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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NUM284 See [[NUM288]] Numbers 22:32 beaten TELVOL2 306-7

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NUM285 We must save others from shame. The Midrash adds that the angel said, "But now since she spoke and rebuked you, and you were not able to withstand her rebuke [this verse], I have killed her, lest people say: 'This is the donkey which rebuked Bilaam and he was not able to answer.' The Almighty has consideration for the honor of mankind." (Midrash Tanchuma cited by Rashi). Bilaam reached the zenith of wickedness by wanting to destroy the entire Jewish people. Even the miraculous occurrence of his donkey's speaking to him did not effect a change of attitude in Bilaam. But God has consideration even for such a person's honor, and does not want him to suffer unnecessary humiliation. All the more so must we be careful not to shame our friends and neighbors. (Rabbi Chayim Shmuelevitz).

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NUM286 See [[GEN1176]] Genesis 24:14 water LEHRMAN 323-4

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NUM287 One of the ways in which man knows how to behave and feel is to imitate the actions and "feelings" of God (Deuteronomy 28:9 and Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De'ot 1:6). There are many verses that reflect God's special sensitivity to animals. The verse in the Psalms (Psalms 145:9) says that God is good to all things and has mercy upon all His creatures. God promises bountiful crops not only for man but also for the animals to eat (Deuteronomy 28:11). When Bilaam hit his donkey for refusing to move, the angel (God's agent) got angry at him for striking the animal [this verse]. Therefore, we can see a specific benevolent, merciful, and caring attitude by God to animals. Like God, man should possess a similar attitude. In fact, the Proverbs describes a righteous person as understanding the "soul" (the feelings?) of his animals (Proverbs 12:10). Judaism does not really believe in nice feelings and attitudes. These attitudes must be reflected in a Jew's actions (See the chapter "Mitzvot"). Therefore, the Torah also commands the Jew to perform specific mitzvot that seem to teach sensitivity toward animals. For example, this attitude is clearly translated into action, as the Torah places the feeding of animals before the feeding of man (Deuteronomy 11:15). The Talmud says that this order teaches us that the Jew is to feed his animals even before he feeds himself (Gittin 62a). This statement in the Talmud is adopted into actual practice in Judaism (Maimonides, Hilchot Avadim 9:8 and Magen Avraham, Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 167:18). According to the Jerusalem Talmud (Jerusalem Talmud, Yevamot 78a), a person may not buy an animal unless food preparation for that animal has been arranged in advance.

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NUM288 One way in which Balaam, the prophet hired by Moab's King Balak to curse the Israelites, revealed his low character was through his cruelty to his donkey. When an angel of God was sent to deter Balaam from setting out on his mission, the well-paid prophet couldn't discern the angel, but the donkey did, and refused to move forward. Highly irritated, Balaam started to beat the animal with a stick until God opened his mouth, and the donkey said to Balaam, "What have I done to you that you have beaten me three times?" (Numbers 22:27–28). The prophet responded by brandishing a sword at the donkey; at that point, the angel of God spoke to Balaam in a manner similar to the prophet's donkey: "Why have you hit your donkey three times?" [this verse]. [Both Maimonides (The Guide for the Perplexed 3:17) and Judah the Chasid (Sefer Chasidim #666) regard this biblical episode concerning Balaam and his donkey as the source for the biblical prohibition of cruelty to animals (see Rabbi J. David Bleich, "Animal Experimentation," in his book, Contemporary Halakhic Problems, Volume 3, pages 201-203).] Ironically, the sword-brandishing Balaam was killed shortly thereafter by a sword (Numbers 31:8).

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NUM289 See [[EXOD320]] Exodus 19:5 treasured DORFFRAG 67-8

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NUM290 R. Mattithyah b Heresh said: … be a tail to lions, and not a head to foxes. Pirkei Avot, Perek IV, mishnah 20. Our Sage does not mean that it is relatively better to be one than the other. His dictum is absolute: always strive to be the first; never let yourself become the second. And do not be misled by the supposed dignity or disgrace which these terms imply. The lion's tail is still part of the lion, and the head of a fox is still part of a fox. The lion represents strength, majesty, nobility. When the infamous sorcerer Balaam looked at our people in the wilderness, seeking to crush them, this is how he saw them: "Behold, a people: as a lion as it rises up, and as a lion it lifts itself" [this verse]. ... The lion is Jewry steeped in Torah and mitzvoth.… The fox, on the other hand, symbolizes furtive cunning, scheming slyness, treachery. When we study Torah and obey its Divine precepts, slyness and trickery have no place. "Whole-hearted shall you be with the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 18:13). Jews who seek to live by the qualities of the fox, either as individuals or in loudly trumpeted organizations, working to achieve an identity, an image, or a purpose through guile and cunning, contribute nothing sound or constructive. "Seize us," says Solomon, "the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in tender blossom." (Song of Songs 2:15). Do not be afraid to join fully the forces of Torah, to associate and identify yourself with them, even if it means accepting the position or role of a "tail," without immediate honor or distinction. If a lion cast fear into others, the sight of its tail is as frightening as a glimpse of its claws. On the other hand, if a bounty is offered for foxes, and traps are set for them, there is little honor in serving as the "head" of such a beast. Join the wise, the scholarly, the learned, no matter in what capacity, and you will increase your learning and improve your sense of values. Restrict yourself to leading those on a radically lower level than yourself, and your mental stores will diminish; your mental horizons will shrink. "He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the shepherd of fools will suffer harm." (Proverbs 13:20).

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