[Avodah] Was Bil'am Jewish?

[Toby Katz]

From: Akiva Miller <akivagmiller at gmail.com>


>>  Naaah, of course he was not Jewish. The subject line was just to get
your attention. But then again....

I would not have surprised me if Bil'am had said, "I can't do what my
god doesn't let me do." After all, religious people of *any* religion
generally refrain from going against the will of their god. Likewise,
I would not have been surprised if he said, "I can't do what Hashem
doesn't let me do." .....But Bil'am didn't say either of
those things.
.

What Bil'am said was, "I can't do what HASHEM MY GOD doesn't let me
do." (B'midbar 22:18) I was very surprised by this phrase. .... in this
pasuk, we see that Bil'am goes beyond accepting Hashem as *a* god -- he
accepts Him as "my God." ...



Akiva Miller

>>>>
 
 
My brother, Heshy Bulman, based on RSRH, understands Bilam to be boastful and arrogant -- saying to the nobles and bigshots who are in attendance, in effect, <<I have G-d in my pocket, He does my bidding, He is my G-d and does what I want Him to do.>>  
 
When Bilam said <<I can't go with you because G-d doesn't let me>> he intended and his listeners understood him to be saying, <<Unless you give me a lot more honor and a lot more money, I won't go with you.>>  This is Rashi, but Hirsch's additional insight is that Bilam actually believed he was in control.   
 
 
--Toby Katz
t613k at aol.com
 
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