Pt1 The Prophet, the Prostitutes, and the Curses Reversed: The Biblical Story of Balaam in Talmudic Interpretation (Sanhedrin 105b-106b)
This is the first installment of a two-part series. The outline is below.
This Talmudic passage primarily focuses on the various interpretations and discussions regarding the figure of Balaam and his actions in the Bible.
Outline
Divine Intervention on Balaam's Speech
Balaam’s Ten Transformed Curses: Blessings Revealed and Their Reversion, Except for Synagogues
Ahijah's Curse Better Than Balaam's Blessing: The Resilience of the Reed vs. the Fragility of the Cedar
Fates of Three Advisors: Balaam, Job, and Yitro in Egyptian Counsel
R’ Yoḥanan's Warning: The Peril of Hindering Israel's Redemption
Rav's Interpretation of Roman Legion's Attack: Enslavement of Jews Following Initial Killings
Balaam's Plot: The Dramatic Story of How Prostitutes Led the Jewish Men Astray
Tannaitic Interpretations of Shittim and Rephidim: Place Names or Symbolic Allusions?
Heretic Questions R’ Ḥanina on Balaam’s Age at Death, Aligns With “The Notebook of Balaam”
Mar son of Ravina: Limit Negative Homiletic Interpretations—Except for Balaam
The Passage
Divine Intervention on Balaam's Speech
R' Elazar and R' Yonatan debate how God controlled Balaam's speech—one says it was through an angel, the other through a hook (חכה) in his mouth.
(במדבר כג, ה) "וישם דבר בפי בלעם"
ר"א אומר: מלאך
ר' יונתן אמר: חכה
With regard to the verse: “And the Lord placed a matter in Balaam’s mouth” (Numbers 23:5),
R' Elazar says: It was an angel that spoke from his mouth.
R' Yonatan says: It was a hook placed in his mouth to prevent him from saying anything else.
Balaam’s Ten Transformed Curses: Blessings Revealed and Their Reversion, Except for Synagogues
This passage discusses the intentions of Balaam, who initially sought to curse the Jewish people, but whose curses were transformed by God into blessings.
R' Yoḥanan explains that from these blessings, one can discern Balaam's original malicious intentions. He aimed to deprive the Jews of ten blessings:1
synagogues (בתי כנסיות) and study halls,
the Divine Presence (Shekhinah),
a lasting kingdom,
agriculture,
fragrant smell,
Tall (בעלי קומה) kings,
dynastic rule,2
Dominance over other nations,
Fierceness (עזה),
fear of their kingdom.
R' Abba bar Kahana adds that although these blessings were initially bestowed, they ultimately reverted to Balaam’s intended curses over time—except for the destruction of synagogues and study halls, which remains unfulfilled.3
א"ר יוחנן:
מברכתו של אותו רשע, אתה למד מה היה בלבו
ביקש לומר, ש
לא יהו להם בתי כנסיות ובתי מדרשות [...]
לא תשרה שכינה עליהם [...]
לא תהא מלכותן נמשכת [...]
לא יהא להם זיתים וכרמים [...]
לא יהא ריחן נודף [...]
לא יהיו להם מלכים בעלי קומה [...]
לא יהיה להם מלך בן מלך [...]
לא תהא מלכותן שולטת באומות [...]
לא תהא עזה מלכותן [...]
לא תהא אימת מלכותן [...]
אמר רבי אבא בר כהנא:
כולם חזרו לקללה
חוץ מבתי כנסיות ומבתי מדרשות
שנאמר [...]
R' Yoḥanan says:
From the blessing of that wicked person, Balaam, you can ascertain what was in his heart. God transformed the curses that he planned into blessings.
He sought to say that they should not have synagogues and study halls, [...]
He sought to say that the Divine Presence [shekhina] will not rest upon them, [...]
He sought to say that the kingdom of Israel would not continue, [...]
He sought to say that they would have no olive trees and vineyards, [...]
He sought to say that their fragrance would not diffuse [...]
He sought to say that they would not have kings of stature, [...]
He sought to say that they will not have a king the son of a king, [...]
He sought to say that their kingdom would not rule over the nations, [...]
He sought to say that their kingdom would not be fierce, [...]
He sought to say that there will be no fear of their kingdom, [...]
R' Abba bar Kahana says:
All of the blessings ultimately reverted to be fulfilled as the curse that he originally intended, as all of those circumstances befell the Jewish people,
except for the destruction of synagogues and study halls,
as it is stated: [...]
Ahijah's Curse Better Than Balaam's Blessing: The Resilience of the Reed vs. the Fragility of the Cedar
R' Shmuel bar Naḥmani, citing R' Yonatan, explains the verse "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are importunate" (Proverbs 27:6). He contrasts the curse of the biblical Ahijah the Shilonite with the blessing of Balaam.
Ahijah cursed Israel by metaphorically comparing them to a reed (קנה), which, although fragile, is deeply rooted, flexible, and replenishes itself (גיזעו מחליף), making it resilient against strong winds.
In contrast, Balaam blessed Israel by metaphorically comparing them to a cedar, which, though strong, has shallow roots, does not regenerate when cut, and is vulnerable to being uprooted by a strong southern wind.4
Furthermore, the reed provides quills5 for writing sacred texts.
Hence, Ahijah's curse ultimately benefits Israel more than Balaam's blessing.
