Our parasha is centered on Bilam's repeated efforts to curse Am Yisrael. These efforts seem doomed from the outset: Bilam could have deduced from the first visit by the elders of Midian that God has no wish to curse the nation, and there is no point in trying to go ahead and do so anyway. Even if Balak is not aware of God's complete control over Bilam, such that we can understand his pleas that Bilam curse the people, it still seems to make no sense that Bilam accedes to these please and tries to "persuade" God.
In addition, the episode of the donkey is especially puzzling. The general message arising from it is that God does not want Bilam to journey on with Balak's emissaries,[1] but it is not clear why the Torah invokes such a complex and strange illustration to convey such a simple point. To understand the metaphor of the donkey, we need to clarify with precision what the metaphor is, what it represents, and what message we are to derive from Bilam's three attempts to lead the donkey straight ahead.
It often happens that a person knows what he should do but tries to bypass his obligation by finding loopholes so he can do as he pleases. As we shall see, the answer to both of our questions is the same: Bilam knew what God wanted of him, just as the donkey "knew" what Bilam wanted of it. Nevertheless, just as the donkey tries to deviate from the path, so Bilam tried to find a "detour" around fulfilling God's will.
The structure of the parasha
First of all, it must be emphasized that when Bilam sets off, it does not enter his mind that God will put words in his mouth. He says to Balak, "Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me, I will tell you" (23:3) – for any prophet (with the exception of Moshe) needs to interpret the prophetic visions that God shows him. Bilam assumes that God will show him a vision and he will be able to interpret it in a way that is a curse for Israel, but God overturns his plans by "placing words in his mouth" (23:5, 16) – He determines the exact words that Bilam will say, not just the vision that he sees.
The parasha is generally structured around the number three: three times Balak tries to enlist Bilam's services; three times the donkey balks; and three times Bilam tries to curse Israel. Within each of these triads, Bilam has three options:
1. He might curse Israel – despite God's will – by giving a negative interpretation to his prophetic vision.
2. He might proceed with the goal of cursing them, but at the same time decide that if God opposes the curse, he will instead remain silent.
3. He might bless Israel but then add a curse afterwards.
These three possibilities find expression in Bilam's words prior to each of the blessings he utters, in Balak's words to Bilam, and also in Bilam's words after the blessings. Correspondingly, the three possibilities appear in the story of the donkey as well, with the difference that whereas Bilam seeks to go against God, the donkey goes against Bilam:
Bilam's intention | Story of the donkey | Bilam (before the blessing) | Balak (after the blessing) | Bilam (after the blessing) |
To curse via interpretation, contrary to God's command
| And the donkey turned aside from the way, and went into the field (22:23) | Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me, I will tell you (23:3) | I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have altogether blessed them (23:11) | That which the Lord puts in my mouth, must I not take care to say it? (23:12) |
To remain silent if God objects
| And the donkey saw the angel of God, and it crouched beneath Bilam[2] (22:27) | … while I go toward a meeting yonder (23:15) | Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all (23:25) | All that God has spoken, that I shall do (23:26) |
To bless and add a curse
| And it crushed itself against the wall, and it crushed Bilam's leg against the wall (22:25) | And he did not go, as the previous times, to meet with enchantments, but set his face towards the wilderness (24:1) | I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have altogether blessed them these three times (24:10) | I cannot transgress the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own mind (24:13) |
We can also add a fourth possibility here: independent action. This is expressed in Bilam's words before his fourth blessing, which comes on his own initiative: "Come, and I will announce to you what this people will do to your people… (24:14). We also see it in the story of the donkey, in the verse: "And God opened the donkey's mouth" (22:28), as the donkey has the opportunity to speak for itself.[3]
Three paths
As noted, each of the blessings represents a different path by which Bilam tried to curse Israel.
After the first blessing (in which, as noted, Bilam indeed tries to curse the nation), Balak reminds Bilam that he was supposed to curse Israel. Bilam's response is that he cannot go against God's words. This answer is simple and straightforward: he must speak God's words; he is unable to change them and give them a different, negative meaning.
After the second blessing, Balak (who clearly knows that Bilam's blessings too – not only his curses – have power) asks him why he doesn't at least remain silent. Bilam answers, "All that God has spoken, that I shall do." He cannot restrain himself; when God causes him to speak, he is compelled to do so.
