Spiritual and Ethical Issues in the Bamidbar Stories I pray you, curse this people for me" (Bamidbar 22:6){2} by Dr. Meir Tamari "Moshe wrote the Torah and Sefer Bil'am and the book of Iyov" (Bava Batra 14b). There are many varied commentaries and perspectives on this statement but all of them reflect the anomalies of the whole story in which the name of Moshe is not even mentioned and that concerns the actions and philosophies of gentiles. A story that highlights the role in religion and spirituality played by concepts like magic, sheidim and spirits, the validity of blessings and curses through human endeavors, and the existence and powers of dark super-natural forces. The question as to whether there do in fact exist super-natural forces outside of G-d that have a control or influence the affairs of man, has always played a role in human religious thinking - Jewish and other. Bil'am's ability to foretell blessings or curses is a parallel to the ability of the magicians of Par'o to act similarly to Moshe and Aharon. Was this scientific knowledge or actual spiritual power or pure charlatanry? "The serpents made by the magicians of Par'o through their secret arts had no real movement although they appeared to be serpents. Sorcery can- not produce any authentic creatures; 'By G-d they cannot create a camel or any other creature' (Sanhedrin 67b). While the acts of sorcery last only for a limited time or are limited in the changes they can make, G-d commands nature to cease altogether, change or function in a time period that He sets and it will never disobey His word. This is the great difference between the acts of magic compared to an act of G-d. The snake that the sorcerers made was only an illusion so they did not flee, whereas Moshe fled from his rod that was turned into a snake since it was real" (S'forno). "And the wise men and the sorcerers, and the magicians of Egypt, with their secret arts, did likewise" (Sh'mot 7:11); "And the magicians did in like manner with their secret arts and brought up frogs" (Sh'mot 8:3). "There are guardian angels that guide the stars and the constellations, mazalot and sheidim. They were given certain powers that can be called up by such people" (Ramban). "All acts of divination, magic, soothsaying, sorcery are falsehoods and lies, used by idolators to mislead the nations. It is not fitting that Israel, who are clever and knowledgeable people should take notice of such acts of vanity and falsehood, and believe that there is any reality or substance to them. Anyone believing these acts is among the stupid and lacking in intelligence. In contrast, the Torah commanded us that we should be whole hearted, tamim, with HaShem our G-d (D'varim 18:13)" (Hilkhot Avodat Kochavim 12:16). Perhaps the whole purpose of writing the story of Bil'am by Moshe was to educate against this form of idolatry and to purify the Jewish People of any traces of its persuasive effects, as enjoined repetitively throughout the Torah. "You shall not practice divination nor soothsaying" (Vayikra 19:26); "All these things are matters of utter lunacy and folly. Moreover, they thrust a man from faith in G-d and from His Torah, to set him on complete heresy. Therefore He commanded us to set firmly in our heart that all good and evil issue by the word of G-d according to a man's deeds, good or bad: omens neither hinder nor help" (Sefer HaChinuch, mitzva 249,250). "'Turn not to the ghosts or to the familiar spirits. There shall not be found among you one that uses divination, a soothsayer, a sorcerer, an enchanter or one who consults a ghost or a spirit or a necromancer' (Devarim 18:10). You shall not allow a sorceress to live (Sh'mot 22:17). "This is to prevent idolatry and to keep Israel pure mono- theists, since one who deals with them or believes in any or all of these, places his trust in them instead of in G-d" (S. D. Luzzatto, Shadal). "At the root of this precept lies the reason that all manners and matters of sorcery and witchcraft are bad and causes people great misfortunes. Anyone who works at them goes against the wishes of G-d who desires that the world should be settled and civilized in the natural way that was set for it at the Creation" (Sefer HaChinuch, mitzva 62). The Torah views blessings and curses as the result of man's actions. To Avraham G-d said, "Be a blessing... and in you shall be blessed all the nations of the earth" (B'reishit 12:2-3). Yitschak gave Ya'akov the blessing that he should inherit the Land that G-d gave to Avraham. Ya'akov blesses his sons (Bereishi 49:1-27): "Gather yourselves and hear what will befall you in the end of days". "See I have put before you this day the blessings and curses that will come on you, as to whether you keep My commandments or not" (D'varim 11:26-28). "See how the blessings of Israel should be through the Jew-hater Bil'am while the description of the troubles that would come on them would be through Moshe, the Lover of Israel" (Abarbanel). "B'RACHA, the condition of unhindered progressive development and progressive prosperity: ARUR, the condition of lack and of progress - K'LALA, becoming empty, devoid of self substance and becoming shallow or worthless. The alternative between these two conditions is placed before us with G-d's Torah, it depends on us to create the one or other for ourselves" (S. R. Hirsch, D'varim 11:26). [The Parshat Vayeira Homepage]
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