Sanhedrin 105b — the Talmud in English

And the one who says that he had intercourse with his she-donkey,

learns this from what

is written here

that Balaam said:

“He crouched, he lay down”

739, and what is written there,

concerning Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, who killed Sisera:

“Between her legs ![](pamud.bmp "

exact column location") he crouched, he fell, he lay down, etc.”

he crouched, he fell, he lay down, and so on.”

That is, Sisera had intercourse with Jael before she killed him .

It is written that Balaam said about himself:

“And he knows the knowledge of the Most High”

[that he knows the knowledge of the Holy One, blessed is He]. And it is astonishing:

Now

even

the knowledge of his animal he did not know

[for he did not know what to answer her, as follows],

the knowledge of the Most High—

did he know?!

And

what

is this that we said, that he did not know

the knowledge of his animal?

For they said to him

[the elders of Moab said to him, when they saw that he was riding on a she-donkey]:

“Why did you not ride a horse”

[why are you not riding a horse]?

He said to them: “I left it in the pasture”

[I left the horse to graze in the meadow ].

She said to him: “Am I not your she-donkey!”

After all, you always use me!

He said to her:

“For carrying”

[for carrying loads]

“only”

I use you, and not for riding.

She said to him:

“That you rode upon me!”

You indeed ride upon me.

He said to her: What I ride upon you is

merely by happenstance,

when I do not have a horse ready.

She said to him: You ride upon me regularly,

“from your youth until this day!”

“And furthermore, I perform marital relations for you at night!”

And proof that she said this to him is from what

is written here

that the she-donkey said to him:

“Have I ever been accustomed, and what is written there,

that David’s servants said to the king: “Let them seek for my lord the king a young woman, etc.,

and let her be a nurse,

and let her lie in your bosom, and it will be warm for my lord the king”!

If so, behold Ahab did not even know what to answer his she-donkey, and how is it possible that he said about himself: “And he knows the knowledge of the Most High”?

Rather, what is “and he knows the knowledge of the Most High”—

”?

That he knew how to determine the moment at which the Holy One, blessed is He, becomes angry ,

and he intended to curse Israel at that moment.

And this is what the prophet said to Israel: “My people, please remember what Balak king of Moab counseled, and what Balaam son of Beor answered him, from Shittim to Gilgal, in order to know the righteous acts of the Lord.” That is,

from the time when they sinned at Shittim until they entered the Land and sinned at Gilgal, the Lord performed many righteous acts with Israel.

What is “in order to know the righteous acts of the Lord”?

The Holy One, blessed is He, said to Israel: Know now how many righteous acts I performed for you, that

Balaam was waiting in those days for the moment when I would become angry, and then his curses would be fulfilled. But

I did not become angry during any

of those days, in the days of wicked Balaam.

For if

[if]

I had become angry during all those days—

not a remnant or survivor would have remained of Israel’s enemies.

This is what Balaam said to Balak: “How can I curse? God has not cursed, etc., and how can I denounce? The Lord has not denounced.”

That is, how can I curse, when the Holy One, blessed is He, did not become angry?

It teaches that during all those days the Lord did not become angry.

It is written:

“God is angry every day.”

And how long

does the

anger

of the Holy One, blessed is He, last—

A moment

As it is stated: “For His anger is but a moment; His favor is life, etc.”

And “anger” is an expression of wrath.

Alternatively,

from this verse there is proof that the anger of the Holy One, blessed is He, lasts a moment:

“Go, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide for a brief moment, until the anger passes.”

When does He become angry

[at what time during the day does the Holy One, blessed is He, become angry]?

During the first three hours

[at the end of the first three hours of the day],

when the comb of the rooster is white

[when the rooster’s comb, which is generally red, becomes white ].

For that is the time when kings arise and place their crowns on their heads. And the Holy One, blessed is He, becomes angry because at that time the kings bow to the sun, as the Gemara brings below.

And we raise an objection: But

every hour also the comb becomes white

[at every hour of the day there is a time when the comb is white]?