The third time, Bilam declares that he cannot "transgress the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad" of his own volition. This formulation speaks to the third possibility that had stood before Bilam: blessing Israel, but adding a curse of his own afterwards.[4]
And thus, all three options are lost: he cannot reinterpret his prophecy of blessing, he cannot remain silent if God causes him to bless the people, and he cannot add whatever he wishes to what God tells him to say.
The nature of the action
The same structure that we identified in Bilam's blessings may also be detected earlier, in the words accompanying his three attempts to go with Balak.[5] We will see that the three occasions differ from one another in relation to the act of going, an act which has moral significance in itself but which must also be considered in light of Balak's request(s) and the response.
Bilam's intention | Balak's Request | God's Response | Bilam's Words to Balak |
To curse via interpretation, contrary to God's command
| Come, I pray you, curse this nation for me (22:6) | Do not go with them; do not curse the nation, for it is blessed (22:12) | The Lord refuses to allow me to go with you (22:13) |
To remain silent if God objects
| Let nothing hinder you, I pray you, from coming to me… and go, I pray you, curse this nation for me (22:16-17) | Arise, go with them, but only the word which I speak to you, that you shall do. (22:20) | I cannot transgress the word of the Lord my God to do (la'asot)anything small or great (22:18)[6] |
To bless and add a curse
| Why did you not come to me; am I not able indeed to promote you to honor? (22:37) | Go with the men, but only the word which I shall speak to you, that you shall speak. (22:35) | Behold, I have come (bati) to you; can I then indeed say anything? That which the Lord places in my mouth, that I shall speak. (22:38) |
Let us first examine Balak's words in expressing his request to Bilam. The first time Balak sends messengers, he tells him, "Come (lekha), I pray you, curse this nation for me." Here, the act of Bilam going to Balak is of secondary importance; it is merely to facilitate the cursing. The second time, we see a merging of the going and the cursing: "Let nothing hinder you, I pray you, from coming (mei-halokh) to me" – followed by, "go (lekha), I pray you, curse this nation for me." There is a dual request here: Balak is asking Bilam to go to him, and he is also asking him to curse Israel.[7] The third time, Balak demands a response solely with regard to the act of going: "Why did you not come (lo halakhta) to me?"
God's response to Bilam matches Balak's request. In Balak's first proposal, the entire point of the journey is to curse Israel, and therefore God does not allow Bilam to go. The second time, when Balak makes a dual request, God emphasizes, "If it is to call you that the men have come – arise, go with them" (22:20). If Balak is only asking Bilam to come, he may accede to the request, but if Bilam is planning to go with Balak's messengers and remain silent (rather than blessing them), God emphasizes: "But the word which I shall speak to you, that you shall do" – Bilam may not remain passively silent.[8] The third time, as we have seen, Bilam plans to add a curse after whatever else God may cause him to say, and therefore God is angry with him (as expressed clearly in the incident with the donkey). When Bilam understands that God does not agree to his going and asks whether he should turn around and go home, God tells him that he must fulfill his mission faithfully and precisely, adding nothing of his own: "but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak" (22:35).
Bilam's response to Balak all three times matches both the request and God's response. At the first stage, Bilam rules out the very idea of going (in keeping with God's command). In the third stage, he decides there is no significance in the going itself, since he is unable to add anything to God's word. In the second stage, Bilam states that he cannot simply remain silent but must do whatever God tells him: "I cannot transgress the word of the Lord my God to do anything small or great."
The content of the blessings
The content of the blessings also matches the above format, and we can infer from the blessings what the wicked Bilam wished to say in his intended curses:
Bilam's intention | Content of the three blessings |
To curse via interpretation, contrary to God's command
| Balak, king of Moav, brought me… "Come, curse Yaakov for me, and come execrate Yisrael." How shall I curse, whom God has not cursed? And how shall I execrate, whom the Lord has not execrated? (23:7-8) |
To remain silent if God objects
| Would He say and not do [as He said]? Would He have spoken and not fulfill it? Behold, I was taken to bless; and [when] He has blessed, I cannot call it back. (23:19-20) |
To bless and add a curse
| And the spirit of God came upon him… The word of one who hears the utterances of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty (24:2-4) |
The first time, Bilam speaks of cursing as opposed to blessing: he is unable to curse if God does not wish it. The second time, the focus is on action: if God wants Bilam to bless Israel, Bilam is unable to remain silent and not bless them. Here, there is no reference to cursing at all. The third time, Bilam sees a vision and interprets it properly. He refers to both blessing and cursing at the end of his words: "Blessed be those who bless you, and cursed be those who curse you" (24:9) – since this time, Bilam wanted to add words that God had not given him, and he hints to these words in his closing phrases.
