פירוש על במדבר 22:28

זה שלש רגלים THESE THREE TIMES — By these words he suggested to him: You seek to root out a nation that celebrates three festivals (שלש רגלים) annually?! (Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 9).

ויפתח ה' את פי האתון, He provided her with the ability to speak; we are familiar with the verse in Psalms 51,17 which we recite daily before our prayers, asking G’d ה' שפתי תפתח, O Lord please open my lips.” G’d went to all these lengths in order to provide Bileam with yet another incentive to become a penitent. Solomon in Proverbs 16,1 points out מה' מענה לשון, “the answer of the tongue comes from G’d.” Even when man is not prepared to change his way for the better, G’d, on occasion, initiates a step in this direction; how much more so will He extend a helping hand to sinners who seek to mend their ways! All of this in order to save the sinner from perdition.

Which celebrates three pilgrimages a year. [You might ask why] He alluded to this mitzvah and not to any other mitzvah? The answer is that regarding the pilgrimages it is written three times, “All of your males shall see” (Shemos 34:23). The Rabbis expound the word “see” to teach that just as you come to see, [so you come to be seen by Hashem] (Chagigah 2a). Thus the angel said to him, “You are coming to uproot a people from the world whom Hashem wishes to see three times [a year]. How can this take place if you obliterate them from the world?”

V. 28. ויפתח וגו׳. In dem Momente, in welchem der Mann gehobenen Geisteswortes, von Leidenschaft und niederer Begierde umnachtet, dieser geistigen Begabung unwürdig erscheint, gewährt Gott der Tierintelligenz und dem Drange berechtigter Tierempfindung die Gabe menschlichen Wortes — und bereitet eben damit zugleich den Mann gehobener Menschenrede, wie unwürdig er derselben sich auch gezeigt und wie missbräuchlich er sie auch bis jetzt verwendet, auf den Moment vor, wo sein Menschenwort in den Dienst der Gottesrede treten soll und er — widerstrebend — seinen Mund zum Herold göttlicher Wahrheitsverkündigung wird leihen müssen. Der dem Tiere Sprache verleiht, kann auch eines Bileams Mund zum Verkünder Seines Wortes gebrauchen. — רגלים (siehe Schmot zu Kap. 23, 14).

Adonoy opened the mouth of the donkey. Apparently this, too, was a necessity for that specific time. It was intended to show Bil'am that he is comparable to this donkey which does not naturally speak but, only to honor Israel, Hashem opened its mouth. Bil'am was identical — it was only a necessity for that specific time that Hashem opened his mouth with prophecy to honor Israel. Additionally, it was to prevent the nations of the world from claiming that if they were given prophets, they would have improved their ways.

מה עשיתי לך , “what have I done to you?” [It did not dawn on the ass that her master had not seen the angel barring the path. Ed.] The letter ל in the word לך, has a semivowel sheva.