[Par-reg] for Parshat Balak
Menachem Leibtag
tsc at bezeqint.net
Wed Jun 23 10:27:45 EDT 2010
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THE TANACH STUDY CENTER [http://www.tanach.org]
In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag
Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem Leibtag
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PARSHAT BALAK
Is Bil'am really such a 'bad guy'? This may surprise
you, but if you read this week's Parsha carefully, you'll
have
trouble pinpointing any specific transgression that he
commits.
Indeed, God's anger with his decision to travel with
Balak's messengers (see 22:12,22) suggests that his true
intentions may have been to curse Am Yisrael. However,
this
fact may prove exactly the opposite - that Bil'am is a man
of
high stature! After all, over and over again, Bil'am
overcomes his personal desire to curse Yisrael and blesses
them instead - "exactly as God commands him" (see 23:12,26
&
24:13). In fact, his final blessing of Am Yisrael appears
to
have been of his own initiative (see 24:1-6).
Why, then, do Chazal cite Bil'am as the archetype
'rasha'
(a wicked person / see Pirkei Avot 5:22)? Simply for once
having 'bad intentions'?
In this week's shiur we attempt to answer this
question.
INTRODUCTION
As we mentioned above, in Parshat Balak it is hard to
pinpoint any specific sin that Bil'am commits. In fact,
by
the time the Parsha is over, one is left with the
impression
that Bil'am may even be a rather righteous, God fearing
individual. Let's cite some examples:
Before he departs upon his journey, Bil'am makes sure
to
make it absolutely clear to Balak's messengers that he
will
not stray one iota from whatever God will tell him (see
22:18).
Later on, upon his arrival at 'sdeh Mo'av', Bil'am
actually blesses Am Yisrael instead of cursing them,
precisely
as God commands him (see 23:1-24:9). In fact, Bil'am's
blessings are so 'pro-Israel' that by the conclusion of
the
story, Balak becomes so angry that he basically tells
Bil'am
to 'get lost':
"Balak's anger was kindled with Bil'am and, striking his
hands together, Balak tells Bil'am: I asked you to curse
my
enemy and instead you have blessed them three times!
Now,
run away to your own place..." (24:10-11).
Then, as though he had not disappointed Balak enough,
Bil'am's 'farewell address' to Balak includes a harsh
predication of how Yisrael will one day defeat Mo'av and
Edom
in battle (see 24:15-19).
Finally, it's all over when "Bil'am gets up and goes
to
his homeland, and Balak also went on his way" (24:25).
Clearly, as Parshat Balak reaches its conclusion, we are
left
with the impression that Bil'am & Balak split on
'no-speaking'
terms. Bil'am, the 'loyal prophet of God', returned home
-
leaving Balak 'empty handed'.
Surely, had this been the only story in Chumash about
Bil'am, it would be quite difficult to judge him as a
"rasha".
In the following shiur, we will show how the primary
source
for Chazal's negative view of Bil'am may be rooted in a
different story, one that is recorded later on in Parshat
Matot - where the Torah tells us about Bil'am's 'untimely
death'.
We begin our shiur by showing how the story in
Parshat
Matot forms the continuation of the story in Parshat
Balak.
BIL'AM & THE WAR WITH MIDYAN
Recall that immediately after the story of Bil'am in
chapters 22-24, we find the story of Bnei Yisrael's sin
with
'bnot Mo'av' (the daughters of Mo'av and Midyan) in
chapter
25. Although the Torah does not specify who instigated
this
sin, the juxtaposition of these two stories already
suggests a
thematic connection (see Rashi & Ramban 25:1).
Due to their sin, Bnei Yisrael are punished by a
terrible
plague, but finally they are saved by the zealous act of
Pinchas (see 25:1-9). At the conclusion of that entire
incident, God commands Bnei Yisrael to avenge the Midyanim
(i.e. to launch a reprisal attack / see 25:16-18).
The details of that ensuing battle are recorded
several
chapters later - in Parshat Matot (see 31:1-12).
[Even though logic would dictate for Chumash to record
this
battle immediately after its command, i.e. in chapter
26;
for some reason, Chumash interrupts this narrative with
several other 'parshiot' instead. The reason for this
'interruption' will be discussed in next week's shiur on
Parshat Pinchas.]
In its brief detail of the battle against Midyan (in
Parshat Matot), the Torah informs us, almost incidentally,
that Bil'am is killed together with the five kings of
Midyan
(see 31:8).
Why was Bil'am executed? Was he an officer in
Midyan's
army, or was he simply 'caught in the cross-fire'?
The Torah doesn't tell us explicitly why he was
killed,
but it certainly wants us to know that he indeed deserved
the
'death penalty' together with the other 'leaders' of
Midyan.
