NUM274 In summation: a person must survey all of his deeds and oversee all his ways, in order to remove any bad tendency or trait, let alone a sin or a transgression. It is also necessary that a man be meticulous in his ways and weigh them daily, like the leading merchants do when they assess all their undertakings to prevent their businesses from falling into ruin. One should schedule fixed times and hours for this (rather than doing so randomly) and adhere to them faithfully, because there is so much at stake. Our Sages of blessed memory have explicitly taught us the need for this type of evaluation. And this is what they, of blessed memory, have said (Bava Basra 78b) on the following verse: "'Therefore, the Allegorists said, come to Cheshbon' [this verse], and therefore, those who rule over their evil inclination say, 'come and evaluate the balance sheet of the world [a play on the word Chesbon which refers to an Emorite City but can also mean a balance sheet] – the loss of a mitzvah versus its gain, and the gain of a transgression versus its loss.…'" This is because truthful advice of this nature can only be given and can only be appreciated by those who have already freed themselves from the control of their evil inclination and who rule over it. One who remains imprisoned by his evil inclination can either see or grasp this truth. His evil inclination literally blinds his eyes, and he is like one who walks in darkness and cannot see the obstacles before him.

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NUM275 Rabbi [Judah HaNasi, who codified the Mishnah] said: Which is the right course that a man should choose for himself?… Reckon the loss that a mitzvah entails, against its reward; and the benefit gained from a sin, against the loss it brings. Contemplate three things and you will not come into the hands, the clutches of sin: Know what is above you: an eye sees, and ear hears, and all your deeds are written, recorded in a Book. Pirkei Avot, Perek II, mishnah 1. The first obstacle that the evil inclination throws in the path of a person on his way to perform a mitzvah is the thought of what it has to cost. "Think of the time, the effort, the money. How could you!" Rabbi Judah HaNasi's answer is: We cannot deny that observing mitzvoth does involve an initial cost. But weigh this against the gain beyond price, the infinite reward that will surely come. When tempted by a transgression, on the other hand, you have an initial gain. This, too, cannot be denied. There is an immediate pleasure. People use the expression, "ugly as sin." Sin is ugly, but only after the fact. Before it is done, it is quite attractive and tempting. If it were not, people would not sin. True, says Rabbi Judah HaNasi, it tempts you; it offers you some immediate benefit, some ready profit. But weigh the momentary gain against the infinite loss, the irreparable harm that it brings. And Rabbi Judah HaNasi is not alone in this wise approach. "Said Rabbi Yohanan: What is the sense of the verse, 'Therefore the mosh'lim (JPS translates, "they that speak in parables"; RSV, "the ballad singers.") say: Come to heshbon' [this verse]? 'The mosh'lim means the rulers--those who rule and control their passions.' Come to heshbon': [they say] Come and let us make a heshbon, a reckoning of the world: the loss that a mitzvah entails, against its reward; the profit from a transgression, against the loss it brings" (T.B. Baba Bathra 78b). To control the yetzer hara, the evil inclination, this is the key: make a heshbon, a reckoning of what you gain and what you lose by everything, good or bad, that you do. For a mitzvah the cost, the loss is temporary; the reward is everlasting. For an averah, a transgression, the pleasure and the gain are transient; the harm, though it may not come at once, is devastating and permanent. In any system of accounting, what is important is the final figure in the last column. Of what avail is it to show a profit in the beginning but then have a deficit in red ink at the end? A series of pleasures is a perishing series. Good times leave nothing in their wake except a feeling of emptiness. The experience of many pleasures amounts to nothing of permanent value. Transgressions end with loss; that spells their true significance. On the other hand, mitzvoth end with gain; this is the reality. Make a heshbon, and you will become the "ruler of your spirit."

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NUM276 It was taught: R. Shmuel b. Nachmani said in the name of R. Yochanan: What is the intent of: "Therefore, the rulers says: "Let us come to Cheshbon"? "The rulers" -- these are the rulers over their evil inclinations. "Let us come to Cheshbon" -- Let us come and make the world's accounting ["Cheshbon" (account)], the loss [entailed by the performance] of a mitzvah against its reward; and the reward of a transgression against its loss. "be built and established" -- If you do thus, you will be built up in this world and established for the world to come. "the city of Sichon" -- If a man makes himself like a young ass ["ayir," similar to "ir," "city"], which docilely follows the cajoling talk [("sichah," intimated by "Sichon") of its driver] -- What follows thereafter? (v. 28): "For a fire will go out of Cheshbon" -- A fire will come forth from the accounters and consume the non-accounters. "A flame from the city of Sichon" -- from the city of the righteous, who are referred to as "sprouts" ["sichin," intimated by "Sichon"]. "It shall consume Ar of Moav" -- This ["Ar"] refers to one who follows his evil inclination, as a young ass ["ayir"] follows the cajoling talk [of its driver]. "The men of the eminences of Arnon" -- these are the haughty ones, as the master has said: All those of haughty spirit, in the end fall into Gehinnom (Bava Bathra 78b)

