against you over the meat which you have eaten, for the slice is worth ten manah.”⁸⁰Gk.: mna. He said to him, “Yesterday I ate it for eight. Now today you want ten!” He said to him, “This which you ate is from a hog.” When he said this to him, his hair stood on end, for he became terrified and afraid. He said to him privately, “I am a Jew and you have given me pork!” He said to him, “A curse upon you! When I saw that you ate without washing your hands and without a blessing, I thought that you were a foreigner.” Hence the sages have said, “The [omission of the] first water (before the meal) caused him to serve him pork; [the neglect of] the latter water (after the meal) took a life.”⁸¹Yoma 83b; Hul. 106a. [The second part of the previous statement is due to] a story about a certain person who ate pulse without washing his hands. When he went down to the marketplace, his hands were filthy from the pulse. When an acquaintance of his saw him, he went and said to his wife, “Your husband has mentioned as a token⁸²Siman. Gk.: semeion. to you [of my authenticity] that he has just now eaten pulse.⁸³I.e., the fact that he knew what his friend had just eaten would be evidence of his having spoken with him. Send him that ring.” [So] she gave it to him. After a time her husband came. He said to her, “Where is the ring?” She said to him, “So and so came with your tokens, and I gave it to him.” Becoming filled with rage, he arose and killed her. Therefore the sages have said, “Whoever does not wash his hands after the meal is like one who takes a life.” Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, has warned Israel not to transgress even insignificant commandments, as stated (in Deut. 32:47), “For it (the Torah) is no empty thing for you, [in that it is your very life].” Even some commandment that you consider to be empty and insignificant has within it life and length of days, as stated (in Deut. 32:47, cont.), “and through this thing you will lengthen your days upon the land.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “If you keep My commandments, I will cast down your enemies before you,” as stated (in Ps. 81:14-15), “O that my people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways. Then I would virtually [subdue their enemies…].” When Balaam saw how Israel observed [even] the insignificant commandments, he said, “Who can curse these people, when they observe commandments and when His name is engraved upon them.” (Numb. 23:21:) “The Lord their God is with them.” Whoever curses them curses himself, because His name is joined with them.”⁸⁴I.e., the name El (“God”) forms part of the name Israel. He began turning to oracles, as stated (in Numb. 24:3), “So he took up his theme” This text is related (to Prov. 27:14), “Whoever rises early in the morning to bless his neighbor in a loud voice shall have it reckoned to him as a curse.” When Balaam came to curse Israel, the Holy One, blessed be He, diverted his tongue, so that he began to bless. It is so stated (in Deut. 23:6), “But the Lord your God did not want to heed Balaam; so the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you.” The Holy One, blessed be He, put power in his voice and his voice went from one end of the world to the other, so that the nations would hear that he was blessing [Israel]. Now it is stated concerning him (in Prov. 27:14), “Whoever [rises early in the morning to] bless his neighbor in a loud voice [shall have it reckoned to him as a curse].” [This is] as stated (in Numb. 24:14), “come, let me advise you.” Then he killed twenty-four thousand. There is no curse [as damaging] as this.

