Midras Bilangan 23:22: Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Midrash Tanchuma, Bereshit Rabbah & Shemot Rabbah

Benayahu asked Ash medai why it was that when he saw the blind man straying that he so promptly interfered to guide him? "Because," replied he, "it was proclaimed in heaven concerning that man that he was perfectly righteous, and that whoever did him a favor would deserve the inheritance of the future world." "And when you saw the man overcome with wine and wandering out of his way, why did you put him right again?" "Because," again replied Ashmedai, "it was announced in heaven that he was exceedingly wicked, and I have done him a good service, so that whatever good he might have done, he should enjoy it in this world." "And why did you weep when you saw the merry wedding party?" He replied: "Because the bridegroom was destined to die within thirty days and the bride will have to wait thirteen years for her husband's brother who is now but an infant." "Why did you laugh so when the man ordered a pair of shoes that would last him seven years?" "Because the man himself was not sure of living seven days." "And why did you jeer when you saw the conjuror at his tricks?" "Because," said Ashmedai, "the man was at the very time sitting on a princely treasure and he did not, with all his pretentions, know that it was under him." King Solomon decided to detain Ashmedai till the building of the Temple was completed. One day when the king was alone with Ashmedai, he asked the latter: "What is your superiority over us concerning which the passage reads (Num. 23, 32) He has the strength of a unicorn, concerning which tradition alleges that the word strength refers to ministering angels, and the word unicorn refers to demons?" Ashmedai replied: "Only remove this chain from my neck and give me thy signet ring, and I will soon show you my superiority." No sooner did King Solomon comply with this request, than Ashmedai snatching him up, swallowed him; then stretching forth his wings — one touching the heaven and the other the earth — he vomitted him out again to a distance of four hundred miles. It is with reference to this time that Solomon said (Ecc. 1, 3) What profit hath a man of all his labor which he toileth under the sun? and (Ib. 2, 10) This it my portion of all my labor. What does the article this mean? Rab and Samuel are at variance upon this point, for the one said it means his staff, while the other holds that it means his kingly garment, with which Solomon went about from door to door begging, and whenever he came he said (Ib. 1, 12) I, the preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. When in his wanderings he came to the Sanhedrin, they reasoned, saying: "If he were merely insane he would not keep repeating the same things over and over again; therefore what docs this mean?" They inquired of Benayahu: "Does the king invite you into his presence?" "No!" came the reply. They then sent to see whether the king visited his harem. And the reply came. "Yes, he comes." Then the Rabbis sent word back that they (the harem) should look at his feet, for the demon's feet are like those of a cock. To this the answer was: "He comes to us in stockings." Upon this information the Rabbis escorted Solomon to the palace, and restored to him the chain and the ring, on both of which the name of God was engraved." Arrayed with these, Solomon advanced straightway into the presence-chamber. Ashmedai sat at that moment on the throne, but as soon as he saw Solomon enter, the took fright and raising his wings flew away. In spite of this Solomon continued in great fear of him; and this explains the passage (Songs 3, 7, 8) Behold the bed which is Solomon's; three score valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel; they all hold swords being expert in war; every man has his sword upon his thigh, because of fear in the night. Rab and Samuel are at variance upon this point; one holds that Solomon was a king and a layman, the other holds that he was king, a layman and again a king.

(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.”⁶²In 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 his deeds.” He said to him, “He also will be strong like him.” (Numb. 23:21:) “The Lord their God is with him; a royal war cry is within him.” He is blowing [a trumpet], giving a war cry, and throwing down a wall.⁶³I.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 heights⁶⁴Rt.: 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).”⁶⁵In 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 and nullify their divinations. It is so written (in Is. 44:25), “Who frustrates omens of liars and confounds diviners.”⁶⁶Cf. 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 and was hearing why each and every parashah was written; and so it says (in Is. 23:18), “for her⁶⁷The 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, or if destroying demons come to touch one of them, he proclaims the sovereignty of the Holy One, blessed be He.⁶⁸On 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.”⁶⁹In 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.⁷⁰I.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.”⁷¹Cf. 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, “There is no nation 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.”⁷²For 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 has practiced magic for you⁷³Cf. the parallel account in Gen. R. 20:20, which reads, “for them.” and is making the five kings fly. So he flies and makes [others] fly. Show him the [high priestly diadem] plate on which the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is engraved,⁷⁴Galuf. 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,⁷⁵See Deut. R. 1:2. he returned to get his wage. For that reason Balaam ben Beor is recorded (n Numb. 31:8) together with the five kings of Midian.

