Midrash su Numeri 23:6

(Numb. 23:4:) “Then God encountered Balaam.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “You evil man! What are you doing?” (Ibid., cont.:) “And [Balaam] said unto him, ‘I have prepared the seven altars [and offered a ram and a bull on each altar].’” [The matter] is comparable to a money-changer who lies about the weights. When the head of the marketplace came, he noticed him. He said to him, “What are you doing inflating and lying about the weights?” [The money changer then] said to him, “I have already sent a gift⁴⁶Gk.: doron. to your house.” So also it was in the case of Balaam. The holy spirit cried out to him. It said to him, “You evil man! What are you doing.” He said to it (in Numb. 23:4), “I have prepared the seven altars [and offered a ram and a bull on each altar].” It said to him (in Prov. 15:17), “’Better a meal of vegetable greens [where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred in it].’ Better the dinner of unleavened bread and bitter herbs which Israel ate in Egypt, than bulls which you offer with hands of [hatred].” (Numb. 23:5:) “So the Lord put a word (davar) in Balaam's mouth,” which twisted his mouth and pierced it,⁴⁷Both “twisted” and “pierced” connote the use of a bit on a horse. as one would drive a nail into a board. R. Eliezer (understanding davar as word) says, “An angel was speaking.” But R. Joshua says, “[It was] the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated, (in Numb. 23:5), “Return unto Balak and speak thus.” (Numb. 23:6:) “So he returned unto him, and there he was standing beside his burnt offerings with all the ministers of Moab,” who stood anxiously awaiting [the time] when he would come and speak. (Numb. 23:7:) “So he took up his theme and said, ‘From Aram, Balak the king of Moab has brought me, from the hills of the east.’” I was one of the exalted ones,⁴⁸Ramim. The midrash links this word with ARAM in Numb. 23:7. but Balak has brought me down to the pit of corruption.⁴⁹Numb. R. 20:19; also above, Lev. 5:1 and the notes there. (Ibid.:) “Brought me (yanheni, rt.: nhh),” [is to be understood] just as you say (in Ezek. 32:18), “bring (rt.: nhh) the masses of Egypt [and cast them down… unto the lowest part of the netherworld along with those who go down to the pit].”⁵⁰Thus Numb. 23:7 comes to mean that Balak BROUGHT (rt.: NHH) Balaam down to the grave. The unusual Biblical translation is necessary to fit the sense of the midrash. Another interpretation (of Numb. 23:7), “From Aram.” I was with the highest (ram) of the high, and Balak has brought me down from my glory. [The matter] is comparable to one who was walking with the king. When he saw [some] robbers,⁵¹Gk.: lestai. he left the king and toured along with the robbers. When he returned to be with the king, the king said to him, “Go with whomever you have toured with, because it not possible for you to walk with me again.” Similarly Balaam had been bound to the holy spirit. When he paired himself with Balak, the holy spirit departed from him. So he returned to being a diviner as in the beginning. Thus it is stated (at his execution in Josh. 13:22), “Balaam ben Beor the diviner….” Therefore did he say, “I was high up (ram), and Balak brought me down.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 23:7), “From Aram, Balak the king of Moab has brought me, from the hills of the east.” [Balaam] said to [Balak], “We are alike, even both of us, for being ungrateful, because were it not for our father Abraham, there would have been no Balak. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 19:29), ‘And it came to pass that when God destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot away.’ Except for Abraham, he would not have delivered Lot from Sodom; and you are one of the children of the children of Lot.⁵²As a Moabite, Balak was descended from Moab, the son of Lot. See Gen. 19:37. Moreover, if it were not for their father Jacob, I should not have been present in the world, because Laban had sons only through the merit of Jacob, since it is written at the beginning (in Gen. 29:9), ‘Rachel came with the sheep.’ Now if he had sons, how was his daughter a shepherdess? As soon as Jacob came there, sons were given to him, as stated (in Gen. 31:1), ‘Now he heard the things that Laban's sons [were saying].’⁵³Jewish tradition gives three views on Balaam’s relation to Laban: That he was Laban himself, that he was Laban’s nephew, and that he was Laban’s grandson. See Ginzberg, vol. III, p. 354; vol.. V, p. 303, n. 229; vol. VI, pp. 123f., nn. 722f.; p. 130, n. 764. And it also says [that Laban said] (in Gen. 30:27), ‘I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.’ So if it were not for their ancestors, you and I would not have been present in the world”. (Numb. 23:7, cont.:) “Come, curse Jacob for me.” Whoever curses the Children of Jacob is cursing himself, since it is stated (in Gen. 12:3), “and the one who curses you, I will curse.” It also says (in Gen. 27:29), “cursed be those who curse you,⁵⁴See above, Gen. 6:16. and blessed be those who bless you.” (Numb. 23:7:) “Come, curse [Jacob] for me.” If you had told me to curse another people, for example, the Children of Abraham from the concubines, I would have been able [to do so]. But Jacob? When a king selects a portion for himself, and someone else gets up and speaks disparagingly about it, will he keep his life? Now these people are the Holy One, blessed be He’s, heritage, His portion, and His treasure. Thus it is stated (in Deut. 32:9), “For the Lord's share is His people; Jacob the portion of His heritage.” And it is written (in Exod. 19:5), “and you shall be My treasure.” (Numb. 23:7, cont.:) “And come, denounce Israel.” When a king takes a crown and puts it on his head, and someone says of it that it is nothing, will he keep his life? Now in regard to these people it is written about them (in Is. 49:3), “Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” (Numb. 23:8:) “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?” When they deserved to be cursed, they were not cursed, when Jacob went in to receive the blessings. It is written (in Gen. 27:16), “Then [she clothed his arms and the hairless part of his neck] with the skins of goat kids.” His father said to him (in Gen. 27:18), “Who are you?” He said to him (in vs. 19), “I am Esau, your first-born.” Does not the one who puts forth a lie with his mouth deserve to be cursed? Yet not only [was he not cursed], but he was blessed; as stated (in Gen. 27:33), “he shall also be blessed.” So how do I curse them? (In the words of Numb. 23:8) “God has not cursed.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 23:8), “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?” According to universal custom, when a legion⁵⁵Lat.: legio. rebels against the king, it incurs the penalty of death. Now since these denied and revolted against Him, when they said to the calf (in Exod. 32:4), “This is your God, O Israel,” did they not, therefore, deserve to have Him destroy them at that time? [Still] He did not cease to cherish them. Instead He had clouds of glory accompany them. Nor did He withhold the manna and the well from them. And so it says (in Neh. 9:18-20), “Even though they had made themselves a molten calf […], You in Your great mercies did not abandon them in the desert […]; and You did not withhold Your manna from their mouth […].” How can I curse them? This [question] is related (to Numb. 23:8), “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?” When He commanded them concerning the blessings and the curses, He mentioned them (as the people) in connection with the blessings where it is stated (in Deut. 27:12), “These shall stand [on Mount Gerizim] for blessing the people;” but He did not mention them in connection with the curses. Thus it is stated (in vs. 13), “And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse.” Moreover, when they sin and He plans to bring a curse upon them, it is not written that He Himself is bringing them (i.e., the curses); but with respect to the blessings, He Himself is blessing them; for so it says (in Deut. 28:1, 8), “And it shall come to pass that, if you diligently obey […], the Lord your God will set you high [over all the nations of the earth]. The Lord will command the blessing to be with you.” But with respect to the curses, it is written (according to Deut. 28:15), “And it shall come to pass that, if you do not obey […], then [all these curses] shall come upon you,” [i.e.,] of their own accord. Ergo (in Numb. 23:8), “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?” (Numb. 23:9:) “For from the top of the rocks I see him,” in order to make the hatred of that evil man (i.e., Balaam) known to you. As from his blessing you may know his thoughts. To what is he comparable? To someone who came to chop down a tree. One who is not an expert chops off the branches one at a time and becomes tired, but the clever one exposes the roots and [then] chops it down. Similarly that wicked man said, “How shall I curse each and every tribe? Rather I will go to their roots.” When he came to touch them, he found them hard [to cut]. It is therefore stated (in Numb. 23:9), “For from the top of the rocks I see him.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 23:9), “For from the top of the rocks,” these are the patriarchs; (ibid., cont.) “and from the hills I behold him,” these are the matriarchs. (Numb. 23:9, cont.:) “Here is a people dwelling alone.” When He makes them rejoice, no nation rejoices along with them. Rather they are all afflicted, [as stated (in Deut. 32:12),] “The Lord alone did lead him, and there was no foreign god with him.” (Numb. 23:9, cont.:), “And they shall not be reckoned (rt.: hshb) among the nations.” But when the nations are rejoicing in this world, they (i.e., the Children of Israel) eat with each and every kingdom, and no one is charging [such pleasures] against their account (rt: hshb).