Only the fourth time is Bilam able to declare that he "knows the mind of the Most High" (24:16). After three attempts to curse Israel, he finally knows God's mind.
For what reason do you beat your donkey?
The metaphor of the donkey hints to the entire sequence discussed above. The donkey represents Bilam, and just as Bilam launches into a blessing for the fourth time on his own initiative (24:14), so too the donkey opens its mouth in the fourth confrontation.
The first three times, a certain entity (Bilam) steers the donkey to perform a certain act (to walk straight ahead), and it refuses to do so. This represents God steering Bilam to follow a straight path, against his personal will. The sword that Bilam wishes for, with which to slaughter the donkey, is ultimately exchanged for the sword of Bnei Yisrael, which strikes Bilam at God's command (31:8).
Like Bilam, the donkey tries to maneuver off the path in three different ways. First it tries to deviate from the path (signifying cursing instead of blessing); then it passes by the side of the angel, pressing Bilam's leg into the wall (cursing and blessing simultaneously);[9] and finally, it crouches in place (in other words – remaining silent; neither cursing nor blessing).
***
In summary, we have shown that the basic structure of Parashat Balak is consistent throughout. There are no redundancies, and every word, every attempt, and every development is thought out and deliberate.
(Translated by Kaeren Fish; edited by Sarah Rudolph)
[1] Although Chazal attach other meanings to the story: "Bilam did not understand the mind of his own animal; could he then understand the mind of the Most High?!" (Berakhot 7a).
[2] In the parasha, the donkey's crouching is brought regarding the third time, not the second. This will be explained in a footnote below.
[3] Editor's note: This will be discussed further at the end of the shiur.
[4] This is also the reason God does not "place" the third blessing in Bilam's mouth. When Bilam understands that God wants to bless Israel, there is no need to place precise words in his mouth; it is enough that he be shown a blurry vision. Bilam will interpret the vision properly – but he intends to add a curse of his own. Therefore, the formulation of the revelation the third time resembles the fourth, which is real prophecy.
[5] Editor's note: I have emphasized in bold the instances of the root h/l/kh (translated most often as "go," but in certain contexts as "come") in this table, although the real point here is not the specific verb but the significance of the "going"; indeed, two verses use other verbs instead. Bati (22:38) carries the same implications as h/l/kh, while la'asot holds additional significance that the author develops below.
[6] Since there is no reaction after God's words this time (Bilam simply goes with them, and does not need to say anything), we can learn instead from Bilam's earlier words.
[7] Accordingly, the function of the "going" is different in each of the three blessings. In the first blessing, Bilam goes so that God will appear to him (23:3); in the second, he is simply "met" (23:15-16); and in the third blessing, it may be that there is no going at all, but merely a change of direction (24:1-2). (There is also is no mention of Bilam returning to Balak after the third blessing, in contrast to the first two; see v. 10.) This progression matches the progression in Bilam's words at the beginning of the story and is the inverse of the progression in the words of Balak.
[8] This is also hinted to in Balak's words the second time, when he promises to reward Bilam and even says: "whatever you say to me, I shall do" (22:17).
[9] As we can see, the order in the metaphor of the donkey does not exactly follow the order in God's words. God first relates to remaining silent, and only afterward to the idea of adding a curse, while the donkey first presses Bilam's leg and only afterwards crouches in its place. The reason for this is that the donkey represents Bilam's will. His preference is to curse Israel, and only if this is impossible will he settle for the next best alternative – remaining silent. God relates first to the more serious sin – silence, which constitutes a transgression against God's word – and only afterwards to the addition of Bilam's own curse, which is a less severe transgression.
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