Avodah Zarah 4b (ד:) — the Talmud in English

As it is written concerning him [Numbers 24]: He said about himself

“He knows the knowledge of the Most High.”

“And he knows the knowledge of the Most High.”

This is astonishing: Is it

possible that Balaam the wicked, who

did not even know

the knowledge of his donkey,

[as will be explained]—

could know the knowledge of the Most High?!

And the Gemara recounts how we find that he did not know the knowledge of his donkey.

What is the meaning of the statement, “He did not know the knowledge of his donkey”?

When they saw him,

when the princes of Moab saw him

riding his donkey,

that he was riding on his she-donkey,

they said to him: Why did you not ride a horse?

Why did you not hurry to come on a horse?

And he said to them,

lying:

“In the pasture,”

in the grazing area,

“I left it there;”

I left my horse, and my horse was not ready for riding.

Immediately—

“And the she-donkey said

to Balaam:

‘Am I not your she-donkey,

which you have ridden from your earliest days until this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do this to you?’” And if so, why are you lying?

He said to her:

You served me only

for carrying loads,

to bear burdens, and not for riding.

She said to him:

That is a lie:

“Which you have ridden!”

He said to her:

You served me for riding only

on an occasional basis,

when I had no horse readily available.

She said to him:

That is false! Have you not always ridden me,

“from your earliest days until this day”?

Moreover, I provide you with riding by day and intercourse by night,

as you have intercourse with me.

For

here it is written, “Have I ever been accustomed,” and there it is written

[I Kings 1]:

“And she became his attendant.”

Just as there the expression refers to warmth, so too regarding Balaam’s she-donkey—it follows that Balaam did not know the knowledge of his animal. How, then, could he know the knowledge of the Most High?!

Rather, what

is the explanation of that which is written,

“And he knows the knowledge of the Most High”?—

He knew how to determine the moment at which the Holy One, blessed be He, was angry.

And since he knew how to determine that moment, God performed an act of righteousness for Israel, and during those days He was not angry even for a moment.

And

this act of righteousness

is what the prophet said to them,

to the Children of Israel.

It is stated [Micah 6]:

“My people! Please remember what Balak king of Moab advised, and what Balaam son of Beor answered him, from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

From the time they sinned at Shittim until they entered the Land of Israel and sinned at Gilgal, I performed many acts of righteousness with them.

And what were those acts of righteousness?

Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: My people! See how many acts of righteousness I performed with you! I did not become angry with you throughout all those days. For had I become angry with you—

not one of the idolaters, Israel’s enemies, would have remained

[this is an expression of euphemism] even

a remnant or survivor.

And this

is the explanation of what

Balak said to Balaam

[Numbers 23]:

“How can I curse”—

“He has not cursed; and how can I anger”—

“The Lord has not become angry.”

For during those days the Lord did not become angry.

And how long

does His

anger last?—

A moment.

And how long

does

a moment last?

Ameimar said, and some say

that it was

Ravina who said: “A moment”

is

as long as it takes to say the word “moment,”

the length of time required to utter the word “moment.”

And from where

do we know

that His anger is a moment,

that the time during which the Holy One, blessed be He, is angry is only “a moment”?

As it is written

[Psalms 30]:

“For His anger is but a moment; life is in His favor.”

It follows that “His anger,” which is His wrath, lasts “a moment.”

Alternatively,

it may be learned

from here,

from this verse: It is stated [Isaiah 26]:

“Hide yourself for but a moment, until the indignation passes.”

It follows that the duration of the indignation is a moment.

When does He become angry,

when is the time of His anger?

Abaye said: During the first three hours.

During the first three hours of the day, which is the time when people rise from their beds. At that time, when the kings rise, place their crowns on their heads, and bow to the sun, the Holy One, blessed be He, becomes angry for a brief time,

because the crest of the rooster becomes white,

when the rooster’s crest turns white.

And we raise an objection:

Every hour

of the day,

the crest becomes white,

the crest turns white—is it not the case that it is not intensely red throughout the entire day? And we answer:

Every hour,

every hour of the day, even when it becomes white,

there are

within it

red streaks,

red threads. But

at that particular hour,

when the Holy One, blessed be He, is angry,

there are no red streaks in it;

rather, it is completely white.

The Gemara relates an incident in this connection.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi was being harassed by a certain heretic,

a Christian man who distressed him

through biblical verses,

in disputes concerning Scriptural passages.

One day

he wanted to curse him at the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, was angry.

He took a rooster

and placed it

between the legs of his bed,

so that it would be close to him.

And he watched it,

staring at it constantly, because

he thought: When that particular moment arrives,

when the time arrives at which the rooster’s crest turns white, and that is the time of the Holy One, blessed be He’s, anger,

I will curse him,

I will curse him.

When that particular moment arrived,

when that time came,

he dozed off;

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi fell asleep.

He said: We can infer from this

that

it is not proper conduct to do this,

that is, it is improper to attempt to target the moment of divine anger, because

“His mercy is upon all His works,” as it is written

[Psalms 145],

and

so

it is written

[Proverbs 17]:

“Even punishing—

the righteous, it is not good.”

It is not good for a righteous person that creatures should be punished on his account, even heretics.

A tanna

taught

in the name

of

Rabbi Meir: When the kings

of the nations of the world

place their crowns on their heads and bow to the sun,

which is during the first three hours of the day,

the Holy One, blessed be He, immediately becomes angry.