6 "And Balak saw" (Numbers 22:2) When his messengers came to Bilaam, the Holy One, blesed be He, said to him, "Who are these people" (Numbers 22:9). Bilaam said to him, (Numbers 22:10), "Balak son of Beor, king of Moav, sent to me." Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said, "This is one of three people that the Holy One, blessed be He, examined and found to be a carriage of urine: Kayin, Chizkiyah and Bilaam. Kayin - at the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'Where is Hevel, your brother' (Genesis 4:9), he sought to - as if it were possible - deceive Him. He should have said, 'Master of the world, the hidden things and the revealed things are revealed in front of You, and You ask me about me about my brother?' Instead he said to Him (Genesis 4:9), 'I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?' The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, 'By your life, this is how you spoke? "The blood of your brother is crying out."' Chizkiyah - when he got up (recovered) from his illness, Merodach-baladan sent him a gift - as it is stated (Isaiah 39:1), 'At that time, Merodach-baladan, sent' - Yishayah came [and] said to him, 'What did those people say, and from where did they come to you.' He should have said, 'You are a prophet of the Omnipresent, and you ask me?' Instead he began to be haughty and said (Isaiah 39:3), 'From a distant land; they have come from Babylonia.' Isaiah said, 'Since you have spoken like this (Isaiah 39:6-7), "Days are coming when everything in your palace, will be carried off [...]. And some of your sons, your own issue, whom you will have fathered, will be taken to serve as eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylonia."' And likewise Bilaam the evildoer - at the time that Balak sent to him, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, 'Who are these people with you'; he should have said, 'Master of the world, 'Everything is revealed in front of You and there is not anything hidden from you, and You ask me?' Instead, he said to Him (Numbers 22:10), 'Balak son of Beor, king of Moav, sent to me.' The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, 'Since you speak to Me like this (Numbers 22:12), "you may not curse the nation."' The Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'Evildoer of the world, it is written about Israel (Zechariah 2:12), "since one who touches you is like one who touches the pupil of his eye," and you are going to touch them and curse them? His eye shall be removed.' As it is stated (Numbers 24:3), 'with the shut eye,' to fulfill, whoever 'touches them is like one who touches the pupil of his eye.'"

19 (Numb. 23:14-16) “And he built seven altars [and offered a ram and a bull on each altar]. Then he said unto Balak, ‘Stand here [beside your burnt offerings and let me make myself available to the Lord over there]….’ And God appeared to Balaam and he placed a word (davar) in his mouth”: Like a man who places a bit upon the mouth of his animal and twists him to where he wants [it to go]. So was the Holy One, blessed be He, twisting his mouth. When he said to him, “Return to Balak and bless them,” he said, “Why should I go to him to anguish him?” [So] he sought to go to [his own home] and not to Balak. The Holy One, blessed be He, put a bit into his mouth, [and said] (in Numb. 23:16, cont.) “Return to Balak and speak thus.” (Numb. 23:17) “So he came unto him, and there he was standing beside his burnt offerings [together with the ministers of Moab].” Concerning the first occasion, it is written (in Numb. 23:6), “with all the ministers of Moab.” When they saw that they had derived no benefit at all, they left him; and only a small portion of the ministers of Moab were left with him. (Numb. 23:17) “Balak said to him, ‘What did the Lord say’”: When he saw that [Balaam] was not in control of himself to say what he wanted, [Balak] sat himself down and mocked him. As soon as he saw that he was mocking him, Balaam said to him, “Get up from there. It is not fitting to sit while the words of the Omnipresent are being spoken.” (Numb. 23:18) “Rise up Balak and listen; give ear to me, you son of Zippor”: Both of them were [distinguished] sons of [undistinguished] fathers, for they had made themselves greater than their fathers.