Midrash sobre Números 22:6

(Numb. 22:6:) SO COME NOW PLEASE, CURSE (arah) <THIS PEOPLE> FOR ME. What is the meaning of CURSE ('RH) … FOR ME? Perhaps I shall be able to control them little by little, like someone who picks (rt.: 'RH) figs.

(Numb. 22:6, cont.:) FOR THEY ARE MIGHTIER THAN I. <It is> not that they are more valiant than I, nor <is it> that their forces are more numerous than mine. It is simply that they conquer through their mouth, <and this is> something that I cannot do.

(Numb. 23:7, cont.:) COME, PLEASE,⁶⁵Na. The word is not found in the Masoretic Text. CURSE <JACOB> FOR ME. Whoever curses them (i.e., 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,⁶⁶See above, Gen. 6:16. AND BLESSED BE THOSE WHO BLESS YOU.

7 (Numb. 22:5) “And he sent messengers to Balaam ben Beor at Pethor”: [Pethor (Petor) was] the name of his city.⁷Sanh. 105ab. But others say that [the name implies] he was a money-changer,⁸Since pator in Aramaic denotes a table, these interpreters would read the clause: AND HE SENT MESSENGERS TO BALAAM BEN BEOR AT A MONEY-CHANGER’S TABLE. Cf. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Gen. 23:16. since the kings of the nations of the world took counsel with him, as the money-changer to whom they all would show [their coins]. Still others say that in the beginning he was an interpreter (poter) of dreams. He turned to being a diviner. Then he turned to the holy spirit.⁹See Numb. 24:2. (Numb. 22:5, cont.) “To the land of his kinsfolk,” for Balak came from there, and [Balaam] had told him, “Your destiny is to become king.”(Numb. 22:5, cont.) “To summon him”: Thus he wrote him, “Do not suppose that it is for myself alone that you are doing this and that I alone am honoring you. If you uproot them, you shall receive honor from all the nations, so that the Canaanites and the Amalakites shall all bow down to you.” (Numb. 22:5, cont.) “Here is a people that has come out of Egypt:” He said to him, “As for you, how does it concern you?” He said to him (in Numb. 22:5, cont.), “’Look, they have covered the face (literally: eye) of the earth.’ [There are] two eyes upon which the land depends, Sihon and Og. They have destroyed them and covered their eyes. And [now] what do I do?” (Numb. 22:5, cont.) “Now they are dwelling opposite me (mmwly)”: [What is actually] written [in the Biblical text] is mmly (from the root, mwl, which means, "cut off"), just as it says (in Ps. 118:10), “in the name of the Lord I will cut them off (rt.: mwl).”¹⁰With the word rewritten in this sense, the end of Numb. 22:5 reads: NOW THEY ARE DWELLING [THERE] CUTTING ME OFF. This interpretation of Numb. 22:5 is also given by Rashi, ad loc. (Numb. 22:6) “So come now please, curse (arah) [this people] for me”: What is the meaning of “curse ('rh) […] for me?” Perhaps I shall be able to control them little by little, like someone who picks (rt.: 'rh) figs. (Numb. 22:6, cont.) “For they are mightier than I”: [It is] not that they are more valiant than I, nor [is it] that their forces are numerous. It is simply that they conquer through their mouth, [and this is] something that I cannot do. (Numb. 22:6, cont.) “Perhaps I shall be able to smite them”: What reason was there for this one to engage them (i.e., Israel) in war? Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, tell them this, that [Israel] was not to take any of their land? [It was] simply that [Balak] was more of a master of sorceries and divinations than Balaam, for it is so written of him (in Numb. 22:2), “Now Balak [ben Zippor] saw (in a vision),” except that he did not really comprehend the things [he saw]. And so it says (in Is. 47:13-14), “You are wearied with your many deliberations; let those who study the heavens please stand up and save you, those who gaze at the stars.” When he saw that Israel would fall into his hand, he therefore gave his daughter over (to prostitution to lure Israel to sin);¹¹See Numb. 25:1-15. Numb. 25:15 specifically identifies the sacred prostitute Cozbi as the daughter of Zur, whom the midrash (above, section 7:4) has already identified with Balak. and through her, twenty-four thousand fell. To this end he would have engaged them in war, but he did not know how. Hence (as in Numb. 22:6), “Perhaps I shall be able to smite (nkh) them”: As one discounts (rt.: nkh) one twenty-fourth of a [se’ah];¹²On allowing a given species to have up to 1/24 of another species, see Kil. 2:1; yKil. 2:1 (27c); BB 6:2; BB 93b-94a, where as elsewhere a rova‘ is a quarter of a qav, which in turn is one sixth of a se’ah. Thus one rova’ equals one twenty-fourth of a se’ah. so also did twenty-four thousand fall from Israel there, [which is] one less.¹³24 x 20,000 = 480,000, and 24 x 5,000 = 120,000, it turns out that, if 25,000 is found to be 1/24 of 600,000 and only 24,000 fell, then 1,000 are missing In a long note Buber further explains that apart from the law of mixtures, in the removal of the hallah, what is taken is generally 1/24 of the dough (so Hal. 2:7). Buber also notes a variant reading which substitutes menabber (denoting one who removes the hallah) for menakkah (translated here as “discount”). So the Holy One cleansed Israel by removing 1/24 of the people. However, since there were 600,000 Israelites, 25,000 (=1/24 of 600,000), not 24,000, should have been removed. The thousand extra can be explained on analogy with the law of mixtures allowing 1/24 for impurities. The first part of the interpretation in the text comes from dividing 25,000 into two parts of 20,000 + 5,000 and then multiplying each separately and adding the results, instead of simply multiplying 25,000 by 24,000. Regarding the number of Israelites in the desert, Scripture gives the 600,000 figure only in Exod. 12:37. Cf. Exod. 38:26; Numb. 1:46; 2:32, which fix the figure at 603,550 adult males excluding Levites; also Numb. 26:57, which reports a census figure of 601,730 after the removal of the 24,000 in Numb. 25:9. (Numb. 22:6, cont.) “And drive them away from the land,” for he only desired to drive them away, so that they would not enter the land. (Numb. 22:6, cont.) “For I know that whomever you bless is blessed and that whomever you curse is cursed.” From where did he know? When Sihon desired to fight with Moab [and] was afraid because they were warriors, he hired Balaam and his father to curse Moab, for it says (in Numb. 21:27–29), “Therefore those who speak in parables say, [‘Come to Heshbon, let it be built; let the city of Sihon be established.] For a fire has come forth from Heshbon, [a flame from the city of Sihon. It has devoured Ar of Moab…]. Woe be to you, O Moab!’” Ergo it says (in Numb. 22:6), “for I know [that whomever you bless is blessed and that whomever you curse is cursed].”

