민수기 22:20의 Chasidut
וַיָּבֹ֨א אֱלֹהִ֥ים ׀ אֶל־בִּלְעָם֮ לַיְלָה֒ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֗וֹ אִם־לִקְרֹ֤א לְךָ֙ בָּ֣אוּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֔ים ק֖וּם לֵ֣ךְ אִתָּ֑ם וְאַ֗ךְ אֶת־הַדָּבָ֛ר אֲשֶׁר־אֲדַבֵּ֥ר אֵלֶ֖יךָ אֹת֥וֹ תַעֲשֶֽׂה׃
밤에 하나님이 발람에게 임하여 이르시되 그 사람들이 너를 부르러 왔거든 일어나 함께 가라 그러나 내가 네게 이르는 말만 준행할지니라
Kedushat Levi
Numbers 22,22. “G’d’s anger flared up because Bileam was going.” Nachmanides already poses the question of why G’d was angry at Bileam since He had given him permission to go when He had said: אם לקרוא לך באו האנשים קום לך אתם, “if the men have come to invite you, rise and go with them.” (Numbers 22,20)
The answer to this question has already been provided by Rashi (hundreds of years before Nachmanides posed it) when he commented on that verse: “if their invitation is intended for your personal benefit you may go.” Seeing that the purpose of the call for Bileam to curse the Jewish people was intended to benefit Balak and his people, G’d’s permission clearly did not include such a scenario, and He had reason to be furious. Nachmanides quotes Rashi in his commentary to show that he was aware of this answer.
Our author feels that Bileam’s going with Balak’s emissaries showed that he enjoyed being called upon to curse the Jewish people. This was in clear contradiction to his having been told that the Jewish people who were a blessed people could not be harmed by any curses. Seeing that this was so, he was now culpable not only for the curses he had intended to pronounce, but for the evil intention itself, something G’d usually does not punish a person for.
The answer to this question has already been provided by Rashi (hundreds of years before Nachmanides posed it) when he commented on that verse: “if their invitation is intended for your personal benefit you may go.” Seeing that the purpose of the call for Bileam to curse the Jewish people was intended to benefit Balak and his people, G’d’s permission clearly did not include such a scenario, and He had reason to be furious. Nachmanides quotes Rashi in his commentary to show that he was aware of this answer.
Our author feels that Bileam’s going with Balak’s emissaries showed that he enjoyed being called upon to curse the Jewish people. This was in clear contradiction to his having been told that the Jewish people who were a blessed people could not be harmed by any curses. Seeing that this was so, he was now culpable not only for the curses he had intended to pronounce, but for the evil intention itself, something G’d usually does not punish a person for.
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Kedushat Levi
Numbers 23,20. “here I have been instructed to bless, since He has blessed I cannot reverse it.” Bileam clearly explains to Balak his inability to alter G’d’s decrees, as he told him before when he said that the difference between man and G’d is that G’d does not lie. On the other hand, although G’d does not reverse Himself, the righteous are able by their prayers to bring about a reversal of decrees harmful for the Jewish people. [In other words, man can sometimes accomplish what G’d is prevented from doing by His own initiative. Ed.]
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