To understand the underlying reason, we must
undertake a
quick analysis of the story that follows when Moshe
Rabbeinu
meets the officers who had returned from this battle.
Let's pay careful attention to the section where
Moshe
censures the military officers for taking female captives,
noting how and why he mentions Bil'am in this censure:
"And Moshe became angry at the military officers...
saying:
Why did you leave the female captives alive? Were they
not
the very ones who seduced Bnei Yisrael -* bi-dvar Bil'am
*-
at the bidding of Bil'am - to go against God in the
matter
of Pe'or, causing a plague...!" (See 31:14-16).
What is Moshe referring to when he mentions 'dvar
Bil'am'? From the context of these psukim, it seems quite
clear that dvar Bil'am refers to Bil'am's advice to use
the
daughters of Mo'av and Midyan to lure Bnei Yisrael towards
the
idol worship of 'Ba'al Pe'or'. [This explanation is also
advanced by the Gemara in Sanhedrin 106a.]
If this assumption is correct, then the connection
between these two parshiot becomes clear. It was Bil'am
himself who instigated the entire incident of 'chet bnot
Mo'av'! It was his idea to lure Bnei Yisrael into
sinning.
Bil'am was so involved in this plot that this entire
incident
is associated with his name!
Furthermore, from the very casual mention of dvar
Bil'am
in Moshe's censure to the officers, it appears that
Bil'am's
involvement in this scheme is 'common knowledge'. In
other
words, Moshe takes for granted that the military officers
are
aware of what dvar Bil'am refers to. Hence, everyone
seems to
know that Bil'am was the instigator behind this devious
plot.
Therefore, when Bil'am is executed, it is not because
he
had once intended to curse Bnei Yisrael. Bil'am is found
guilty for it was he who orchestrated the entire scheme of
chet bnot Midyan.
So what led to Bil'am's sudden change of heart? Why,
after blessing Am Yisrael, does he turn around and
orchestrate
their demise? Was dvar Bil'am simply some last minute
advice
to Balak before leaving?
It doesn't seem so. Recall from Parshat Balak that
when
Bil'am was sent away, he and Balak were not exactly on
speaking terms. Furthermore, what was Bil'am doing in
Midyan
at all? Had he not gone 'home'?
Before we can answer these questions, we must first
determine where Bil'am is from. [& it's time for a short
lesion in 'Biblical geography'.]
BIL'AM'S 'HOME-TOWN'
To better understand Bil'am's true character, we must
first establish that he lived in Mesopotamia, a very far
distance away from Mo'av and Midyan! How do we know this?
In
the opening psukim of the Parsha we are told that:
"Balak sent messengers to Bil'am ben Be'or, to city of
Petor, which is by the river... to call him." (22:5).
In Chumash, the phrase: the river ('ha-nahar')
usually
refers to the Euphrates (i.e. 'nehar prat'), the main
river
flowing through Mesopotamia.
This assumption is confirmed in Sefer Devarim, in a
short
reference to Mo'av and the story of Bil'am:
"... and because they hired Bil'am ben Be'or from Ptor
Aram
Naharayim" [Aram - (located between) the two great
rivers
(the Euphrates and Tigris)] (see 23:5).
Furthermore, Bil'am's opening blessing states
specifically that he came from Aram, from the East (modern
day
Syria/Iraq):
"from Aram, Balak has brought me... from mountains in
the
east [harerei kedem]" (23:7).
Now we must show how that fact that Bil'am resided in
Mesopotamia affects how we understand a few 'missing
links' in
the story.
THE RETURN OF BIL'AM
Recall from the conclusion of Parshat Balak that
Bil'am
had returned home (see 24:25), i.e. to Mesopotamia, after
blessing Bnei Yisrael (instead of cursing them).
Nevertheless, only a short time later we find that Bil'am
is
'back in the neighborhood' (as we discussed above) - when
Bnei
Yisrael sin with bnot Midyan. [See 31:8.] Thus, we must
conclude that after Bil'am had returned home, he came back
to
Mo'av - i.e. for a second time!
So what motivated Bil'am's lengthy trek back to
Mo'av?
Why was he so interested in giving Mo'av and Midyan advice
that he knew would cause Bnei Yisrael to sin?
The answer is startling, but simple:
Bil'am the 'prophet' went home - but Bil'am the
'consultant' returns! Let's explain:
The very fact that Bil'am later returns to Mo'av
proves
that his true intention all along was to curse Bnei
Yisrael.
Yet as a 'prophet, [professionally speaking,], he could
not do
so for 'how could he curse he whom God Himself does not
curse'
(see 23:8).
However, even though he may be faithful to God as a
professional 'prophet', he is far less faithful as a
person.
It seems as though Bil'am's desire to cause Bnei
Yisrael
harm was so great that he searches for a different avenue
to
bring upon their demise. Instead of using his 'prophetic
abilities', this time Bil'am uses his 'prophetic
knowledge' to
create a situation where God Himself will curse Am
Yisrael.