א"ר שמואל בר נחמני, א"ר יונתן:
מאי דכתיב (משלי כז, ו):
"נאמנים פצעי אוהב, ונעתרות נשיקות שונא"
טובה קללה שקילל אחיה השילוני את ישראל,
יותר מברכה שברכם בלעם הרשע
אחיה השילוני קילל את ישראל בקנה
שנאמר (מלכים א יד, טו): "והכה ה' את ישראל כאשר ינוד הקנה במים וגו'"
מה קנה זה
עומד במקום מים
וגיזעו מחליף
ושרשיו מרובין
ואפילו כל רוחות שבעולם באות ונושבות בו, אין מזיזות אותו ממקומו, אלא הוא הולך ובא עמהן, כיון שדוממו הרוחות, עמד קנה במקומו
אבל בלעם הרשע, ברכן בארז
מה ארז זה
אינו עומד במקום מים
ושרשיו מועטין
ואין גזעו מחליף
אפילו כל הרוחות שבעולם באות ונושבות בו, אין מזיזות אותו ממקומו, כיון שנשבה בו רוח דרומית, מיד עוקרתו והופכתו על פניו,
ולא עוד, אלא שזכה קנה ליטול ממנו קולמוס לכתוב ממנו ס"ת נביאים וכתובים
[...]
R' Shmuel bar Naḥmani says that R' Yonatan says:
What is the meaning of that which is written:
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are importunate” (Proverbs 27:6)?
Better is the curse that Ahijah the Shilonite cursed the Jewish people
than the blessing that Balaam the wicked blessed them.
Ahijah the Shilonite cursed Israel with a reed,
as it is stated: “For the Lord shall smite Israel as a reed is shaken in water” (I Kings 14:15).
There is an aspect of blessing in that curse, as he was saying they will be just like a reed that
stands in a place near water, as the water sustains it,
and its stalk replenishes itself, as if it is cut another grows,
and its roots are numerous.
And even if all the winds that are in the world come and gust against it, they do not move it from its place and uproot it. Rather, it goes and comes with the winds. And once the winds subside the reed remains in its place.
But Balaam the wicked blessed them with a cedar.
There is an aspect of curse in that blessing, as he was saying they will be just like a cedar that
does not stand in a place near water,
and its roots are few relative to its height,
and its trunk does not replenish itself, as if it is cut it does not grow back.
And even if all the winds that are in the world come and gust against it, they do not move it from its place and uproot it; but once a southern wind gusts it immediately uproots the cedar and overturns it on its face.
Moreover, it is the reed that was privileged to have a quill [kulmos] taken from it to write scrolls of Torah, Prophets, and Writings. Therefore, the curse of Ahijah is better than the blessing of Balaam.
[...]
Fates of Three Advisors: Balaam, Job, and Yitro in Egyptian Counsel
R’ Ḥiyya bar Abba, quoting R' Simai, recounts that three figures participated in a counsel regarding the fate of the Israelites in Egypt: Balaam, Job, and Yitro.
Balaam, who advised drowning the newborn males, was killed. Job, who remained silent and did not object, was punished with suffering. Yitro, who fled after disagreeing with the counsel, was rewarded, and his descendants served as scribes in the Sanhedrin.6
א"ר חייא בר אבא א"ר סימאי:
שלשה היו באותה עצה
אלו הן
בלעם
איוב
ויתרו
בלעם שיעץ -- נהרג
איוב ששתק -- נידון ביסורין
ויתרו שברח -- זכו בני בניו לישב בלשכת הגזית
שנאמר [...]
R' Ḥiyya bar Abba says that R' Simai says:
Three were associates in that counsel,
and they are:
Balaam,
Job,
and Yitro.
Balaam, who advised to drown the newborn males, was killed.
Job, who was silent and was reluctant to express his opinion, was sentenced to suffer afflictions.
And Yitro, who fled after he disagreed with that counsel and Pharaoh sought to kill him, his descendants were privileged to sit as scribes in session with the Sanhedrin in the Chamber of Hewn Stone, as it is stated: [...]
The first four out of five are general, and the second five, and #3, are about their kings and kingdom. Each one is homiletically derived from Balaam’s curses in the Bible; I elide these derivations.
מלך בן מלך - literaly: “king son of king”.
Meaning that after the Destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, all the Jews had left from the list were #1: synagogues and study halls.
רוח דרומית.
See Gittin.31b.11:
אמר רב חנן בר רבא, אמר רב:
ארבע רוחות מנשבות בכל יום,
ורוח צפונית מנשבת עם כולן;
שאלמלא כן, אין העולם מתקיים אפילו שעה אחת.
ורוח דרומית קשה מכולן,
ואלמלא בן נץ מעמידה,
מחרבת כל העולם כולו מפניה,
שנאמר: […].
Rav Ḥanan bar Rava says that Rav says:
Four winds blow on each day,
and the north wind blows together with each of the other three;
as, if this were not so and the northern wind did not blow, then the world would not survive for even one hour.
And the south wind is harsher than all of them,
and were it not for the angel called Ben Netz, who stops it from blowing even harder,
then it would destroy the entire world before it,
as it is stated: […]
And compare Yoma.21b.12:
מזרחית — לעולם יפה,
מערבית — לעולם קשה,
רוח צפונית — יפה לחטין בשעה שהביאו שליש, וקשה לזיתים בזמן שהן חונטין,
רוח דרומית — קשה לחטין בשעה שהביאו שליש, ויפה לזיתים בזמן שהן חונטין.
the Sages said:
An eastern wind is always good;
a western wind is always bad;
a northern wind is good for wheat when it has reached one-third of its potential growth, and bad for olives when they are ripening;
a southern wind is bad for wheat when it has reached one-third of its potential growth, and good for olives when they are ripening.
“in the Chamber of Hewn Stone”.