Parshat Balak source dump

Balak and Bileam were both very clever and learned people who used their knowledge to evil purpose. They were both well aware of the close relationship that existed between Israel and its G–d. Balak was even wiser than Bileam. He was privy to the great chain of the dynasty of David and how it would eventually result in the Messiah's descent from David. He knew that this very strength of Israel was rooted in himself, i.e. עצום ממני, as we have outlined. The reason he was afraid was that he realized that purity can emerge from an impure source, that the good can have an evil source, in order that the מלאך רע would have to say אמן, as we have explained above. This is why his mind worked overtime to devise a plan to sever this close relationship between Israel and its G–d. He wanted to reverse the relationship. He thought that if he were to succeed all the deeds of valour that would be performed by David in the future would accrue to his own people instead of to Israel. This is why the paragraph starts by telling us "Balak son of Tzippor saw all that Israel had done to the Emorite." The three names by which Balak refers to Israel represent three distinct merits or advantages of Israel. He called them עם, because they were very numerous, since G–d had blessed them to become as "numerous as the stars in the sky" (Genesis 22,17). The description בני ישראל, implies an even closer relationship with G–d. When Balak referred to Israel as ישראל he described their highest level, the level that we hope to attain when we all qualify to be the elite. The word בני, "sons of," implies that we are only branches of something just as children are branches, offshoots of their parents. ישראל on the other hand is the trunk that these offshoots come from, the place in which the image of the original Israel, the fighter for G–d, our patriarch, is engraved, the throne of G–d Himself. That is the source from which all souls are "hewn" as from a quarry. As mentioned, Balak was well aware of the cosmic forces and the role Israel played in that constellation. In order to loosen the bond between Israel and G–d he wanted Bileam to curse them at the precise moment in time when G–d is "angry." The significance of a curse is to reinforce the voice of the accuser who brings Israel's iniquities to G–d's attention at that moment when G–d allows Himself to become angry, i.e. the רגע של זעם. Since Bileam was a יודע דעת עליון, privy to G–d's mind, he knew the right time and he also knew how to present an unfavorable picture of someone. He was the ideal man for this task. Balak had a vision of an imminent sin Israel would commit, as proved indeed the case when they sinned shortly thereafter by becoming seduced by the daughters of Moab. This is why he urged Bileam ועתה לך ארה לי, "curse them for me now," seeing that their punishment by G–d would follow almost immediately. Balak had seen the expression of G–d's closeness to Israel by the many miracles G–d had performed for that people. All this is reflected in the Torah's stating וירא בלק את כל אשר עשה ישראל לאמורי, "Balak saw all that Israel had done to the Emorite." He realised that only a people who enjoyed such a lofty spiritual status as indicated by the name ישראל, could have accomplished that feat. Although Balak had witnessed the defeat of the Emorite, seeing that he had been one of the princes of the Emorite, his people had not seen it, had only heard about it. Hence when describing the feelings of his people, the term used for Israel is simply "העם." Nonetheless, even the people of Moab were aware that there existed a special relationship between Israel and its G–d; hence ויקץ מואב מפני בני ישראל. When the Moabites discussed what to do with the elders of Midian who were not aware of the special relationship between G–d and Israel, they emphasized the numerical strength of the Jewish people by referring to them as קהל, meaning that every individual tribe qualified for the description עם, and that they were as described in Genesis 35,11, גוי וקהל גוים ממך יצאו, "a nation as well as a community of nations will come out of you." The expression קהל then emphasizes the twelve tribes that between them made up this nation.

(Numb. 22:2:) “Now Balak [ben Zippor] saw (rt.: r'h).” This text is related (to Deut. 32:4), “The Rock, His work is perfect, because all His ways are justice.” As the Holy One, blessed be He, did [not] leave the nations of the world a pretext for saying in the future to come, “You alienated us and did not give us anything like what You gave Israel in this world."¹Numb. R. 20:1. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? Just as He raised up kings, prophets, and sages for Israel, so did He raise them up from the nations of the world. Moreover, the kings, prophets, and sages that belonged to Israel were examined alongside the kings, prophets, and sages that belonged to the nations of the world. He raised up Solomon as king over all the earth, and he did the same for Nebuchadnezzar, as stated (Jeremiah 27:6), “I even give him the wild beasts to serve him.” The [former] built the holy Temple and said many praises and supplications; and the latter destroyed it and cursed and blasphemed, and said (in Isaiah 14:14), “I will go up to high places of the clouds, I will resemble the Most High.” He gave David wealth, and he acquired the house for His name.²Cf. Ps. 30:1 [introduction]: a song at the dedication of the house (i.e., the Temple) of David. The Temple was David’s in that he acquired the materials to build it. He gave wealth to Haman, and he acquired a whole nation for slaughter. Every dignity Israel received, you find that the nations of the world [also] received. In like manner He raised up Moses for Israel, who spoke with him any time that he wanted, [and] he raised up Balaam for the nations of the world, in order that he might speak with Him any time that he wanted. Look at (rt.: r'h) what a difference there is between the prophets of Israel and the prophets of the nations of the world! The prophets of Israel warn the nations about transgressions, and so it says (in Jer. 1:5), “I have given you as a prophet to the nations.” The prophets who He raised from the nations, however, established a breach to cut off mortals from the world to come. And not only that, but all the prophets had a merciful attitude towards both Israel and the nations of the world; for so did Isaiah say (in Is. 16:11), “Therefore my inner parts throb like a harp for Moab….” And similarly has Ezekiel said (in Ezek. 27:2), “Son of man, ‘Raise up a dirge over Tyre.’” But this cruel man rose up to uproot a whole nation without cause, for nothing. Therefore the parashah about Balaam was written to make known why the Holy One, blessed be He, removed the holy spirit from the nations of the world. [It was] because He raised this man out of the nations of the world, and look (rt.: r'h) at what he did!