What was that tree [of knowledge] from which Adam and Eve ate? Rabbi Meir said: It was wheat. When a person does not have knowledge, people say: That person has never eaten wheat bread in all his days.²⁷This shows that wheat is a food that stimulates knowledge and intelligence. Rabbi Shmuel bar Yitzḥak asked before Rabbi Ze’eira, saying to him: ‘Is it possible that it was wheat?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘But is it not written that it was a “tree”?’ He said to him: ‘It [the wheat in Eden] rose to a great height, like the cedars of Lebanon.’²⁸And therefore could rightly be described as a “tree.”
Rabbi Yaakov bar Aḥa said: There is a dispute between Rabbi Neḥemya and the Rabbis.²⁹They were discussing the blessing over bread, which praises God for “bringing forth bread” from the earth. The difficulty is that bread does not, of course, grow from the ground. Rabbi Neḥemya said: [“Blessed be God…] who brings forth [hamotzi] bread from the earth, [meaning] that He brought forth bread from the earth in the past.³⁰Hamotzi (“who brings forth”) can also connote an event in the past (see Numbers 23:22). When Adam was created and placed in the Garden, finished bread grew from the ground. This was discontinued when he sinned. The Rabbis say: [Blessed be God …] who brings forth [motzi] bread from the earth, [meaning] that He will bring forth bread from the earth in the future,³¹Motzi (“who brings forth”) can also connote an event in the future (see Exodus 6:7). In the Messianic future finished bread will grow from the ground. as it is stated: “There will be bread [pisat] from grain upon the earth” (Psalms 72:16).
Lefet³²Lefet means turnip. In some dialects, the word pisat (translated in the Psalms verse under discussion as bread) also means turnip. The midrash explains the connection. – there is a dispute between two Amora’im, Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak and Rabbi Shmuel bar Ami. One said: Lefet – was it not [once] bread [lo pat]?³³In Adam’s day one did not need to eat turnips, because there was bread growing from the ground. And the other said: Lefet – is it going to be bread [lo pat] in the future?³⁴In the Messianic future, instead of turnips there will be bread growing from the ground.
Rabbi Yirmeya recited the blessing before Rabbi Zeira: Who brings forth [hamotzi] bread from the earth, and he praised him. [Did he act] in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Neḥemya? This is bewildering.³⁵In a dispute between an individual rabbi and the Rabbis as a group, it is the view of the majority that should be followed. In this case, Rabbi Neḥemya was arguing with the Rabbis. [No,] it was, rather, so as not to slur the [adjacent identical] letters.³⁶The word before “hamotzi” is haolam, which ends with a mem. Were one to recite the word as motzi, the first letter of motzi would be slurred with the final letter of haolam. Using the word hamotzi solves that problem.
Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai said: They [the forbidden fruits that Adam ate] were grapes, as it is stated: “Their grapes are grapes of poison, clusters of bitterness for them” (Deuteronomy 32:32) – those clusters brought bitterness to the world.
Rabbi Abba of Akko said it was a citron. That is what is written: “The woman saw that the tree was good for eating…” (Genesis 3:6).³⁷Implying that the tree itself had a good taste. Go out and see which is the tree whose wood has a taste like its fruit, and you will find only the citron.
Rabbi Yosei says: They were figs. It is a matter that is derived from its context.³⁸After the sin, Adam and Eve used fig leaves to hide their nakedness (Genesis 3:7). This is analogous to the a prince’s son who sinned with one of the maidservants. When the prince heard, he expelled him and had him removed outside the palace. He circulated among the houses of all the maidservants, but none would receive him. But the one with whom he sinned opened her door and received him. So, too, when Adam the first man ate from that tree, the Holy One blessed be He expelled him and had him removed outside the Garden of Eden. He circulated among all the trees but none would receive him.³⁹They would not allow him to use their leaves to clothe himself. What did they say to him? Rabbi Berekhya said: ‘Here is the thief who deceived his Creator.’ That is what is written: “Let no arrogant foot come to me” (Psalms 36:12) – the foot of one who was arrogant towards his Creator. “Let the hand of the wicked not move me” (Psalms 36:12) – you may not take a leaf from me. But the fig tree, whose fruit he had eaten, opened its door and received him. That is what is written: “They sewed fig leaves” (Genesis 3:7).
What [type of] fig was it ? Rabbi Avin said: It was the berat sheva species, as it brought seven [sheva] days of mourning to the world.⁴⁰As a result of the sin, death, and the ensuing seven-day period of mourning, was introduced into the world. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: It was the berat elita species, as it brought weeping [elita] to the world.
Rabbi Azarya and Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: Far be it that God should have revealed [the identity of] that tree to any man, nor will He reveal it in the future. See what is written: “A woman who will approach any animal [to copulate with her, you shall kill the woman and the animal]” (Leviticus 20:16) – though the person sinned, what sin did the animal commit? [The animal did not sin,] but it is [killed] so that the animal should not pass through the marketplace, where people would say: This is the animal on whose account so-and-so was stoned.⁴¹And the memory of that woman would be sullied. If He is concerned about the dignity of his [Adam’s] descendants [even though they had committed a grievous sin], is it not all the more so regarding his [Adam’s] own dignity [after his sin]? That is a rhetorical question.