And we say:

Every hour—

there are red streaks in it

[although the comb is white, there are rows of red in it, as is usual]. But at

that moment,

at that time, during the first three hours—

there are no red streaks in it

[there is no redness in it at all, but it is entirely white].

There was a certain heretic who lived in the neighborhood

[there was a certain heretic in the neighborhood]

of Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, who used to torment him

[and that heretic used to torment him].

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi wanted to curse that heretic at the time when the Holy One, blessed is He, becomes angry.

One day he took a rooster, tied it by its leg, and waited

[one day Rabbi Joshua ben Levi took a rooster, tied it by its leg, and waited] until its comb would become white.

He said

to himself:

“When that moment arrives”

[when that moment arrives at which the Holy One, blessed is He, becomes angry]—

“I will curse him”

[I will curse him].

When that moment arrived

[when that moment arrived]—

he dozed off,

and Rabbi Joshua ben Levi did not manage to curse him.

He said: Learn from this that it is not proper conduct

[from the fact that I did not succeed in determining the moment, it is proven that it is not proper conduct to do so].

For it is written: “It is also not good to punish the righteous.”

That is, it is not fitting that a person should be punished even on account of the righteous man.

Even with regard to a heretic, it was not appropriate for me to say this

[and even with regard to a heretic it was not fitting for him to say this, to curse him].

A tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Meir: When the sun rises, and the kings place their crowns on their heads and bow to the sun—

immediately

the Holy One, blessed is He,

becomes angry.

It is written:

“And Balaam arose in the morning and saddled his she-donkey.”

A tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar: Love nullifies the order

[the regular order and custom ]

of greatness —

we learn this

from Abraham. For it is written: “And Abraham rose early in the morning

and saddled his donkey.” That is, because of the love with which Abraham loved the Holy One, blessed is He, he saddled his donkey himself, although this was not according to his honor.

Hatred nullifies the order of greatness—

we learn this

from Balaam. As it is stated: “And Balaam arose in the morning and saddled his she-donkey.”

Because of the great hatred that he had for the people of Israel, he saddled his she-donkey himself, although this was not according to his honor.

Rabbi Judah said in the name of Rav: A person should always engage in Torah and in a mitzva,

and

even

if he does so

not for its own sake

For from acting not for its own sake—

he comes to act for its own sake.

And proof of this is

that

behold,

in the merit of the forty-two sacrifices that Balak offered, he merited that Ruth emerged from him.

Although he did not intend for the sake of Heaven, but rather to appease the Holy One, blessed is He, so that He would agree that Balaam curse Israel .

Rabbi Yosei bar Huna said: Ruth—

the daughter of Eglon

750, the son’s son of Balak king of Moab, was.

Rava said to Rabbah bar Mari: It is written: “And the king’s servants also came to bless our lord King David, saying:

“May God make the name of Solomon greater than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne.”

Is it proper conduct to say this to a king

[is it proper conduct to say such a thing to a king], that the name of his son Solomon will be greater than his? His mind will thereby be weakened!

He said to him,

Rabbah bar Mari said to him: What they said, that the Lord should make his name greater than your name and his throne greater than your throne—

they said to him, “like your throne”

[they said to him]. Not that it should be greater than his name and throne literally, but like his name and throne.

For if you do not say so

[if you do not say this], concerning what is stated:

“Blessed among women shall be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; among women in the tent shall she be blessed,”

behold,

“women in the tent”—who are they

[who are they]—

Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah!

And is it

proper conduct to say this

[proper conduct to say such a thing], that Jael should be blessed more than our Matriarchs?

Rather: “Like” he said.

That Jael should be blessed with something like the blessing of the Matriarchs .

So too,

with regard to David and Solomon—

“like” he said.

And

the words of Rabbah bar Mari

disagree

[disagree] with the words

of Rabbi Yosei bar Honi.

For Rabbi Yosei bar Honi said: With regard to every

person,

a person

is jealous,

when he sees that others are more successful than he,

except

with regard to

his son and

his

student.

His son,

from where do we know that a father is not jealous of him?

From Solomon.