וירא בלק בן צפור וגו'....ויגר מואב מפני העם מאד כי רב הוא, “Balak son of Tzippor saw, etc…..and Moav was scared on account of The Jewish people because it was very numerous.” Moav was numerically very insignificant among the nations at that time in that region. The reason lay in their relative recent emergence as a nation, not like the Canaanites who dated back practically to 100 years after the deluge. The Israelites far outnumbered the Moabites at that time. The Moabites were well aware that the Israelites had no designs on their country as they had been specifically instructed by the Jewish G’d not to harass the Moabites, and not to provoke a military confrontation with them. They were also aware that even where the Israelites had engaged in war, they had not done so except when their request to pass peacefully through a foreign country had been rebuffed and been met with aggression by the ruler of that country. They merely dreaded the ecological damage the Israelites would leave behind in their wake if they were to be allowed to traverse the land of Moav. This is why they explained the nature of their concern when they sent emissaries to the elders of Midian to whom they explained graphically what their land would look like after the Israelites had trampled all the agricultural areas of their land. They were afraid that if the Israelites caused huge ecological damage to their economy they would wind up as totally dependent economically on the Israelites, almost as their slaves.

Certainly we cannot. Rashi is answering the question: How was, “And Moav became terrified” (v. 3) a result of, “And Balak saw…”? For the verse implies that it was because of him seeing that Moav became terrified. Rashi answers: “Those two kings…” referring to Sichon and Og. He means to say that once the general populace heard that the king had said this, as a result “Moav became terrified.” Re’m writes: This is puzzling, because if the word ויגר ["became terrified"] refers to the verse above, what is the meaning of “because of their great numbers” which is written immediately afterwards (v. 3)? For this implies that it was because of their numbers that they were fearful, rather than because of what they did to the two Emorite kings. One cannot answer that there is a vav missing from כי רב הוא ["because of their great numbers"] and it as if it had stated וכי רב הוא ["and because of their great numbers"], which would mean that it was also because of their great numbers; for if so, Rashi should have explained this phrase like he explained “Because Hashem took Yisroel out of Egypt…” (Shemos 18:1). The answer appears to be that the Moavites also knew that Bnei Yisroel were victorious over the two kings, however they thought that the victory had been by natural means. Thus, since their victory in war was only because of their great population, it would be possible to be victorious over them with a greater population, by engaging all the kings of Canaan against them. However, now they had heard from their king that Yisroel’s victory in war was by unnatural means, since they killed the Emorites without standing against them [to cause any casualties]. Consequently, “Moav became terrified of the people because of their great numbers,” meaning that they still had great numbers as before and had not lost a man. This was why they detested their lives. Accordingly Rashi’s explanation is as follows: “These two kings…” meaning that 'we were certain that these two kings would kill at least as many Israelites as the Israelites had killed of them, and then we would come with all the Canaanite kings to kill those Israelites who remained. However now that none of them have been killed, because no man raised his hand against them due to the fear of Yisroel that fell over them, all the more so we will not be able to [overcome them], even with [the help of] all the Canaanite kings.'

וירא בלק....לאמורי, “Balak had taken note of all that Israel had done to the Emorite” (foremost Canaanite tribe). The reference is, of course, to Israel having defeated Sichon and his army totally. Balak now reasoned that if that was what they had done to mighty Sichon, they would do the same to him and the Moabites. Therefore, he preferred to have the assistance of someone who was known to have good relations with the supernatural powers.

Numbers 22,3. “Moab was greatly afraid of the people ‎because they were so numerous; Moab greatly dreaded the ‎Children of Israel.”
Judging by the fact that the Torah ‎distinguishes the feelings of the Moabites vis a vis ‎העם‎, the ‎‎“people,” and subsequently vis a vis the ‎בני ישראל‎, “the ‎Children of Israel”, we are entitled to assume that the term ‎העם‎ ‎refers to the fellow travelers, the mixed multitude that had ‎attached themselves to the Israelites at the time of the Exodus. ‎‎(Compare Sh’mot Rabbah 42,6)‎
According to the Zohar, the fear of the Moabites was ‎due to their having noticed that wherever the Israelites ‎encamped (40th year near the Jordan river) many gentiles would ‎join them and convert to Judaism, so that the word ‎העם‎, here ‎does not refer to the mixed multitude that had joined the ‎Israelites already at the Exodus. [I have not found this ‎‎Zohar, Ed.] Balak or his people were afraid that if ‎the Israelites were to encamp near them, many Moabites would ‎convert to Judaism and join them. [The legislation that ‎Moabites were not allowed to convert (Deuteronomy 23,4) had ‎not yet been made public. Ed.] The next line describing ‎the mental state of the Moabites as being one of dread of the ‎Israelites, explains that whereas normally, Balak could not have ‎cared less, here the fact that the Moabites were in such dread of ‎the Israelites caused him to fear wholesale defection among his ‎people to the Israelites as a real possibility. Balak was a great anti-‎Semite.‎

