Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
Bil’am was hired to curse Benei Yisrael. But God puts words into Bil’am’s mouth, and he ends up speaking poetic blessings!
Here is one line of his poetry:
כִּֽי־מֵרֹ֤אשׁ צֻרִים֙ אֶרְאֶ֔נּוּ
וּמִגְּבָע֖וֹת אֲשׁוּרֶ֑נּוּ...
As I see them from the boulders,
gaze on them from the heights…
What are these “boulders” and “heights” Bil’am is referring to?
"כִּי מֵרֹאשׁ צוּרִים אֶרְאֶנּוּ"—אֵלּוּ הָאָבוֹת.
"וּמִגְּבָעוֹת אֲשׁוּרֶנּו"—אֵלּוּ הָאִמָּהוֹת.
“As I see them from the boulders”—these are our avot (fathers: Avraham, Yitzhak, Yaakov).
“Gaze on them from the heights”—these are our imahot (mothers: Sarah, Rivkah, Rahel, Leah).
Rashi quotes this midrash and explains it a little more. He says that Bil’am is commenting on Benei Yisrael’s firm and established foundation—the family and history that came before them. Benei Yisrael stand tall and strong, like rocks, because they have the strength of their avot and imahot.
- Can you think of people who came before you, in your family or in your community, who give you the foundation to stand tall and strong?
- Words in poems can often mean many different things all at once. Why do you think this midrash says that the “boulders” and “heights” are actually a description of Benei Yisrael and their ancestors? Could these words also be about something else?
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