As reflected in his blessing of Bnei Yisrael, Bil'am
'the
prophet' recognizes the special relationship between God
and
His Nation. He fully understands why God does not allow
him
to curse them, for it is His will that Bnei Yisrael
fulfill
their Divine purpose to become God's special nation.
On the other hand, Bil'am finds a loophole. Being a
prophet, he also realizes that should Bnei Yisrael
themselves
fail in their obedience to God, He Himself would punish
them.
In other words - this special nation could not be cursed
without reason. However, should they sin, God would have
ample reason to punish them. Bil'am's conclusion is
shrewd:
to cause Bnei Yisrael to be cursed - by causing them to
sin.
Bil'am finally found a method to curse Bnei Yisrael.
He
advises Mo'av and Midyan to cause Bnei Yisrael to sin.
This may be the underlying reason why Chazal consider
Bil'am the archetype "rasha" - for he utilizes his
prophetic
understanding, the special trait which God gave him, to
further his own desires rather than to follow God's will.
In a
general sense, taking special divine given qualities - and
using them in an improper manner, can be considered the
'way
of life' of the 'wicked'.
BETWEEN AVRAHAM AND BIL'AM
In the Mishna in Pirkei Avot (5:22), not only is
Bil'am
called the rasha, he is also contrasted with Avraham
Avinu:
"Whoever has the following three traits is among the
'talmidim' (disciples) of Avraham Avinu; and whoever has
three other traits is among the 'talmidim' of Bil'am ha-
rasha:
BIL'AM AVRAHAM
evil eye good eye
arrogant spirit humble spirit
greedy soul meek soul ...
Both Avraham and Bil'am are men of renowned spiritual
stature. However, Bil'am exploits this quality for his
own
personal pride and gain, while Avraham Avinu utilizes this
quality towards the perfection of mankind. A rasha,
according
to Chaza,l is one who harnesses his God-given traits and
abilities towards an unworthy purpose. A disciple of
Avraham
Avinu is one who harnesses these qualities for a Divine
purpose.
In Chumash, we find several textual parallels between
Bil'am and Avraham Avinu that support this comparison. We
will note two examples:
(A) BRACHA & KLALA
Avraham:
"and I will bless those whom you bless, and those who
curse you shall be cursed, and through you all nations
on
earth shall be blessed" (Br.12:3).
Bil'am:
"for it is known, that he whom you bless shall be
blessed,
and he whom you curse shall be cursed" (22:5).
(B) ARAM NAHARAYIM
The homeland of both Avraham and Bil'am is in Aram
Naharayim, the center of ancient civilization:
Avraham: see Breishit 24:4 & 24:10, and Br.11:27-31.
Bil'am: see Bamidbar 23:7 & Devarim 23:5.
These parallels point to this thematic contrast
between
Bil'am and Avraham Avinu. As Bnei Yisrael, the chosen
offspring of Avraham Avinu, are about to enter the Land
that
God had promised him - to become a 'blessing for all
nations'
(Br. 12:3), they meet a final challenge. Just as God's
prophecy concerning Avraham is about to become a reality,
Bil'am - the prophet with the ability to bless and curse -
together with Mo'av (the descendants of Lot) and Midyan
(the
descendants of Yishmael) make a last minute attempt to
thwart
the fruition of this destiny.
PROFESSIONAL BIAS
Once could suggest that this confrontation may be
reflective of a more fundamental conflict. Unlike the
people
of Mo'av, whose fear was motivated by a practical threat
upon
their national security (22:3-4), Bil'am's fear of Am
Yisrael
may have been more ideological.
The very existence of Am Yisrael posed a threat to
Bil'am
himself! Bil'am, as echoed in his three blessings,
perceived
the Divine purpose of Am Yisrael: a Nation destined to
bring
the message of God to mankind. This novel concept of a
Nation
of God threatened to upset the spiritual 'status quo' of
ancient civilization. Up until this time, if there was a
Divine message for mankind - it would be delivered by
inspired
'individuals' - e.g. men such as Bil'am himself.
However, once Bnei Yisrael would become a nation in
their
land, this same purpose could be fulfilled by a nation -
instead of by an individual. From a certain perspective,
this
itself could be considered a 'professional threat' to
Bil'am
and to the society that he represents.
On a certain level, this confrontation between Bil'am
and
Am Yisrael continues till this very day. Is it possible
for a
nation, a political entity, to deliver a Divine message to
all
mankind? While Bil'am and his 'disciples' continue to
endeavor to undermine this goal, it remains Am Yisrael
responsibility to constantly strive to achieve it.
shabbat shalom
menachem
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FOR FURTHER IYUN
A. Note the commentary of the Abarbanel where he explains
that Bil'am is a descendant of Lavan.