And when the elders of Moab heard these words, it pleased them greatly to send for Balaam, ‎the son of Beor, and Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent messengers unto Balaam ‎saying: Behold there is a people come out of Egypt; behold they cover the face of the earth, ‎and they abide over against me. Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for ‎they are too mighty for me; peradventure I shall prevail, that we smite them, and that I may ‎drive them out of the land; for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom ‎thou cursest is cursed. And [the messengers of Balak went, and they brought Balaam to curse ‎the people. But when Balaam came to curse Israel, the Lord said unto him: Curse not this ‎people for it is blessed. And Balak requested Balaam day after day to curse Israel, but Balaam ‎did not hearken unto Balak on account of the word of the Lord which he had spoken unto ‎Balaam;

And the Moabaee feared before the people greatly because they were many, and they were distressed in their life before the sons of Israel.

And Moav were afraid because of the nation also because they were numerous, and they were distressed because of the children of Israel.

They detested their lives. Meaning that the Moavites detested their [own] lives. It is as if it had said “Moav detested their lives.” The reason for this was their fear of Bnei Yisroel. Rashi’s proof is because it is written מפני העם ["because of the people"].

ויקץ מואב, the expression describes someone becoming fed up with life, similar to when Rivkah had said that she would become fed up with her life if Yaakov were to marry a Canaanite girl as had Esau his brother (Genesis 27,46)

ויגר מואב, “Moav was afraid;” when the Moabites saw that the Israelites after having conquered the land of Sichon, part of which the latter had conquered from Moav, had not restored that part to them, the original owners, they suspected the Israelites of having designs on their land also. Moreover, they realised that seeing that the Israelites had overcome Sichon, who had previously overcome them, they would have no problem overcoming the remaining part of Moav. They did not realise that legally speaking, the lands formerly belonging to Moav had been acquired by the Israelites legally, as they had conquered it from a nation that had made war on them although not provoked. (Compare Talmud, tractate Chulin folio 60)

כי רב הוא, for the Israelites were numerically superior to them, not because they felt inferior in military tactics.

ויגר מואב, the leaders of Moav who had not allowed the Israelites to traverse their territory as reported in Judges 11,17 were now afraid,

ויקץ מואב, “the man in the street” considered their lives as not worth living because of the impending invasion by the Israelites.

And Moav became terrified because of the people [of Israel] because the people of Israel were numerous whereas Moav was a smaller nation. Moav was not among the original [seventy] nations such as the Canaanites, Emorites, and others that were from Noach's sons. Moav became very terrified of the people [of Israel] because they were far more numerous — they multiplied and grew, and were mightier than Moav. And so, Moav detested the Bnei Yisroel because they heard about the great miracles that were performed for them and their forefathers. Moav knew, however, that Bnei Yisroel would not overtake their land because they sent a message to Moav just as they had sent to Sichon (Devorim 2:29): Until I will have crossed the Yardein into the land that Adonoy, our God, is giving us. Alternatively, Moav knew this because they heard Hashem's restriction to Bnei Yisroel not to afflict Moav (v. 9). Therefore, Moav said to the elders of Midian: Even if they do not overtake our land, since they are so numerous they will lick up everything around us, just as the ox laps up the herbs of the field. They will overtake everything around us just as they did to the two Emorite kings, and they will force us to be slave labor.

ויקץ מואב means they (Moab) were sick of their lives (the expression is similar to קצתי בחיי in Genesis 27:46, being an abbreviated form of it).