9 (Numb. 22:9) “Then God came unto Balaam and said, ‘Who are these people with you’”: This text is related (to Prov. 28:10), “One who leads the upright astray on an evil course will fall into his own pit.” This refers to Balaam. For at first mortals [behaved] with propriety, but because of his (Balaam's) words, they became [unbridled] in sexual matters.¹⁴Sanh. 106a. Thus, of former [generations] it is stated (in Gen. 29:9), “Rachel came with the sheep.” And so (in Exod. 2:16), “Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters.”¹⁵I.e., although these seven daughters and Rachel were shepherdesses, they had no fear of being alone among males. [But] Balaam the wicked arose and led mortals astray into unchastity. But as he led [others] astray, he [himself] was led astray. By the [very] counsel he gave, he [himself] fell. So the Holy One, blessed be He, led him astray, as stated (in Job 12:23), “He exalts the nations and destroys them.” When [the Holy One, blessed be He,] asked him (in Numb. 22:9), “Who are these people with you,” that wicked one said [to himself,] “He knows nothing about them; It appears to me [that] there are times when [God] does not know. And so I can do all that I want to His children.” That is why [God] said it. In order to lead him astray. (Numb. 22:10), “And Balaam said to God, ‘Balak ben Zippor, [the king of Moab] sent [this message] unto me”: He began to boast and say, “Even though You do not honor me, and You do not put out a good name for me in the world, kings seek me. (Numb. 22:11) “Behold the people has come out of Egypt […]; come now, curse (qavah) them for me”: [This is] to make known that he (Balaam) hated Israel more than Balak, because (in Numb. 22:6) Balak did not say qavah (as Balaam claimed he had said in Numb. 22:11) but arah.¹⁶Both words mean “curse,” but the former is worse than the latter, because qavah involves the use of the Divine Name. This one (Balaam), however, said (in vs. 11), “curse explicitly (qavah).” Moreover, while the former (Balak) said (in Numb. 22:6) “And drive them away from the land,” the latter (Balaam) said [simply] (in vs. 11), “and drive them out” [i.e.,] from this world and from the world to 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.