I loved Dr. Doolittle when I read it
many years ago. Dr. Doolittle could
speak every animal language. Legend has it that King Solomon also understood
the language of animals. But parshat
Balak, featuring a talking animal, does not tell us that humans understand
the language of a donkey, but rather that the donkey can speak the language of
humans.
Parshat Balak beings by telling us that
King Balak of Moab sees that the Israelites encamped on the border of his land have
defeated the Amorites.
Moab was
alarmed because the people was so numerous. Moab dreaded the Israelites, and
Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this horde will lick clean all that is
about us as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” (Numbers 2:3-4)
Balak therefore engages Balaam, a
Moabite prophet, for a goodly sum. His assignment is to curse Israel so that
Balak can initiate a war and drive Israel out of his land. Balaam is more than
happy to comply. The pay is good and presumably the job will be quick and easy.
It’s not. God forbids Balaam from cursing Israel. He is, however, permitted to
meet with Balak and the elders of Moab. This is where the story becomes highly
entertaining. To prevent Balaam from making the journey, God stations an angel
in the middle of the road. Balaam’s she-ass swerves to avoid it, and Balaam
beats her, but the angel places himself in a spot where the road narrows and
there is a fence on either side. Again, the ass tries to avoid the angel and in
so doing, squeezes Balaam’s foot against the wall on one side. Balaam beats her
a second time. The lane narrows even more, so there is no possibility of
swerving to avoid the angel. Torah tells us:
When
the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; and Balaam was
furious and beat the ass with his stick. Then the Lord opened the ass’s mouth,
and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these
three times?” Balaam said to the ass, “You have made a mockery of me! If I had
a sword with me, I’d kill you.” The ass said to Balaam, “Look, I am the ass
that you have been riding all along until this day! Have I been in the habit of
doing thus to you?” And he answered, “No.” Then the Lord uncovered Balaam’s
eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, his drawn sword in
his hand; thereupon he bowed right down to the ground. (Numbers 22:27-31)
Here is an ass that can see what the
human cannot, and even speaks lovely, grammatical Hebrew.
Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Cohen,
commenting on this passage, offers an insightful observation about the power of
speech:
The enemies of Israel heard that the power of Moses lay in his
tongue, his power of speech, and they did not know that this refers to his
power of prayer. They thought that Moses was an inspirational orator. They
therefore hired Balaam, who was known as a powerful speaker, able to inspire
and to debate, to vilify and to intimidate, in order to overcome Moses with the
power of his words. Therefore God gave the power of speech to Balaam’s donkey,
to teach you that even an ass can be a great orator. (Imrei Tzvi)
People are
mesmerized by great orators. Charismatic speakers command power and influence.
The irony here is rich: Moses a great speaker? Moses has a speech impediment
(Exodus 4:10). Yet the king of Moab fears Moses’ inspirational oratory? Moses’
power of speech is content, not style and delivery. Balaam, however, is known
to be a skilled and accomplished orator, the sort who commands attention and
impresses people. His words, however, are vacuous.
People are often
swayed by those who exude charisma and deliver stirring oratory. Words can kindle
the urge for war, inspire hope, break a heart; words can wound and they can
heal. Speech can unify people around a common goal, or cause irreparable
divisiveness. Today, great “orators” often deliver their speeches in video or writing
on the Internet: eloquent, emotional, evocative. It is easy to lose sight of
content when we are spellbound by form. But the most eloquent speaker here is
neither Moses nor Balaam. It is the she-ass, in her simplicity and sincerity.
Cohen is entirely correct: “even an ass can be a great orator.” We must look
beyond the style at the content.
And what can we say
about Cohen’s contention that Moses’ power of speech was actually “his power of
prayer”? What is the role of prayer in all this? The phrase u-le’avdo b’khol levavchem in
Deuteronomy 11:13, is usually translated “and to serve Him with all your
heart.” The root ayin-bet-daled can
mean “serve,” “pray,” or “work.” Rabbi Avi Weiss suggests we read the phrase u-la’avod ito “and to work with God.” He offers a paradigm of
prayer quite different from the more common servile model. Rather than serving God through prayer, we are working with God to complete Creation
through our covenantal responsibilities. In Hebrew, the word l’hitpalel “to pray” actually means, “to
judge oneself.” The act of prayer is one of self-scrutiny: Am I living up to my
commitments and potential? Am I contributing to tikkun olam (“the repair of the world”)? Am I living by the values
of tzedek (“righteousness”) and mishpat (“justice”)? Prayer by this
paradigm is an exercise in rebooting our self-image computer, and re-launching
our moral software.
This is Moses’
strength: his words come from the heart, from a place of moral concern and intention.
Balaam, however great an orator, is a hired prophet: he speaks for pay. His
words have no last meaning until he speaks the words God puts in his mouth:
Ma tovu ohalecha Yaakov, mishkenotecha Yisrael
How
fair are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel!
(Numbers
24:5)
How fitting that we begin morning prayers each day with
these words.
© Rabbi Amy
Scheinerman
Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Cohen (1862-1950)
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