⁴⁰On the importance of having a distinguished lineage, see, e.g., Ta‘an 21b. [Hence] (in Numb. 24:3), “An oracle of Balaam son of Beor (literally, his son is Beor)”; (in Numb 23:18) “give ear to me, you son of Zippor (literally, his son is Zippor)!” ⁴¹The unusual wording of Numb. 23:18 and 24:3 suggests that Balak and Balaam both had fathers undistinguished enough to be called their sons. (Numb. 23:19) “God is not a human, that he should speak falsehood”: He is not like flesh and blood. [When a person of] flesh and blood acquires friends and finds others nicer than they, he forsakes the former ones. But [the Holy One, blessed be He,] is not like that. It is not possible [for Him] to be false to the oath of the early ancestors. (Ibid., cont.) “Has he promised and not fulfilled”: (This phrase can also be read as, “He has promised and not fulfilled.”) When he promises to bring evils upon them, He will cancel them, if they have repented. You find it written (in Exod. 22:19), “Whoever sacrifices to a god shall be devoted to destruction.” When they made the calf, they merited destruction. So I thought to curse and destroy them. But when they repented a little, He suspended [any punishment] and (according to Exod. 32:14) “The Lord repented of the evil which He had planned to do to His people.” And so too in many places. As he said to Jochaniah (in Jer. 22:30), “as none of his seed shall succeed….” But He said (in Hag. 2:22), “And I will overturn the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the might of the kingdoms of the nations,” [since it is stated] (Hag. 2:23), “’On that day,’ declares the Lord of Hosts, ‘I will take you, O My servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and make you as a signet.’” And so He suspended what He said to his [grand]father (in Jer. 22:24), “’As I live,’ declares the Lord, ‘if you, O King Coniah, son of Jehoiakim, of Judah, were a signet on My right hand, I would tear you off even from there.’” And so with the men of Anatoth, it is written (in Jer. 11:23), “No remnant shall be left of them, for I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth.” [But] once they repented, see what is written (in Neh. 7:27), “The men of Anatoth were one hundred [and twenty-eight].” (Numb. 23:21) “No one has beheld falsehood in Jacob […]”: Balaam said, “He does not pay attention to the transgressions in their hands, He only pays attention to their merit.” (Numb. 23:21, cont.) “The Lord their God is with him”:⁴²In the Biblical context the HIM would normally refer to Israel, but the midrash understands this HIM in the singular throughout this paragraph. You (Balak) said to me (in Numb. 23:7), “Come, curse [Jacob] for me.” If an orchard has no keeper, a thief is able to harm it; or if the keeper falls asleep, the thief will enter [it]. But in the case of these people (according to Ps. 121:4), “Behold, the One keeping Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” So how can I harm [Israel]? (Numb. 23:21) “The Lord their God is with him (i.e., Moses)”: Balak said to him, “Since you cannot touch them because of Moses, who protects them, look at [Joshua,] his successor, and what he will be.” He said to him, “He also will be strong like him.” (Numb. 23:21, cont.) “A royal war cry is within him.” He is blowing [a trumpet], giving a war cry, and throwing down a wall.⁴³I.e., the wall of Jericho. (Numb. 23:22) “God brings them out of Egypt”: You said to me (in Numb. 22:5), “’Here is a people that has come out of Egypt,’ on their own. But that is not so. Rather [God] brought them out.” (Ibid., cont.) “Like the heights⁴⁴Rt.: T‘P. The word can also mean “horns” and is so translated in most English versions in order to fit the context of the next word (R’M), which is then understood to mean “wild ox.” See the following note. of His loftiness (r'm)”:⁴⁵In most translations the word is understood to mean “wild ox,” but the midrash regards it as a derived from the root RWM, a verb meaning “to be high.” Such is His nature. [When] they sinned a little, He brought them down like a bird, as stated (in Hos. 9:11), “Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird.” [When] they are worthy, He raises them up and exalts (rt.: rwm) them on high like a bird. Thus it is stated (in Is. 60:8), “Who are these that fly like a cloud?” (Numb. 23:23) “There is no augury in Jacob and no divination in Israel”: Here you are (Balak) practicing augury and divining in what place you may prevail against them, but they are not like that. When they have to fight against enemies, a high priest stands up and puts on urim and thummim, which are asked about [the will of] the Holy One, blessed be He. So all the gentiles practice divination and augury, but these (Israelites) prove them false through repentance. It is so written (in Is. 44:25), “Who frustrates omens of liars and confounds diviners.”