Sanhedrin 105b (קה:) — the Talmud in English

And the one who says that he had intercourse with his donkey—

we learn this from

it is written here,

as Balaam said:

“He crouched, he lay down,”

and it is written there,

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

“Between her legs

the precise location on the page

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.”

[meaning that he knew the דעת of the Holy One, blessed be He]. This is difficult:

Now,

even

the knowledge of his animal he did not know

because he did not know what to answer it, as follows;

the knowledge of the Most High—

did he know?!

And

what

is meant by our statement 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 him riding on a donkey]:

the elders of Moab said this to him when they saw him riding on a she-donkey:

“Why are you not riding a horse” [why do 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!”

You use me all the time!

He said to her:

“For carrying loads”

for carrying loads

alone

I use you, and not for riding.

She said to him:

“Upon whom you have ridden!”

You do indeed ride me.

He said to her: My riding you was

merely incidental,

when I do not have a horse ready.

She said to him: You ride me regularly,

“From the time you first existed until this day!”

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

And proof that she said this to him is that

it is written here,

as the she-donkey said to him:

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

as David’s servants said to the king: “Let them seek for my lord the king a young girl, and so on,

and let her be a warming attendant for him,

and let her lie in your bosom, so that my lord the king may be warm”!

If so, Ahab did not even know what to answer his she-donkey; how could he have said about himself: “And he knows the knowledge of the Most High”?

Rather, what is the meaning of “And he knows the knowledge of the Most High”?

”?

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

and he intended to curse Israel at that moment.

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

from the time they sinned at Shittim until they entered the Land and sinned at Gilgal, God performed many acts of righteousness for Israel.

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

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: “Know how many acts of righteousness I performed for you, for

Balaam was waiting during those days for the moment when I would become angry, at which point his curses would be fulfilled. But

I did not become angry throughout

all those days, during the time of wicked Balaam.

For had I

had

become angry throughout all those days—

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

This is what Balaam said to Balak: “How can I curse? God has not cursed; and how can I be angry? The Lord has not become angry.”

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

This teaches that throughout all those days the Lord did not become angry.

It is written:

“God is angry every day.”

And how long

does

His anger

of the Holy One, blessed be He, last?—

A moment.

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

And af—“anger”—is an expression of wrath.

Alternatively,

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

“Come, my people, enter your chambers and close your doors behind you; hide for a brief moment, until the wrath passes.”

When does He become angry [at what time of day does the Holy One, blessed be He, become angry]?

at what time of day does the Holy One, blessed be He, become angry?

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

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

when the comb of the rooster turns white [although it is ordinarily red].

when the rooster’s comb, which is ordinarily red, turns white.

At that time kings arise and place their crowns on their heads. The Holy One, blessed be He, becomes angry because at that time the kings bow to the sun [as the Gemara states below].

And we ask: But

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

at every hour of the day there is a time when the comb is white.

And we say:

At every hour—

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

although the comb is white, it has rows of red streaks, as usual. But

at that particular time,

at that time, during the first three hours—

there are no red streaks in it [there is no redness at all; it is entirely white].

there is no redness in it at all; it is entirely white.

There was a certain heretic who lived in the neighborhood of

there was a certain heretic in the neighborhood of

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, and he would distress him [and that heretic would distress him].

that heretic would cause him distress.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi wished to curse that heretic at the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, was angry.

One day he took a rooster, tied it by its leg, and waited [Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi took a rooster, tied it by its leg, and waited],

until its comb would turn white.

He said

to himself:

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

when the moment arrives at which the Holy One, blessed be He, becomes angry—

I will curse him [I will curse him].

I will curse him.

When that moment arrived [when that moment arrived]—

when that moment arrived,

he fell asleep,

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, and he did not manage to curse him.

He said: “Learn from this that it is not proper” [from the fact that I was unable to identify the moment, it is demonstrated that it is not proper to do so].

the fact that I was unable to identify the moment proves that it is not proper to do this.

For it is written:

“It is also not good to punish the righteous.” That is, it is not proper for a person to be punished even on account of the righteous person.

“Even regarding a heretic, he should not have said this” [even regarding a heretic, it was not proper for him to say this—to curse him].

even regarding a heretic, it was not proper for him to say this and curse him.

It was 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 be He

becomes angry.

It is written:

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

It was taught in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar: Love nullifies the customary order [the ordinary order and practice]

the customary order

of eminence —

we learn this

from Abraham, for it is written: “Abraham rose early in the morning

and saddled his donkey.” That is, because of the love Abraham had for the Holy One, blessed be He, he saddled his donkey himself, although this was beneath his dignity.

Hatred nullifies the customary order of eminence—

we learn this

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

Because of the great hatred he felt toward the people of Israel, he saddled his she-donkey himself, although this was beneath his dignity.