1. Does this support the basic points made in the shiur.
2. What parallels exist between Bil'am and Lavan?
3. Did Lavan ever receive 'nevu'a'? Did Hashem ever
speak to
him? If so, what was the content? Is it parallel to
Bil'am?
4. Could the struggle between Lavan and Yaakov also be
considered of a spiritual nature?
B. Bil'am was almost successful. Bnei Yisrael's sin with
bnot Mo'av and Midyan led to some 24 thousand casualties.
The
plague was stopped due to the zealous act of Pinchas
(25:6-9).
His act returned Bnei Yisrael to their covenantal partner.
In
reward, Pinchas receives the covenant of the 'kehuna'
(25:10-
13).
1. In what way does his reward reflect his deed?
2. What are the responsibilities of the 'kohanim' in
addition
to working in the mikdash?
3. How does this relate to the ultimate fulfillment of our
national destiny?
C. An additional textual parallel exists between Avraham
and
Bil'am: Travelling in the morning with two servants etc.:
Avraham - Va-yashkem Avraham ba-boker, va-yachavosh et
chamoro
Va-yikach et shnei na'arav ito .. (Br. 22:3)
Bil'am - "Va-yakom Bil'am ba-boker, va-yachavosh et
atono...
u-shnei na'arav imo" (Bamid. 22:22-23)
Could this parallel be the source of the Midrash Chazal
describing the 'satan' who challenges Avraham Avinu on his
journey with Yitzchak to the Akeida? If so, explain why.
D. As you read the opening chapter of Parshat Balak, note
the
the numerous textual parallels between this story, and the
opening story of the Exodus as described in the first
chapter
of Sefer Shmot. Can you suggest a thematic parallel that
this
textual parallel may be alluding to?
E. Who wrote 'Sefer Bil'am'?
Parshat Balak seems to be an integral part of
Chumash;
however, the Gemara in Bava Batra 14b makes a very strange
statement: "Moshe katav sifro (chumash -his book), parshat
Bil'am, and sefer Iyov (Job)."
It is understandable that we need to know that
Moshe
wrote Sefer Iyov, but why would there be any 'hava
amina'
that he didn't write Parshat Bil'am ?
Rashi (in Bava Batra) explains that every other
parsha in
Chumash is connected in some way to Moshe - either
'tzorcho',
'torato' (mitzvot), or 'seder ma'asav' (narrative).
Rashi explains that everywhere else in Chumash Moshe is in
some way directly involved. In parshat Bil'am, no one
including Moshe should have known about the entire
incident
between Bil'am and Balak.
The obvious question then arises, who wrote the story
of
Bil'am that appears in Chumash?
If not Moshe, what other navi was there who could have?
This question is answered by Rabbeinu Gershom (al
atar)
that the possibility exists that this parsha was written
by
Bil'am himself! Since he was a navi, his brachot and
conversations are quoted directly!
In order that we do not come to that conclusion, the
Gemara must tell us that Moshe wrote down this entire
Parsha
directly from Hashem, and did not receive them via Bil'am.
How does this relate to the machloket regarding: 'Torah
-
megila nitna', or 'sefer chatum nitna'?
F. One could also ask how Bnei Yisrael aware of Bil'am's
involvement in the sin of bnot Mo'av. Why was dvar Bil'am
common knowledge among Bnei Yisrael? Who told them that
it
was Bil'am's idea?
The answer could be quite simple. Most probably, the
daughters of Midyan (who sinned with Bnei Yisrael) had
informed their 'patrons' as to who had sent them. [The
'word'
got around.]
G. "Ma Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov"
>From the time that Bnei Yisrael leave Har Sinai, Sefer
Bamidbar has few positive events to record. The nation
appears to be going from one sin to the next (mit'onenim,
mit'avim, meraglim, korach, mei meriva etc.). With all
the
complaining, internal strife etc., it is difficult to find
anything positive.
It 'davka' takes an outsider, like Bil'am, looking from a
distance at Am Yisrael, to perceive the greatness of this
nation despite all of its problems. When Bil'am
recognizes
that an entire nation is following Hashem through the
desert,
he proclaims:
"Ma tovu ohalecha yaakov..."
This is an important insight for today also. Sometimes we
become over-disillusioned with ourselves, as we see so
much
disagreement, lack of unity, lack of commitment etc. We
become so involved with the details that we sometimes are
unable to take a step out and look at the whole picture,
to
see our achievements. With all the problems in Israel
today,
there continue to be great achievements in all walks of
Jewish
life. It is important to periodically take a step back
and
assess the good as well as the bad. It gives us the
motivation to continue to achieve. "Ma tovu ohalecha
Yaakov" -
a nice attitude to start off the day!
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