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NUM277 … the chief hindrance to humility is ignorance or a little knowledge. You will observe that the more ignorant a man is, the more conceited he is. Our Sages said, "An arrogant disposition betrays ignorance of the Torah." Sanhedrin 24a "When a man boasts, it is a sign that he knows nothing." Zohar on this verse. "When there is only one penny in the pitcher, it makes much noise." Baba Metzia 85b "The trees that bear no fruit were once asked, 'Why can one hear your rustling?' 'So that we might be heard and noticed,' was their reply." Genesis Rabbah 16:3 We have already mentioned that Moses, who was the chosen of men, was also the meekest of men.

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NUM278 We should not seek to curse for our enemies, rather we should pray that they should become our friends. The Children of Israel encamped in the plains of Moab. The Moabites were frightened, and Balak, their king, sent messages to Bilaam, requesting him to destroy the Israelites with a curse [this verse]. The Chofetz Chayim commented that from here we see how wicked Balak was. Balak believed that Balaam had the power to bless. If so, why was it necessary to request Bilaam to curse the Jews? He could have asked him to bless his own people so that they should not be harmed (Chofetz Chayim al Hatorah on this verse].

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NUM279 The Talmud (Arachin 15a) declares that improper speech is far more severe than improper action and proves it from the Torah story of ten spies who sinned by improperly speaking evil about the land of Israel. The consequences of those words an the improper reaction of the people was the punishment that denied all the Jewish adults the opportunity to inherit the land and that they would die in the desert. Yet, when these same Jews months earlier had actually worshiped the Golden Calf, their punishment in committing that sin of action was far less severe than the decree of death. The same concept is echoed in the Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Tehillim 3:621) which shows through other similar verses that the consequences of improper speech are very often more grievous than the consequences of improper actions. The Talmud (Arachin 15b) points out that the physiological makeup of the human being demonstrates how much the tongue must be guarded. The other limbs of man's body are exposed and seen by others. The tongue, however, is created to be hidden from view. In addition, there was an need to surround a tongue with two protective "walls," the mouth and the teeth, to prevent its misuse. Thus, we see how powerful language can be both for the positive of creation of the world as well as for the destruction of the world. It seems from the Torah (Numbers, chaps. 22-24) that Bilaam would have actually destroyed the Jewish people with his words had he succeeded in cursing the people rather than blessing them, since the Torah went to great lengths to show us that God changed his curses into blessings. The Talmud points out (Megillah 28a) that the power of words is so strong that even the curses of simple, "unimportant" people should not be taken lightly.

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NUM280 See [[GEN387]] Genesis 3:9 where WAGS 118-20

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NUM281 Rava b. R. Huna said: From here we learn that "one is led on the road he desires to travel," it being written in the beginning (v. 12): "Do not go with them," and, in the end: "Arise and go with them" (Makkoth 10b)

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NUM282 See [[NUM213]] Numbers 16:15 aggrieved TELVOL1 259

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NUM283 Psalm 104:24 declares that God fashioned all creatures with wisdom. The Talmud, going further, maintains that each creature consented to the form God gave it, implying that God conferred with the animals (B. Hullin 60a). This ability to reflect a part of the divine wisdom hovers in the background of the numerous classical rabbinic stories of animal sagacity. Pesikta Rabbati, a sixth-or seventh-century redaction of early rabbinic materials, tells a story of a cow who, when sold to a gentile, still refused to work on the Sabbath and ultimately so impressed its new owner with his piety that the new owner converted to Judaism and became a great rabbi (14). In some of the stories animals behave ethically and show an awareness of God when humans do not. Thus "Balaam's ass" sees a divine messenger on the road when Balaam is unable to do so (this verse;), and in the Talmud we read that while the humans today are like donkeys when compared with the previous, morally superior generation, they are "not like the donkeys of R. Hanina and R. Pinhas ben Ya'ir," who refused to eat untithed barley and therefore are, the text seems to imply, our moral superiors (B. Shabbat 12b). Moses Cordovero (1522-1570), returning to the story of Rabbi Judah and the calf, argues that "the Supernal Wisdom is extended to all creative things--minerals, plants, animals, and humans.… In this way man's pity should be extended to all the works of the Blessed One just as the Supernal Wisdom despises no created thing.… This is the reason our holy teacher was punished for his failure to have pity on the young calf that tried to hide near him. (Moses Cordovero, The Palm Tree of Deborah, Louis Jacobs, trans. (New York: Sepher-Hermon, 1981), pp. 83-4 (chap. 3 in Hebrew). (By Aaron S. Gross, "Jewish Animal Ethics")

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