{"id":59688,"date":"2019-07-18T12:16:01","date_gmt":"2019-07-18T09:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=59688"},"modified":"2022-08-17T18:35:35","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T15:35:35","slug":"balak-perceptions-and-words-of-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/balak-perceptions-and-words-of-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Balak: Perceptions And Words Of Others"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[368,377],"acf":{"old_id":"59688","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":36663,"related_cahpter":"1053","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"The example of Balaam shows that it is not just the words themselves, but who speaks them and how, that give the words their power","content":"<p>The opening verse of this portion describes what was seen by a non-Jewish king,\u00a0Balak the son of Tzipor, the king of Moab (Num. 22:2, 4).\u00a0Why do his perceptions matter? Shouldn\u2019t our Torah only be concerned with how we define ourselves and what our perceptions of our strengths and weaknesses are?\u00a0Why open with this and what kind of tone does that foundation set out for the rest of the portion?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rashi suggests that Moab, in seeking to understand the source of Israel\u2019s success learned that the power of Moses was in his mouth, so they sought out a person who also had power in his mouth.<\/p>\n<p>What is never explained clearly is the ultimate source of Balaam\u2019s power and insight \u2013 is he a sorcerer, a magician, a diviner, a prophet?\u00a0Does he use astrological signs to channel a message thus needing to go to a hilltop to do his work, as he says he must in 23:14?\u00a0Does he receive his message by reading signs from birds, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.livius.org\/sources\/content\/deir-alla-inscription\/\">an inscription dated to 800 BCE<\/a> found in Jordan suggests? We know from this external evidence that a character named \u201cBalaam\u201d is known as an important seer of the time. Internally speaking, there are both positive (praise of Israel) and negative (responsible for sin at Baal Peor according to Numbers 31:16) views of this individual within the book of\u00a0Numbers. <a href=\"https:\/\/thetorah.com\/balaam-the-seer-from-the-bible-to-the-deir-alla-inscription\/\">According to Professor Carl S. Ehrlich<\/a>: \u00a0\u201cthe Bible is working with at least two portraits of\u00a0Balaam; common to them is that his power resides in his words.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those words are in four different oracular sections: 23:7-10; 23:18-24; 24:3-9 and 24:15-19.\u00a0The words initially come from God in the first and second oracles (\u201cthe Lord put a word in Balaam\u2019s mouth\u201d) but the final two poetic visions have Balaam using his own words, first, inspired: \u201cthe spirit of God came upon him,\u201d and finally on his own, \u201che took up his theme in a parable and said.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For this prophet who knows how to use his words, there is a progression.\u00a0As he develops, he comes to understand that though he was initially hired to curse the Israelites by a Moabite king, in fact, it is the Israelites who will eventually be victorious over even the most vicious of their enemies, \u201cA leading nation is Amalek but its fate is to perish forever\u201d (24: 20).<\/p>\n<p>In a portion replete with irony, such as Balaam\u2019s need to be given\u00a0instructions by a speaking female donkey (22:21-35), the announcement of ultimate victory by a gentile prophet paid to prophecy downfall is made that much sweeter.\u00a0These words come from the most prized celebrity seer in the ancient Near East at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The example of Balaam shows that it is not just the words themselves, but who speaks them and how, that give the words their power which is why we need to open this portion with the perceptions of a king from among the nations.<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":76689,"id":76689,"title":"hos14-thinker 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