{"id":48000,"date":"2019-01-23T12:07:28","date_gmt":"2019-01-23T10:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=48000"},"modified":"2022-08-17T18:40:03","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T15:40:03","slug":"gods-mouthpiece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/gods-mouthpiece\/","title":{"rendered":"God\u2019s Mouthpiece"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In a repeated act of poetic justice, God takes control of Balaam\u2019s mouth, in the most literal way. \u201cAnd God placed a <\/span>davar<\/span><\/em> [word\/thing] in Balaam\u2019s mouth\u201d (Num. 23:5,16). The <\/span>davar<\/span><\/em> becomes in the rabbinic imagination either an angel, or a bit. His mouth is invaded, twisted into the shape of blessing. He is, quite literally, possessed. This is the most intimate meaning of having one\u2019s curse<\/span> turn, twist<\/span><\/em>,<\/em> into a blessing. This act of violence controls not only what comes out of his mouth but – like a bit in a horse\u2019s mouth – also his movements. <\/span><\/p>\n

The thing\/word in Balaam\u2019s mouth reduces him to an object to be penetrated and mastered at will. If it is an angel who takes up residence in his mouth, editing and transforming his words, this expresses one level of reification; but, of course, the bridle-bit metaphor is considerably more horrifying. The effect is, as Sforno puts it, that Balaam\u2019s blessings become fully <\/span>involuntary<\/span><\/em> speech. Strangely, Balaam foresees from the outset that this will be his situation; he even announces it to Balak. Most strangely, it is he who coins the expression, \u201cthe word\/thing which God shall place in my mouth,\u201d which the midrash interprets so concretely.<\/span><\/p>\n

To be God\u2019s mouthpiece can be imagined imagined along a spectrum of possibilities. In the case of Balaam, there is an absolute tension between his desire and his words. The imagery of the bridle bit piercing his mouth suggests the horror of the loss of personal autonomy. Prophets and poets also know about possession, perhaps value it as a privilege. But in the context of relationships such as those described in this narrative – of asses controlling and brutalized by riders, of kings manipulating and being manipulated by hired clairvoyants, Balaam\u2019s relation to God takes on a similarly dialectical tension. He is rider and ridden; his power, which lies in his mouth, takes on a life of its own, leaving him helpless to achieve his desires.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even in the third blessing, which seems to emerge from a more autonomous place, there is a strange dissonance that infiltrates the biblical account. \u201cBalaam saw that it was good in the eyes of God to bless Israel\u201d: he realizes that he will not be able to curse them. \u201cThere came upon him the spirit of God.\u201d He becomes God\u2019s mouthpiece, his own desire leaves some residual poison in his inspired words. \u201cHe turned his face toward the wilderness\u201d: to bless the people with reservations, with the sting of envy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Excerpted from: \u00a0Bewilderments<\/em>, Schocken Books, 2017, p. 243<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":107281,"id":107281,"title":"-62fd0bc3b2a68--62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse neigh bit.jpg","filename":"62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/gods-mouthpiece\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit-jpg\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit-jpg","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":48000,"date":"2022-08-17 15:39:47","modified":"2022-08-17 15:40:00","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1581,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg-247x300.jpg","medium-width":247,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg-768x933.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":933,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg-843x1024.jpg","large-width":843,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":1265,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":1581,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg-988x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":988,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg-346x420.jpg","home_baner-width":346,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"God\u2019s Mouthpiece","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"He is rider and ridden; 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