⁴⁶Cf. yShab. 6:9 (8d). (Numb. 23:23, cont.) “Now it is said for Jacob and for Israel, ‘What has God done?’”: His (i.e., Balaam's) eye saw that Israel was sitting (yoshevim) before the Holy One, blessed be He, like a pupil before his master in the future to come and was asking Him why each and every parashah was written; and so it says (in Is. 23:18), “for her⁴⁷The midrash reads the HER as referring to Torah, but in the context of Isaiah the HER refers to Tyre as a harlot. profits shall belong to those who dwell (yoshevim) before the Lord […].” It also says (in Is. 30:20), “and no more shall your Teacher hide Himself, for your eyes shall see your Teacher.” The ministering angels will ask them, “What has the Holy One, blessed be He, taught you?” As they cannot enter their (i.e., Israel's) precincts, as stated (in Numb. 23:23), “now it is said for Jacob and for Israel, [‘What has God done?’]” (Numb. 23:24) “Here is a people rising up like a lion.” You have no nation in the world like them. Here they are sleeping away from the Torah and the commandments. [Then] having risen from their sleep, they stand up like lions. Quickly reciting the Shema', they proclaim the sovereignty of the Holy One, blessed be He. Then having become like lions, they embark on worldly business pursuits. If one of them should stumble with all of them, or if destroying demons come to touch one of them, he proclaims the sovereignty of the Holy One, blessed be He.⁴⁸On reciting the Shema‘ to be safe from demons, see yBer. 1:1 (2d); Ber. 5a; M. Pss. 4:9. (Numb. 23:24, cont.) “It (a lion) does not sleep until it has eaten its prey”: When he (the reader) says (in the Shema' of Deut. 6:4), “the Lord is one,” the destroying demons are destroyed on his account, [and] they intone after him (as the liturgical response), “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever,” and flee.⁴⁹In reciting the proper liturgical response to the Shema‘, even the demons recognize the sovereignty of the Holy One. Moreover, through the recitation of the Shema' he is sustained from the day watch to the night watch.⁵⁰I.e., his guardian angels for the morning and the night. And when he goes to sleep, he entrusts his spirit into the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated (in Ps. 31:6), “Into Your hand I entrust my spirit.”⁵¹Cf. Ber. 5a. Then when he awakens [and] proclaims the sovereignty of the Holy One, blessed be He, the night watch transfers him to the day watch. Thus it is stated (Ps. 130:6), “My soul [yearns] for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning, the watchmen for the morning.” For that reason Balaam says, “What nation is like this one.” (Numb. 23:24, cont.) “[And drunk] the blood of the slain”: He prophesied that Moses would not die, until he had taken vengeance upon him and the five kings of Midian, as stated (Numb. 23:24), “it does not sleep until it has eaten its prey,” this [prey] is Balaam; “and drunk the blood of the slain,” [these are the five kings of Midian. It is so stated] (in Numb. 31:8), “And they slew the five kings of Midian upon their corpses.” (Numb. 31:6) “With the vessels of the sanctuary”: This is the [high priestly diadem] plate upon which it is written (according to Exod. 28:36), “holy to the Lord.”⁵²For a description, see Shab. 63b; Suk. 5a. (Numb. 31:6, cont.) “And the trumpets for sounding the alarm in his hand”: Moses said to Israel, “Balaam the wicked is practicing magic for you⁵³Cf. the parallel account in Gen. R. 20:20, which reads, “for them.” and is making the five kings fly. Show him the [high priestly diadem] plate on which the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is engraved,⁵⁴Galuf. Cf. Gk.: glufein (“to engrave.”) and they will fall down before you.” You know that it is so written (in Numb. 31:8), “And they slew the five kings of Midian upon their corpses […] and Balaam ben Beor [with the sword].” What did that wicked man want with the kings of Midian? Is it not in fact written (in Numb. 24:25), “Then Balaam arose and went back to his own place?” It is simply this: when he heard that twenty-four thousand [Israelites] had fallen (in Numb. 25:9) through his counsel,⁵⁵See Deut. R. 1:2. he returned to get his wage. For that reason Balaam ben Beor is recorded (in Numb. 31:8) together with the five kings of Midian.