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: A person should always occupy himself with Torah and 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

indeed

In the merit of the forty-two offerings that Balak sacrificed, he merited that Ruth descended from him.

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

Rabbi Yosei bar Huna said: Ruth—

the daughter of Eglon,

was the daughter’s daughter of Balak, king of Moab.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: It is written:

“And the king’s servants also came to bless our master David, saying”:

“May God make Solomon’s name better 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 this to a king],

that his son Solomon’s name will be greater than his? This would distress him!

Rabba bar Mari said to him

The meaning of what they said—that God would make his name greater than your name and his throne greater than your throne—

they said to him, “similar to your throne.”

They did not mean that it would literally be greater than his name and throne, but rather similar to his name and throne.

For if you do not say this [if you do not say so],

then regarding what is stated:

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

indeed

“the women in the tent”—who are they [who are they]?—

who are they?—

Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah!

And is

it proper conduct to say this [is it proper conduct to say so],

that Jael should be blessed more than our Matriarchs?

Rather, he said, “similar to.”

So too, Jael would be blessed in a manner similar to the blessing of the Matriarchs.

Here too,

regarding David and Solomon—

he said, “similar to.”

And

the words of Rabba bar Mari

disagree [they disagree]

with the words of

Rav Yosei bar Honi.

For Rav Yosei bar Honi said: Regarding every

person

a person

is jealous,

when he sees that others are more successful than he is,

except with regard to

those who are

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, they said to David: “May God make Solomon’s name better than your name, and so on.” This did not constitute a breach of proper conduct, 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 concerning what Elisha said to Elijah:

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

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 be He, informed Moses that he would die in the wilderness and would not enter the Land, that Moses requested of Him: “May the Lord appoint, and so on, a man over the assembly who will go out before them, and so on.”

The Holy One, blessed be He, told him to take Joshua and lay his hand upon him.

And afterward it is written: “Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and so on:

“He laid both his hands upon him and commanded him.”

Thus, although the Holy One, blessed be He, told Moses to lay only one hand upon Joshua, Moses, on his own initiative, laid both hands upon him. From here it follows that a person is not jealous of his student.

It is written:

“He placed a word in Balaam’s mouth.”

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

The Sages disagreed about the interpretation of this matter.

Rabbi Elazar says:

That “word” that the Holy One, blessed be He, placed in Balaam’s mouth was

an angel.

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

Rabbi Yonatan said:

The Holy One, blessed be He, placed

a hook 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 have no synagogues or houses of study—

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

“How goodly are your tents, O Jacob.”

He wished to say that

the Divine Presence would not rest upon them—

but ultimately he said:

“And your dwelling places, O Israel.”

He wished to say that

their kingdom would not

of Israel

endure—

but ultimately he said:

“Like streams stretched out.”

Their kingdom would endure like a stream.

He wished to say that

they would have no olive trees or vineyards—

but ultimately he said:

“Like a garden beside a river.”

He wished to say that

their fragrance would not waft

from mitzvot—but ultimately he said:

“Like aloes planted by the Lord” [“

Ahalim”—

from the term for myrrh and aloes, which are kinds of spices].

He wished to say that

they would not have kings of imposing stature—

but ultimately he said:

“Like cedars beside the waters”.

He wished to say that

they would not have a king who was the son of a king—

but ultimately he said:

“Water shall flow from his wells.”

He wished to say that

their kingdom would not rule over the nations—

but ultimately he said:

“And his seed shall be upon many waters.”

He wished to say that

their kingdom would not be mighty—

but ultimately he said:

“His king shall be higher than Agag” [the Aramaic translation is: “His kingdom shall prevail over Agag,” meaning that their kingdom would be mighty].

and its translation is, “He shall become mighty over Agag,” meaning that their kingdom would be mighty.

He wished to say that

their kingdom would not inspire awe—

but ultimately he said:

“And his kingdom shall be exalted.”

Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: All of them,

all the blessings with which Balaam blessed Israel,

reverted

upon Israel

as curses, except for

the matter of

the synagogues and houses of study,

which did not revert to a curse; rather, they will never cease to exist among Israel.

And from where do we know this?

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

It implies, a curse

one

the Lord will transform into a blessing,

and not

all the

curses.

This is as we said above: All the blessings with which Balaam actually intended to curse Israel ultimately reverted to curses, except for one blessing, which did not revert to a curse, but remained a blessing forever.

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

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

Better was

the

curse that Ahijah the Shilonite pronounced upon Israel than

the

blessing with which the wicked Balaam blessed them.

Ahijah the Shilonite cursed Israel with a reed.

He cursed them that they should be like a reed.

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