As we brought above, that they said to David: “May God make the name of Solomon greater than your name, etc.” And there was no lack of proper conduct in this, because a person is not jealous of his son.

And his student,

from where do we know that a teacher is not jealous of him?

Alternatively,

from what is written, that Elisha said to Elijah:

“Let there be, please, a double portion of your spirit upon me.”

And Elijah agreed to his request and was not jealous of him.

And alternatively,

the proof is from the following verses:

It is written, after the Holy One, blessed is He, informed Moses that he would die in the wilderness and would not enter the Land, that Moses asked Him: “Let the Lord appoint, etc., a man over the congregation who will go out before them, etc.”

The Holy One, blessed is He, said to him that he should take Joshua and rest his hand upon him.

And afterward it is written: “And Moses did as the Lord commanded him, etc.,

and he rested his hands upon him and commanded him.”

Behold, although the Holy One, blessed is He, told Moses to rest only one hand upon Joshua, Moses of his own accord rested both his hands upon him. From here that a person is not jealous of his student.

It is written:

“And He placed a word in Balaam’s mouth.”

That is, the Holy One, blessed is He, placed in Balaam’s mouth a word that prevented him from cursing.

The Sages disagreed in explaining this matter.

Rabbi Elazar says:

That “word” which the Holy One, blessed is He, placed in Balaam’s mouth—this means

an angel.

For the Holy One, blessed is He, delivered him into the hands of an angel, so that he would be unable to curse.

Rabbi Yonatan said:

The Holy One, blessed is He, placed

a fishhook in Balaam’s mouth,

so that he would be unable to speak as he wished .

Rabbi Yohanan said: From the blessing of that wicked man—

you learn what was in his heart

to curse them.

He wished to say that they should not have synagogues or study halls—

the Holy One, blessed is He, compelled him to say:

“How goodly are your tents, Jacob” .

He wished to say that

the Divine Presence should not rest upon them—

but in the end he said:

“And your dwelling places, Israel.”

He wished to say that

their kingdom should not be

of Israel

continuing—

but in the end he said:

“Like streams stretched out.”

That their kingdom should continue like a stream.

He wished to say that

they should not have olives or vineyards —

but in the end he said:

“Like gardens beside a river.”

He wished to say that

their fragrance should not spread

from mitzvot—but in the end he said:

“Like aloes the Lord planted”

["Aloes"

from the expression myrrh and aloes, which are kinds of fragrances].

He wished to say that

they should not have kings of lofty stature—

but in the end he said:

“Like cedars beside waters” .

He wished to say that

they should not have a king who is the son of a king—

but in the end he said:

“Water shall flow from his buckets.”

He wished to say that

their kingdom should not rule over the nations—

but in the end he said:

“And his seed shall be in many waters.”

He wished to say that

their kingdom should not be powerful—

but in the end he said:

“And his king shall be higher than Agag”

[and its translation is: “And he shall grow strong against Agag,” so that their kingdom should be powerful].

He wished to say that

the awe of their kingdom should not exist—

but in the end he said:

“And his kingdom shall be exalted.”

Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: All of them,

all the blessings with which Balaam blessed—

returned

upon Israel

for a curse, except

the matter of

synagogues and study halls,

which did not return for a curse, but rather, they will never cease from Israel.

And from where do we have this matter?

As it is stated: “And the Lord your God will transform the curse for you into a blessing, because the Lord your God loves you.”

It follows: one

curse

the Lord will transform into a blessing,

but not

all the

curses.

And this is as we said above: all the blessings with which Bilam intended, in essence, to curse Israel were ultimately transformed into curses. Except for one blessing, which was not transformed into a curse, but remained a blessing forever.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: What is [the meaning of] that which is written: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are profuse” ["

“Profuse” means transformed. That is, the kisses of an enemy are not faithful like the wounds of a friend]?

Better

the

curse with which Ahijah the Shilonite cursed Israel than

the

blessing with which the wicked Bilam blessed them.

Ahijah the Shilonite cursed Israel with a reed.

For he cursed them that they would be like a reed.

As it is stated: “And the Lord will strike Israel as a reed sways in the water, and so forth.”