Numbers 22,4. “now this multitude will lick up all that ‎is around us as does the ox licking up the grass of the field, ‎etc.;”
Why did Balak draw a comparison between the ‎encampment of the Israelites and the manner in which oxen ‎denude the soil of its grass cover? Before explaining this it will ‎help to explain Deuteronomy 11,15 where the Torah promises ‎the Israelites that when they observe the Torah once they are on ‎their own soil: ‎ונתתי עשב בשדך לבהמתך ואכלת ושבעת‎, “I will provide ‎the grass of the field for your beasts and you will eat and be ‎satisfied.” After the first sin G’d had condemned Adam to eating ‎the grass of the field. (Genesis 3,18) We need to remember that ‎whatever man eats is surrounded by commandments of the Torah ‎being fulfilled in the process. Long before the farmer can eat the ‎bread from the corn he grew this corn was subject to a variety of ‎regulations of the Torah that have to be fulfilled first, in order for ‎the farmer not to have been remiss. The farmer had to fulfill ‎commandments relating both to ploughing, such as not having a ‎donkey and an ox pulling the same plough; when seeding the ‎farmer must take care not to seed the same field with a mixture ‎of seeds of different grains, etc., before the tithes and related gifts ‎to the poor, etc., of the actual harvest become applicable. ‎‎(compare Deut. 22,10 and 9) By performing these various ‎commandments prior to enjoying the result of his labours, the ‎Jewish farmer becomes G’d’s partner in spiritually elevating the ‎‎“sparks” (of holiness) contained in some of these foods, i.e. ‎rehabilitating parts of G’d’s creation, such as some angels which ‎had been spiritually downgraded through failing to perform their ‎duties.
When man is reduced to eating the grass of the field, i.e. ‎vegetation which grows without human input, he is unable ‎through his eating, i.e. his partaking of G’d’s largesse, to ‎accomplish his own or his environment’s rehabilitation.‎
This was the negative effect of the curse pronounced by G’d ‎as part of Adam’s punishment, i.e. road to rehabilitation, decreed ‎in Genesis 3,18. [This more than offsets the apparently ‎beneficial effect of picking his food from the ground effortlessly ‎and eating it as is. Ed.]‎
When the Torah describes the Israelite as “eating and being ‎satiated” in Deuteronomy 11,15, it does not refer to the Israelite ‎eating grass, but to his eating the ox after it has been duly ‎slaughtered, examined for blemishes, its blood having been ‎removed, etc., etc., i.e. numerous commandments having been ‎performed, so that by eating it eventually the party doing so ‎participates in the process of rehabilitating “fallen” sparks. ‎Through this round about manner of man eating grass, i.e. grass ‎which had first been eaten by the ox, he is enabled to participate ‎in the rehabilitation of holy beings that had been demoted from ‎their lofty origins.
In his writings, the Ari’zal has stated ‎that the four basic levels of phenomena in this lower universe in ‎which we mortals live, i.e. the inert, the vegetarian, the ‎animalistic and the articulate, i.e. the human beings, there exist ‎four levels in the universe known in a descending order as ‎‎atzilut, b’riyah, yetzirah, and assiyah. In ‎other words, the level of the animalistic, or ‎חי‎, corresponds to the ‎level of ‎בריאה‎, creatures in the early stage of existence known as ‎בריאה‎ a stage in which this “creature” is distinct from other ‎‎“existences” on a similar level.
The soul of repentant sinners is ‎in a better position to help rehabilitate converts (who used to be ‎pagans) than is the soul of a person who has always been a true ‎believer in monotheism. The wicked Balak of which our portion ‎speaks, was afraid of Israel because the Israelites had ‎demonstrated their ability to help rehabilitate fallen sinners, i.e. ‎‎“sparks,” during their journey through the desert, and he hated ‎holiness, as has been alluded to in the line ‎ויקץ מואב מפני בני ישראל‎, ‎‎“that Moab was disgusted by the Children of Israel,” i.e. their ‎moral/ethical values. The mere thought of having to be in the ‎presence of holiness, literally caused Balak to ‎puke.
[The root occurs in connection with Rivkah’s ‎telling Yitzchok of being disgusted with her life if Yaakov would ‎marry a daughter of Canaanite descent as had his twin brother ‎Esau. (Genesis 27,45) Ed.]
According to Ari z’al ‎what bothered Balak most, was the fact that during their ‎wanderings the converts had been most successful in ‎rehabilitating these “fallen” sinners, “sparks” and that is why the ‎Torah describes this ‎עם‎, i.e. the converts of the Jewish people as ‎being ‎רב‎, a major component of the people who rehabilitated ‎sinners. He feared them more than the natural born Israelites, i.e. ‎ויגר מואב מפני העם מאד‎, “Moab feared the newly converted ‎Israelites very much.” The reason was that ‎רב הוא‎, they were such ‎a powerful influence in rehabilitating pagans. The Moabites were ‎not nearly as afraid of the ‎בני ישראל‎, the natural born Israelites ‎being able to attract as many converts.
In Balak’s eyes it was ‎as despicable to be an Israelite as it had been in the eyes of the ‎new King over Egypt and his nation in Exodus1,8-‎‎12.
Moreover, he was aware that if his people would come into ‎contact with other recent Jewish converts, the influence of those ‎converts who had themselves come closer to G’d through joining ‎the Jewish people, would be powerful enough for them to elevate ‎Moabite converts to the highest spiritual level of life on earth, i.e. ‎the level of ‎בריאה‎. Referring back to the 4 spiritual levels of ‎existence in the physical part of the universe, spiritual ascent, ‎when it occurs, proceeds to the next higher level, the level of ‎בריאה ‏‎ being the one corresponding to ‎חי‎, the level of animalistic ‎creatures. This is hinted at by Balak when he compared the ‎people to the animals eating grass, i.e. ‎כלחוך השור את ירק השדה‎.‎

(Bamidbar 31:1-2) "And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying: Take the revenge of the children of Israel, etc.": This is in praise of the leaders of Israel. They do not depart from the world until they take Israel's revenge, which is the revenge of Him who spoke and brought the world into being. "from the Midianites": But were the Moavites not the initiators? As it is written (Bamidbar 22:4) "And Moav said to the elders of Midian, etc." and (Ibid. 7) "And the elders of Moav went and the elders of Midian, etc." They had never made peace with each other — except when it came to warring with Israel. An analogy: Two sheep dogs were always at odds with each other, until a wolf came to snatch a lamb from the flock, when one of them, standing up against it, the other said: If I don't help him now, he will kill the lamb and then will turn against me and kill me — whereupon they made peace with each other and took on the wolf. Likewise, Moav and Midian were never at peace with each other, viz. (Bereshit 36:35) "… who smote Midian in the field of Moav." But when they came to make war against Israel, they made peace with each other. Why, then, "from the Midianites"? For they "counseled" against Israel. "the Midianites" — they "inveighed" ("midaynin") against Israel.