21 (Numb. 24:3) “So he took up his theme and said.”⁵⁶These words also appear in Numb. 23:7, 18; 24:15, 20, 21, 23, but the context of this verse certainly fits the sense of the midrash. A legal teaching: In the case of one who eats without washing his hands, what penalty will he incur? Thus have our masters taught: Washing hands before the meal is an option; after the meal it is an obligation.⁵⁷Hul. 105a, but not in the Mishnah. It once happened at the time of [religious persecutions] that there was an Israelite shopkeeper who would cook [and sell] both clean meat and pork, so that they would not notice that he was a Jew. Now his custom was this: Whenever anyone came into his shop and did not wash his hands, he knew that he was a foreigner and he would set pork before him; but whenever anyone washed his hands and recited the blessing, he knew that he was a Jew and would serve him clean meat. Once a certain Jew came in to eat there but did not wash his hands. Thinking that he was a foreigner, he set pork before him. He ate without saying the blessing. When he came to settle the account with him for the bread and for the meat (the pork was expensively priced). He said to him, “I have such and such against you over the meat which you have eaten, for the slice is worth ten manah.”⁵⁸Gk.: mna. He said to him, “Yesterday I ate it for eight. Now today you want ten!” He said to him, “This which you ate is from a hog.” When he said this to him, his hair stood on end, for he became terrified and afraid. He said to him privately, “I am a Jew and you have given me pork!” He said to him, “A curse upon you! When I saw that you ate without washing your hands and without a blessing, I thought that you were a foreigner.” Hence the sages have said, “The [omission of the] first water (before the meal) caused him to serve him pork; [the neglect of] the latter water (after the meal) took a life.”⁵⁹Yoma 83b; Hul. 106a. [The second part of the previous statement is due to] a story about a certain person who ate pulse without washing his hands. When he went down to the marketplace, his hands were filthy from the pulse. When an acquaintance of his saw him, he went and said to his wife, “Your husband has mentioned as a token⁶⁰Siman. Gk.: semeion. to you [of my authenticity] that he has just now eaten pulse.⁶¹I.e., the fact that he knew what his friend had just eaten would be evidence of his having spoken with him. Send him that ring.” [So] she gave it to him. After a time her husband came. He said to her, “Where is the ring?” She said to him, “So and so came with your tokens, and I gave it to him.” Becoming filled with rage, he arose and killed her. Therefore the sages have said, “Whoever does not wash his hands after the meal is like one who takes a life.” Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, has warned Israel not to transgress even insignificant commandments, as stated (in Deut. 32:47), “For it (the Torah) is no empty thing for you, in that it is your very life.” Even some commandment that you consider to be empty and insignificant has within it life and length of days. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “If you keep My commandments, I will cast down your enemies before you,” as stated (in Ps. 81:14-15), “O that my people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways. Then I would virtually subdue their enemies.” When Balaam saw how Israel observed [even] the insignificant commandments, he said, “Who can curse these people, when they observe commandments and when His name is shared with them.” It is so stated (in Numb. 23:21), “The Lord their God is with them.” Whoever curses them is as if he curses the face of the Divine Presence, because His name is joined with them.”⁶²I.e., the name El (“God”) forms part of the name Israel. He began turning to oracles, as stated (in Numb. 24:3), “So he took up his theme.” This text is related (to Prov. 27:14), “[Whoever rises early in the morning to] bless his neighbor in a loud voice [shall have it reckoned to him as a curse].” When Balaam came to curse Israel, the Holy One, blessed be He, diverted his tongue, so that he began to bless. It is so stated (in Deut. 23:6), “But the Lord your God did not want to heed Balaam; so the Lord your God turned [the curse into a blessing for you].” The Holy One, blessed be He, put power in his voice and his voice went from one end of the world to the other, so that the nations would hear that he was blessing [Israel]. Now it is stated concerning him (in Prov. 27:14), “Whoever [rises early in the morning to] bless his neighbor in a loud voice [shall have it reckoned to him as a curse].” [This is] as stated (in Numb. 24:14), “come, let me advise you.” Then he killed twenty-four thousand. There is no curse [as damaging] as this.