Another Torah portion, another saga with the Israelites in the desert. So goes the Book of Numbers!
There are some notable twists and turns in this particular parashah, however. Named for the Moabite king Balak, who sets off a strange series of events in this tale, our Torah portion for this week is famous for its odd cast of characters, including a sorcerer-for-hire, Balaam…. and his talking donkey. Terrified of the Israelites because of their recent rout of the Amorites, King Balak hires Balaam to curse the wandering people. It’s worth looking closely at the text for the Moabites’ specific objections to the Israelites: Balak son of Tzippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, and Moav was in exceeding fear before the people, since they were so many; they felt dread before the Children of Israel. Moav said to the elders of Midyan: Look now, this assembly will lick up everything around us like an ox licks up the green-things of the field! … He sent messengers to [Balaam] … to call him, saying: Here, a people has come up out of Egypt; here, it covers the aspect of the land, and it has settled hard upon me! So now, pray go, curse this people for me, for it is too mighty [in number] for me![i] The language is clearly dehumanizing. The Israelite people are explicitly compared to an animal, and one that mindlessly consumes resources (“an ox licks up the green-things of the field”). They are also implicitly compared to beasts: The exact phrase “it covers the aspect of the land” (kisa et-ein ha-aretz) is used of the plague of locusts in Exodus 10:5. These are not flattering analogies. What’s more, King Balak’s concern about the number of Israelites is a near-perfect echo of what Pharaoh says about the same people, back when he had them enslaved. The Moabite frets that the people are “too mighty [in number] for me” (Numbers 22:6), while the Egyptian declares they are “mightier [in number] than we!” (Exodus 1:9). This concern – presented as simple demographics – thinly masks prejudiced attitudes. In general, the role that language plays in the specific psychological process of shaping and stereotyping a target group is a well-documented phenomenon. The words we use shape how we perceive others’ worth and dignity. It matters how we talk about people, and often that language is shaped by our experience (or in many cases, the lack thereof). Fittingly, then, it is an actual encounter with the other that changes the course of the story. Balaam is recruited to curse the Israelites, and after a series of events that include God, an angel, and the aforementioned talking donkey, Balaam finds himself in King Balak’s company. The scene is set: “In the morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth-baal. From there he could see a portion of the people.” (Numbers 22:41). Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg dramatizes the power of this moment: He could see them. He sees the Israelites camped in their tents. He probably sees families together, children and parents, maybe children playing, maybe groups of friends, maybe couples in love. He sees a people, vulnerable and frightened, yearning to breathe free. He sees them. And instead of cursing them, he blesses them. … Unlike Balak, who dehumanized them from afar, he [Balaam] – sees them. Instead of making choices that would hurt them, he is moved to offer something that would bring them more wholeness and safety.[ii] The story changes because of what – or more to the point, who – Balaam sees. He is told that the people are animals, a teeming mass, a threat. But he sees that they are a people, like any other. And the blessing that emerges (instead of the planned curse) is an ode to the beauty of humanity. He rhapsodizes: “How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel!” (Numbers 24:5). This Shabbat, may we follow the example of Balaam, the seer. As Rabbi Ruttenberg concludes: “When we open our eyes to see the full humanity of others, we are able to see their goodness. Their value. Their beauty. Their gifts. Their inherent worthiness, regardless of their productive output. We experience their sacredness. As such, we experience the spirit of the divine upon us.”[iii]