(Numb. 22:4:) SO MOAB SAID UNTO THE ELDERS OF MIDIAN. What is the relevance of <mentioning> the ELDERS OF MIDIAN here?⁸Tanh., Numb. 7:3; Numb. R. 20:4. It is simply that they saw Israel conquering in a way that was not customary for conquerors. They said: Their leader (i.e., Moses) was raised in Midian. Let us learn through them what his character is like. The elders of Midian said to them: His power is only in his mouth. They said to them: We also will bring someone against them who has power in his mouth.

4 (Numb. 22:4) “So Moab said unto the elders of Midian”: What is the relevance of [mentioning] the elders of Midian here? It is simply that they saw Israel conquering in a way that was not customary for conquerors. They said, “Their leader (i.e., Moses) was raised in Midian. Let us learn through them what his character is like.” The elders of Midian said to them, “His power is only in his mouth.” They said to them, “We also will bring someone against them who has power in his mouth.” (Numb. 22:4) “So Moab said unto the elders of Midian”: Do you not find that the Midianites were at war with the Moabites? It is so stated (in Gen. 36:35), “[and Hadad ben Bedad,] who smote Midian in the plain of Moab, [reigned in his place].” Moreover, the hatred between them had existed from time immemorial. The matter is comparable to two dogs who were hostile to each other.⁴Sifre, Numb. 31:1-2 (157); Sanh. 105a. [When] a wolf came against one of them, his companion said, “If I do not help him, [the wolf] will kill this [dog] today. [Then] tomorrow he will come against me.” Therefore Moab formed an alliance with Midian. (Numb. 22:4, cont.) “As the ox licks up [the grass of the field]”: Just as the ox has its power in its mouth, so do they have their strength in their mouth. Just as everything an ox licks up has no sign⁵Gk.: semeion. of blessing, [so] also whatever these lick up have no sign of blessing. Just as an ox gores with its horns, [so] also do these gore with their prayer, as stated (according to Deut. 33:17), “and his horns are the horns of a wild ox, [and with them he gores the nations].” (Numb. 22:4, cont.) “Now Balak ben Zippor was king of Moab at that time”: But was he not formerly a prince, as stated (in Numb. 31:8)), “Evi, Rekem, [Zur].”⁶According to Enoch Zundel in his commentary, ‘Ets Yosef, Balak is to be identified with Zur. So also Issachar Ber Ashkenazi in his commentary, Mattenot Kehunnah, on Numb. R. 20:4; Louis Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1954), vol. III, p. 353; vol. VI, p. 136, n. 791. It is simply that when Sihon was killed they made him king in his place. (Numb. 22:4, cont.) “At that time”: As it was the time that caused it for him.

And they said to the elders of the Midianee, for the people had been one and the kingdom one unto that day: Now will this congregation consume all that is about them, as the ox eateth up the grass of the field. And Balak bar Zippor, a Midianite, was the king of Moab at that time; without (a Midianite) being such at another time; for so was the tradition among them, to have kings from this people and from that, by turns.

Why did Moav see fit to accept advice from Midian. Meaning that though they had made peace between themselves due to their fear [of Yisroel], nonetheless the peace was only so that they would no longer be enemies. However, why did they see fit to accept advice? Rashi answers… [Why did Moav see fit to accept advice from Midian.] Since the verse associated the request for advice with Moav, and it is not written, “The elders of Moav and the elders of Midian said,” one sees that Moav accepted advice from Midian. Consequently Rashi questions “why they saw fit…” [Initially] Rashi had no difficulty with the verse, since one could say that Midian was not afraid of Bnei Yisroel, and only Moav was afraid. However now that he explains that because of their fear of Yisroel they made peace between themselves, we see that both of them were afraid. Thus there is the difficulty as to why Moav saw fit to accept advice from Midian, and why Midian did not accept advice from Moav in order to save themselves. Rashi answers, “When they saw…,” meaning that the Midianites knew [the nature of] the leader of Yisroel, meaning Moshe, because he had been raised in Midian. Therefore, Moav accepted advice from Midian.

ויאמר מואב אל זקני מדין, “Moav said to the elders of Midian, etc.” The sudden consultation between two peoples whom we know as enemies of one another (Genesis 36,35) is remarkable. Fear of the Israelites drove these two people into each other’s arms. When two dogs which were fighting one another perceive themselves as being threatened by a wolf, they suddenly start to cooperate. Here too the survival instinct drove Midian and Moav to bury their hatchets. Why did the Moabites choose the Midianites to consult with? [There were other nations in the region. Ed.]. They had realized that Moses’ success was due to supernatural forces. Having learned that the leader of the Israelites, Moses, had spent many decades in Midian they wanted to find out more about his personality and abilities. The Midianites explained to their Moabite neighbors that Moses’ power was not of a military nature but lay only in his mouth. Thereupon the Moabites (Balak) decided to fight Moses by means of someone (Bileam) whose power was also in his mouth (Tanchuma Balak 3). They were under the impression that Moses was simply a superior astrologer.