After stating that the first three hours are the time of “wrath,” when the Holy One, blessed be He, becomes angry, and that it is a time of judgment, the Gemara derives a halakhic ruling from this.

Rav Yosef said: A person should not pray

the

Musaf prayer

of

the first three hours of the day

during the first three hours of the day, when the Holy One, blessed be He, is angry,

on the first day of Rosh HaShana,

the first day of Rosh HaShana,

when praying individually,

in an individual prayer, and the reason is:

perhaps

it is possible that

since his judgment is being submitted,

since his case is being judged,

perhaps they will examine his deeds,

they will scrutinize his deeds,

and reject him outright.

They will drive him away.

And we raise an objection:

If so,

if there is reason for this concern, why is the concern limited to one praying individually?

Even when praying with the congregation,

why should we not be concerned in the same way regarding the congregational prayer?

And we answer:

The merit of the congregation is greater;

their merit is substantial, and their prayer will be accepted even during these hours.

We challenge this:

If so,

if there is reason for this concern, why specifically the Musaf prayer?—

The individual’s Shacharit prayer

when praying alone

should also not

be recited then by an individual.

And we answer:

Since there is a congregation praying,

since people are praying Shacharit in all places at that time, his prayer is included within the congregational prayer

and is not rejected;

his prayer will not be rejected. But since the time for Musaf lasts all day, some people pray it in the morning while others delay it, and therefore it is not assured that his prayer coincides with the congregational prayer, and he is not included with them.

We challenge this: How could they say that he will be judged during those three hours?

But you said,

as was stated [in the earlier passage]:

The first

three

hours—

the Holy One, blessed be He, sits and engages in Torah,

and only during the second three hours does He sit and judge the world.

It follows that He does not judge the world during the first three hours.

And we answer:

Reverse it.

Reverse the statement of Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav, and teach it as follows: During the first three hours He sits and judges the entire world; during the second three hours He sits and engages in Torah. According to this, the first three hours are indeed the time of judgment.

Alternatively, in fact, do not reverse it.

There is indeed no need to reverse it: during the first three hours the Holy One, blessed be He, sits and engages in Torah, and during the second three hours He sits and judges the entire world, as Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav.

The reason for Rav Yosef’s statement, “Perhaps they will examine his deeds and reject him outright,” is that when the Holy One, blessed be He, sits and engages in

Torah, concerning which it is written ‘truth,’ as it is written

[Proverbs 23]:

“Acquire truth and do not sell it,”

the Holy One, blessed be He, does not act

then

beyond the strict measure of judgment,

and therefore those hours are not an appropriate time to rise from the throne of judgment and sit upon the throne of mercy.

But

judgment,

that is, during the hours when the Holy One, blessed be He, judges the world,

for concerning it “truth” is not written,

at that time

the Holy One, blessed be He, acts beyond the strict measure of judgment,

as Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: He rises from the throne of judgment and sits upon the throne of mercy.

Day, testifies, strikes, with the calf—

a mnemonic.

These are four statements made by Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi that relate to what was stated above.

With regard to the matter itself,

we learned above:

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: What

is the explanation of that

which is written

[Deuteronomy 7]:

“Which I command you today, to perform them”?

“Today, to perform them,” and not tomorrow, to perform them. “Today, to perform them,” and not today, to receive their reward,

as explained above.

And

further,

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: All the mitzvot that Israel performs in this world come and testify on their behalf in the World to Come. As it is stated

[Isaiah 43]:

“Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be vindicated; let them hear and say: It is true.”

“Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be vindicated”—

these are Israel; “let them hear and say: It is true”—

these are the idolaters,

as explained above.

And

further,

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: All the mitzvot that Israel performs in this world—

come and strike

with a blow

the idolaters in the World to Come, across their faces. As it is stated

[Deuteronomy 4]: Moses our teacher said:

“You shall observe and perform them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations.”

“Opposite the nations,”

which would have implied in relation to the nations,

was not stated. Rather, “in the sight of the nations”

was stated, implying directly before their eyes.

The verse teaches

that

they come and strike the idolaters across their faces in the World to Come.

And

further,

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Israel did not make the calf,

that is, the Children of Israel were strong and could have mastered their inclination and refrained from making the calf,

but

their inclination overcame them because of a decree of the Holy One, blessed be He. The reason was

to provide an opening for those who repent

in every generation. For if a sinner were to say, “Why should I repent? The Holy One, blessed be He, will not accept me,” they say to him: “Go and learn from the incident of the calf. They committed a great sin and denied the Lord after the revelation at Mount Sinai, and nevertheless the Holy One, blessed be He, accepted them when they repented”—

As it is stated [

Deuteronomy 5] Moses our teacher said to Israel at Sinai in the name of the Almighty:

“Would that their hearts were always so disposed to fear Me and to observe all My mitzvot, so that it would be good for them and for their children forever.”

Thus, they were mighty and courageous in the fear of God.

And this is

a similar statement, namely,

as Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai:

It was not David

the king who was

worthy of that deed

involving Bathsheba,

nor were Israel worthy of that deed involving the Golden Calf —

David was not worthy of that deed, as it is written [

Psalms 109], which David said about himself:

“And my heart is hollow within me,”

and we expound: The evil inclination is within me like a “corpse,” dead, and it has no power to rule within me—

Nor were Israel worthy of that deed. As it is written: “Would that their hearts were always so disposed to fear Me.”

But why did they do it?