Ilustration Credit: Rivka Tsinman
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
R. Shimon bar Yohai notices that Bilam, in our parashah, does the exact same thing Avraham once did:
וַיַּשְׁכֵּם אַבְרָהָם בַּבֹּקֶר וַיַּחֲבֹשׁ אֶת חֲמֹרוֹ
Avraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.
וַיָּקָם בִּלְעָם בַּבֹּקֶר וַיַּחֲבֹשׁ אֶת אֲתֹנוֹ
Bilam got up in the morning and saddled his donkey.
It’s almost like the Torah wants us to compare Bilam to Avraham. So what’s the connection between them?!
אָמַר ר' שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַאי: אַהֲבָה מְקַלְקֶלֶת אֶת הַשּׁוּרָה וְשִׂנְאָה מְקַלְקֶלֶת אֶת הַשּׁוּרָה.
אַהֲבָה מְקַלְקֶלֶת אֶת הַשּׁוּרָה, דִּכְתִיב: "וַיַּשְׁכֵּם אַבְרָהָם בַּבֹּקֶר וַיַּחֲבֹשׁ אֶת חֲמֹרוֹ"–וְלֹא הָיָה לוֹ כַּמָּה עֲבָדִים? אֶלָּא, אַהֲבָה מְקַלְקֶלֶת אֶת הַשּׁוּרָה.
וְשִׂנְאָה מְקַלְקֶלֶת אֶת הַשּׁוּרָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: "וַיָּקָם בִּלְעָם בַּבֹּקֶר וַיַּחֲבֹשׁ אֶת אֲתֹנוֹ"–וְלֹא הָיָה לוֹ כַּמָּה עֲבָדִים? אֶלָּא, שִׂנְאָה מְקַלְקֶלֶת אֶת הַשּׁוּרָה.
R. Shimon ben Yohai said: Love makes people break the normal rules, and hatred makes people break the normal rules.
Love makes people break the normal rules, as it is written, “Avraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey.” But didn’t he have lots of servants to do this job for him?! Rather, love made him break the normal rules.
Hatred makes people break the normal rules, as it is said, “Bilam got up in the morning and saddled his donkey.” But didn’t he have lots of servants to do this job for him?! Rather, hatred made him break the normal rules.
According to R. Shimon bar Yohai, Avraham and Bilam both put in way more effort than people like them normally do. But they put in extra effort for very different reasons. Avraham saddles his own donkey because Avraham loves God. Bilam saddles the donkey himself because he hates Benei Yisrael.
- What’s the connection between love, or hate, and wanting to saddle your donkey yourself? Why would one thing lead to the other?
- What can this teach us about powerful emotions like love and hate? What is the midrash trying to teach us about Avraham? What is it teaching us about Bilam?
- Do you ever notice yourself being willing to do extra work or pay extra attention to detail because you’re doing it for someone you love? Like what?
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