ילחכו הקהל את כל סביבותינו, "the multitude will lick up all that is around us, etc." Perhaps the Moabites did not want to reveal to the elders of Midian the extent of their fear of the Israelites and that is why they described the presence of the Israelites in that part of the world as an ecological disaster. They spoke of "our environment" (pl) to include the Midianites as potential victims of such a disaster. The words ובלק בן צפור are what the Torah reports not part of what the Moabites told the Midianites. It is even possible that these words were also spoken by the Moabite messengers to the elders of the Midianites; they wanted to emphasise to the Midianites that inasmuch as they had appointed one of the Midianite princes as their king, the Midianites had a special interest in cooperating with them. Should anything happen to them, this would reflect negatively on Midian because of their king's origin. The Torah emphasises that Balak was king בעת ההיא, "at that time," i.e. not earlier and not subsequently. Once Bileam told the Moabites that they had nothing to fear from the Israelites in the foreseeable future, they dismissed Balak from his position and sent him home. The best proof of that is the fact that when the Torah enumerates the princes who were slain in the punitive expedition the Israelites launched after Pinchas' famous deed (Numbers 31,8), Tzur was amongst the princes listed as having been killed.

מלך למואב בעת ההיא, in spite of these factors which should have encouraged the Moabites they did not have the heart to fight the Israelites as is clear from Judges 11,25. As to the remarks by Joshua that Balak son of Tzippor arose and fought Israel (Joshua 24,9), Joshua said this in reference to Balak hiring Bileam to curse the people of Israel as he himself pointed out in the same verse.

אל זקני מדין AND MOAB SAID] TO THE ELDERS OF MIDIAN But did not these (Moab and Midian) always hate one another, just as is stated, (Genesis 36:35) “who had smitten Midian in the country of Moab”, from which it is evident that Midian had come against Moab in war? But out of fear of Israel they now made peace between themselves (Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 3; cf. Sanhedrin 105a). And what induced Moab to take counsel of Midian? When they saw that Israel was victorious in a supernatural manner they said: the leader of these people grew up in Midian; let us ask them what is his chief characteristic. They replied to them; “His power lies only in his mouth (in prayer)”. Whereupon they said: “Then we must come against them with a man whose power lies in his mouth” (Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 3).

So you see that the impure art of sorcery is intimately tied up with the impure institution of idolatry. It follows that whoever pursues and engages in sorcery cannot possibly be a servant of the Holy One Blessed is He. Rather, he is a servant of the Sitrah Acharah. Woe to him and woe to his soul! The crime is no less severe if he does not engage in the sorcery himself but asks another to do so on his behalf. For the sorcerer must approach the Sitrah Acharah and the demons appointed over magic and say to them, “So-and-so sent me to you to act as his agent, who is the same as himself. I stand in his place and offer his submission to you, placing him under your dominion to be your slave. He accepts and agrees to whatever you do, as long as you agree to do him this favor — for his livelihood or some other matter has taken a turn for the worse and he requests that you inform him of the cause and the remedy.” Sometimes the sorcerer must make a feast including the blood of a black raven and the liver and heart of a raven, a cruel source of food. To this feast he invites the impure forces and the chief of the demons gather there. At that time he must stand before them and request on behalf of the one that sought his services whatever deed the person wished for. Concerning this it is written in the Zohar (Parashas Balak 192a): “And Balak sent messengers to Bilaam ben Be’or to Pesor” (Bamidbar 22:5). This means that [those who come to inquire of the impure forces] must set a table before them (pesora — “to Pesor” — can also mean “table” in Aramaic) and offer up to them a kind of incense. Then all the destructive spirits come and inform them of what they wish to know.

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].”

ארץ בני עמו, “the land of his compatriots.” According to Rashi who holds that Balak was of Midianite descent, the words ארץ בני עמו refer to Balak’s people, i.e. the Midianites. Nachmanides writes that according to the plain meaning of the text the words ארץ בני עמו refer to Bileam, informing us that Balak had been born in the same land as Bileam. The point of the Torah providing this detail was that Balak was a sorcerer, coming from a land full of sorcerers, a land in which Bileam was the High Priest of all the sorcerers. (Compare Isaiah 2,6 where the prophet denigrates the Jewish people for having forsaken their tradition in favour of relying on sorcery etc, something which was the domain of the ancient backward nations)

ארץ בני עמו, the people Balak himself belonged to, not Moav.

והוא ישב ממולי, "and it resides across from me." Balak meant that Israel's general behaviour indicated it meant to disinherit the Moabites. According to Bamidbar Rabbah 20,7 it was the posture of the Israelites which frightened Balak. They appeared to be vctorious as soon as the opened their mouths. Balak mentioned all this in order to counter Bileam's expected response that he could curse them from his residence without bothering himself to travel all the way to Moav. Balak was also afraid that Bileam would become aware by means of his sorcery that the Israelites actually had no intention to harm or destroy the territory of Moav and that as a result of such knowledge he would refuse to come to him but simply reassure him that this people would not harm him. This is why he prefaced his invitation by describing how the people were spread out all over the area around Moav and that one could not rely on what Bileam's magic would tell him about that nation's intentions. The fact is that according to Bileam's magic sources, this people should never have left Egypt, nor should they have increased in numbers. This was reason enough for Bileam to come personally and convince himself of the true state of affairs.

ארץ בני עמו, “the land of his people,” the people of Bileam.

