Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
וַיָּבֹא אֱלֹקִים אֶל־בִּלְעָם לַיְלָה וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ אִם־לִקְרֹא לְךָ בָּאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים קוּם לֵךְ אִתָּם וְאַךְ אֶת־הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר־אֲדַבֵּר אֵלֶיךָ אֹתוֹ תַעֲשֶׂה׃
וַיָּקָם בִּלְעָם בַּבֹּקֶר וַיַּחֲבֹשׁ אֶת־אֲתֹנוֹ וַיֵּלֶךְ עִם־שָׂרֵי מוֹאָב׃
וַיִּחַר־אַף אֱלֹקִים כִּי־הוֹלֵךְ הוּא …
That night God came to Bil’am and said to him, “If these people have come to invite you, you may go with them. But whatever I command you, you must do.”
Bil’am woke in the morning, saddled his donkey, and departed with the leaders of Moav.
God got angry because he was going…
Compare the bolded words at the top of the passage and at the bottom. You might wonder:
If God just gave Bil’am permission to go, why is God already angry that he went?
Rashi, quoting a midrash, says that Bil’am’s actions in the morning revealed his true intentions:
"וַיַּחֲבֹשׁ אֶת אֲתֹנוֹ" - מִכָּאן שֶׁהַשִּׂנְאָה מְקַלְקֶלֶת אֶת הַשּׁוּרָה, שֶׁחָבַשׁ הוּא בְּעַצְמוֹ…
"עִם־שָׂרֵי מוֹאָב" - לִבּוֹ כְּלִבָּם שָׁוֶה.
“Saddled his donkey”—hatred makes people act in unnatural ways. Bil’am wouldn’t have normally done this job for himself (because he would have had a servant do it, so we know he was acting from extreme hatred)...
“With the leaders of Moav”—his heart equal to their hearts.
"כִּי־הוֹלֵךְ הוּא" - דִּקְדֵּק לוֹמַר "הוּא" לוֹמַר טַעַם שֶׁחָרָה אַף ה' בּוֹ שֶׁלֹּא אָמַר בַּבֹּקֶר לְשָׂרֵי בָּלָק שֶׂה' נָתַן לוֹ רְשׁוּת לָלֶכֶת.
“Because he was going”—the pasuk emphasizes “he” to tell us that the reason God was angry was that in the morning Bil’am didn’t make clear to Balak’s messengers that God had given him permission to go. (He acted like he was going by his own choice.)
- What is the textual evidence for each of these פַּרְשָׁנִים (parshanim, commentators)?
- As you read the parashah, how do you understand Bil’am? Can you think of three or four characteristics to describe him? Be sure to back up your characteristics with evidence from the story! (For even more evidence about Bil’am, check out Bemidbar 31:16, Devarim 23:6, and Nehemiah 13:2.)
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