⁵⁶In other words the pleasures that Israel enjoys in this world are not to be deducted from their pleasures in the world to come. It is so stated (in Numb. 23:9, cont.), “and they shall not be reckoned (rt.: hshb) among the nations.” (Numb. 23:10:) “Who has counted the dust of Jacob?” Who is able to count the commandments which they carry out upon the dust: (In Deut. 22:10,) “You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together”; (in Deut. 22:9,) “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed”; (in Numb. 19:9,) “Then someone clean shall gather the ashes of the heifer”; (in Numb. 5:17,) “[Then the high priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel] and some of the dust which is on the floor of the tabernacle”; (in Lev. 19:23,) “[Moreover, when you come into the land and plant any tree for food, you shall count its fruit as forbidden,] three years it shall be forbidden to you, [it shall not be eaten]”; and so on with all of them. (Numb. 23:10, cont.:) “Or numbered the sand (rb') of Israel,” [i.e.,] their copulations (rt.: rb').⁵⁷For this interpretation, cf. Nid. 31a. Who can number the masses⁵⁸Gk.: ochloi. that have emerged from them, from those women who seize on and cherish the commandments (of procreation), as stated (in Gen. 30:15), “But she said to her, ‘Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband?’” [And so too (in Gen. 30:3, 9),] “Here is my maid Bilhah; go into her.” “When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, [she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife].” [And so too (in Gen. 16:3),] “So Abraham's wife Sarai took her maidservant Hagar the Egyptian… [and gave her to her husband Abraham as a wife].” (Numb. 23:10, cont.:) “Let me die the death of the upright.” The matter is comparable to a butcher who came to slaughter a cow that belonged to a king. The king began to take notice. When [the butcher] realized [what was happening], he began by discarding the knife, then giving [the cow] a rubdown [and] filling the feeding trough for it. He began to say, “Let my life be forfeit for coming to slaughter it; but observe that I have [now given it sustenance].” Similarly Balaam said, “Let my life be forfeit for coming to curse, but I will bless [them].” Ergo (in Numb. 23:10), “let me die the death of the upright!”

(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.”

18 (Numb. 22:41) “So it came to pass in the morning that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, [and from there he saw the edge of the people]”: Balak was a more of a master of divinations and auguries than Balaam, for [Balaam] was being dragged along after him like a blind man. What did the two of them resemble? Someone who had a knife in his hand but did not know [where to find] the [animal] joints, while his companion knew the joints but did not have a knife in his hand. Balak saw the places in which Israel would fall and (ibid.) “brought him up into the high places of Baal.” [This was Baal] Peor, where he saw that Israel would fall. (Numb. 23:1) “Then Balaam said unto Balak, ‘Build seven altars for me here’”: Why seven altars? [They] corresponded to seven righteous ones from Adam to Moses, who built seven altars and had been accepted: Adam, Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. Then [Balaam] said, “Why did you accept these? Was it not because of the service (the sacrifices) which they performed before you that you accepted them? Is it not [more] suitable for you to be served by seventy nations and not by [merely] one nation?” The holy spirit answered him (in Prov. 17:1), “Better a dry morsel with tranquility.” Better (in the words of Lev. 7:10) “a grain offering mixed with oil or dry” than (in Prov. 17:1) “a house full of quarrelsome feasting”;²⁸The words HOUSE and FEASTING can also mean “temple” and “sacrifice” respectively. for you want to introduce strife between Me and Israel. (Numb. 23:2-3) “Then Balak did […] and he offered. [...]; so he went alone (rt.: shph)”: [Balaam’s] intent was to curse; for he had been at ease rt.: shph) until that moment, but from that moment on he was troubled. (Numb. 23:4) “Then God encountered Balaam”: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “You evil man! What are you doing?” (Ibid., cont.) “And [Balaam] said unto him, ‘I have prepared the seven altars [and offered a ram and a bull on each altar]’:” [The matter] is comparable to a money-changer who lies about the weights. When the head of the marketplace came, he noticed him. He said to him, “What are you doing inflating and lying about the weights?” [The money changer then] said to him, “I have already sent a gift²⁹Gk.: doron. to your house.” So also it was in the case of Balaam. The holy spirit cried out to him. It said to him, “You evil man! What are you doing.” He said to it (in Numb. 23:4), “I have prepared the seven altars [and offered a ram and a bull on each altar].” It said to him (in Prov. 15:17), “’Better a meal of vegetable greens [where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred in it].’ Better the dinner of unleavened bread and bitter herbs which Israel ate in Egypt, than bulls which you offer with hands of [hatred].” (Numb. 23:5) “So the Lord put a word (davar) in Balaam's mouth,” which twisted his mouth and pierced it,³⁰Both “twisted” and “pierced” connote the use of a bit on a horse. as one would drive a nail into a board. R. Eliezer (understanding davar as word) says, “An angel was speaking,” [as stated] (in Numb. 23:5), “Return unto Balak and speak thus.” (Numb. 23:6) “So he returned unto him, and there he was standing beside his burnt offerings with all the ministers of Moab,” who stood anxiously awaiting [the time] when he would come.

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.