Behold. The emissaries belittled Bnei Yisroel in the eyes of Bil'am so he would not fear suffering the same fate as Pharaoh; they did not mention Bnei Yisroel by name. Likewise, they belittled the miracles that occurred when they came out of Egypt by saying they “came out of Egypt, as if they came out on their own without a strong hand. In addition, so that Bil'am would not console them that Hashem instructed Bnei Yisroel to pass by Moav and not harm them, the emissaries told him that they are located across from me, permanently.

ארץ בני עמו THE LAND OF THE CHILDREN OF HIS PEOPLE — of Balak's people, for he came from there, and this man (Balaam) had prophesied saying to him, “You are destined to be king”. — And if you ask: Why did the Holy One blessed be He, let his Shechina rest upon so wicked a heathen, I reply that in order that the heathen peoples should have no excuse to say, “If we had prophets, we would have changed for the better”, He raised up prophets for them. Yet they (these prophets) broke down the moral fence of the world, because at first they (the heathens) were fenced in against (they refrained from) immoral living, but this man (Balaam) counselled them to freely offer themselves to prostitution (Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 1; cf. Rashi on Numbers 24:14).

ועתה לך נא ארה לי. We learn from Balak inviting Bileam: "Now go and curse for me," how careful one has to be when one utters any words, even if one has no negative intention. Words have a habit of backfiring. Balak wound up cursing himself rather than Israel.

‎22,36. “Balak heard that Bileam had come; he went out ‎to meet him all the way to the city of Moab which is situated ‎at the border with the river Arnon at its farthest point.” ‎‎
A look at Rashi explains why Balak chose to meet ‎Bileam precisely at the location mentioned. The reason why this ‎choice of location was specifically auspicious in Balak’s eyes will ‎be understood in conjunction with Balak’s having praised Bileam ‎when he reminded him that when Bileam blessed someone the ‎party would prove to be blessed. (Numbers 22,6) Balak knew ‎firsthand that Moab’s loss of a great part of its territory had been ‎due to Bileam having cursed it prior to Sichon’s attack on that ‎country. Balak wanted to remind Bileam that if it had not been ‎for his cursing Moab, the border during his time would have been ‎much further to the east. (Rashi, 22,6 based on Tanchuma) Balak ‎wanted to show Bileam that he had faith in the latter’s ability to ‎curse. This might encourage him to also curse Israel successfully. ‎Bileam and Balak were of one mind concerning their viewing ‎Israel as an imminent threat, but G’d confounded their plans ‎tuning them into blessings instead.‎

Numbers 23,7. “come then and curse Yaakov for me, ‎etc.;”
There is a rule that each nation must possess at ‎least one virtue, [otherwise why would G’d allow its ‎continued existence. Ed.]This virtue is the reason of its ‎existence. Israel, on the other hand, possesses all virtues. This ‎posed a problem for the wicked Bileam who had been charged ‎with cursing such a virtuous nation. Bileam/Balak was searching ‎for a virtue possessed by the Moabites which the Israelites could ‎not match. Once he had isolated that virtue, this would be the ‎key to his successfully putting a curse on the Jewish people. This ‎is the reason why Balak, instead of using the word ‎קלל‎, when ‎asking Bileam to curse the Jewish people, used the word ‎ארה‎ ‎instead, as the word ‎ארה‎, from the root ‎ארר‎, means to isolate in ‎the sense of “to pin point, to single out.” The word ‎ארר‎ is closely ‎related to the root ‎ברר‎, “isolate,” usually the refuse, waste.‎
When our sages (Bartenurah on Peyah 8,1) speak ‎of ‎אורה בתאנים‎, the reference is to the selection of ripe figs for ‎harvesting as figs do not ripen all at the same time.
Apparently, Balak wanted to pinpoint a virtue possessed by ‎his people which was not shared by the Jewish people, and to base ‎this moral superiority entitling Bileam to curse that nation on ‎this virtue. This is why he referred to Yaakov, meaning: “in what ‎manner am I like Yaakov who possessed so many virtues?” He ‎went on saying: ‎ולכה זועמה ישראל‎, “so that you can proceed and ‎curse Israel.”‎ ‎

(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.

But now, I entreat, come, curse this people for me, for they are stronger than I, if I may but be able to meet them, though smaller than they, and drive them from the land. For I know that he whom thou dost bless is blessed, and he whom thou dost curse is cursed.

To diminish them a little. Meaning that this was what the Moavites were saying about Yisroel, that they would diminish them a little (Accordingly נכה is the infinitive and it means "[I will be able] to diminish"). The other interpretation is necessary because according to the first reason there is the difficulty that one had to ‘emend’ the text to read “my people and I.” Thus Rashi brings the other interpretation. However, according to the other interpretation, there is the difficulty that it should have said נכה ממנו [lit. "to diminish from him"] like the language of the Mishnah מנכה מן הדמים [lit. "reduce from the price"]. Thus the first reason is also necessary.

את אשר תבורך, by means of prophetic inspiration. Balak also knew that Bileam was a prophet and practiced foretelling future events by resorting to such tools of his trade as קסמים, charms of different sorts. This is the reason why in Joshua 13,22 Bileam is described as a קוסם, a sorcerer, someone working with charms. Up until now Balak had thought that his prayers and sacrifices would be enough to ward off the danger he thought the Jewish people posed for him and his country.

ועתה לכה נא, "and now please come, etc." Balak used the word ועתה, "and now," to indicate that he did not want Bileam to delay before he would come as he felt himself in danger every moment. He pleaded by using the word נא, "please," adding that Bileam should curse this people לי, "for me." By this he meant that the effectiveness of Bileam's curse should not be delayed until after the Israelites had a chance to revenge themselves on him and Moav for having called in Bileam to curse them. By using the word לי, Balak also hinted that although -according to the Midrash- Bileam had already blessed Balak personally so that he had no reason to fear the Israelites himself, he wanted the Israelites cursed and was not content with being blessed. In the event Bileam were to say that there was no need for this, Balak added כי עצום הוא ממני, "for it is more mighty than I." Balak had two things in mind when he said these words. 1) Israel's natural strength; 2) the matter of the blessing. He felt that Israel had received more powerful blessings than he had received from Bileam. When he went on אולי נכה בו, "perhaps we can smite it," he meant that even after Bileam would do all that he requested him to do he would still not feel confident to take on the Israelites by himself. At best, he might be able to inflict a defeat on them, certainly not to wipe them out. He might also have drawn a line between the righteous Israelites and the average ones. Of the former he expressed the hope that he could expel them from the region, ואגרשנו מן הארץ, whereas concerning the less pious Israelites he entertained hopes of defeating them, נכה בו.

There is also a moral/ethical message in Balak's words. His words boomeranged upon himself. When he said ארה לי, "curse for me," this turned out to be "curse me." Had he not used these words his daughter Kosbi would not have been killed by Pinchas. Bileam's coming to Moav and failing to curse the Israelites also became the reason that Balak was forced to return to Midian and be killed by the sword during the punitive expedition involving 12.000 Israelites as described in 31,8. If Bileam had not travelled all the way to Moav and assured these people that they were safe from the Israelites until the distant future, Balak would have remained on the throne in Moav, secure from all the wars the Israelites would be involved in. As it was, he became the personification of Psalms 37,15: "their swords shall pierce their own hearts."

כי ידעתי את אשר תברך מברך, "for I know that if you bless someone, etc." We may understand this as a reference to another statement in the Midrash we quoted earlier that Bileam had foretold Balak that he would become a king. Balak acknowledged that Bileam's blessing had indeed come true for him. This was something only he was aware of as he had experienced it personally. On the other hand, it was common knowledge that Bileam's curse was effective for when Sichon went to war against Moav he had hired Bileam to curse Moav (compare Tanchuma on this paragraph). As a result, Sichon had captured large parts of Moav. [land which the Israelites had now captured from Sichon. Ed.] We have to mention here that the reason Bileam's curses had seemed effective to people who hired him was 1) he possessed the power of the evil eye; 2) he knew when to exploit the precise moment when G'd was angry and he chose that moment to utter his curse. (compare Berachot 7). He did not have parallel powers to make his blessings effective for any length of time.

וארגשנו מן הארץ, “so that I will be able to expel them from the land.” He did not mean to exterminate them but merely to chase them away from land which was his. According to Rashi, he referred specifically to that part of Moav which Sichon had many years earlier conquered from Moav.

כי ידעתי את אשר תברך מבורך, “for I know that the ones whom you bless will be blessed.” Bileam (one of the people speaking in parables) had prophesied earlier that Moav would become a victim of Sichon, as we know from Numbers 21,27)

אולי אוכל נכה בו, “perhaps I can inflict a defeat on it;” the plural mode in the word נכה i.e. “we will inflict a defeat,” is not as surprising as it appears at first glance. We find a parallel in Song of Songs: 1,4: משכני אחריך נרוצה, “draw me after you, let us run.”An alternate interpretation: “Let us inflict a defeat on it, you and me by engaging it in war; “I will wage war, and you will do the cursing.” The use of the word הכאה, “striking” in the sense of cursing is also not unique, as we find it in Jeremiah 18,18: לכו ונכנו בלשון, “come and let us strike him with the tongue.

ואגרשנו מן הארץ, “so that I may drive them out of the land.” Balak is referring to the land that Sichon had taken from Moav during the rule of Moav’s first king.

אשר תברך מבורך, actually Bileam’s power did not consist in blessing but in cursing people by mentioning their failings at a critical moment in G’d’s timetable, as elaborated on by our sages in B’rachot 7. This is why Balak did not demand a blessing from Bileam to make him victorious in war, or at least to be blessed so that he could fight the Israelites to a standstill. But when he nonetheless added the words ידעתי את אשר תברך מבורך, he did so only as a way of flattering Bileam.

נכה בו (this may mean, “we may smite them”) I and my people may smite them. — Another explanation is that this is a Mishnaic Hebrew expression as in (Bava Metzia 105b) “he deducts (מנכה) for him something from the price”, so that it means: [perhaps I may be able] to reduce them a little in numbers (Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 4).

כי ידעתי וגו׳ FOR I KNOW etc., through the war of Sihon against Moab, because you assisted him to smite Moab (Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 4; cf. Rashi on 21:27).

ויאמר מואב אל זקני מדין, “Moav said to the elders of Midian, etc.;” They were their neighbours and they were contractually allied to them. We know this from Genesis 36,35: where Midian is referred to as having made common cause with Moav. Combined, they had defeated Haddad ben B’dad.