One of the most famous incidents in the Bible is Balaam and his talking donkey. Why did God use a donkey to speak to Balaam? Wasn’t it enough for an angel to speak to him?
Let’s start by reading the relevant verses.
Numbers 22:28-30
These 3 verses include both of the donkey’s short statements.
28. And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?
29. And Balaam said to the donkey, Because you have mocked me; I wished there was a sword in my hand, for now would I kill you.
30. And the donkey said to Balaam, Am I not your donkey, upon which you have ridden ever since I was yours until this day? Have I ever been in the habit of doing this to you? And he said, No.
Rabbi Steinsaltz (verse 28) writes, “The miracle of the speaking donkey can be understood only as a tool for conveying the message of the entire story. The satirical motif continues: The prophet does not see, and yet the donkey sees; the prophet does not know what to say, whereas the donkey speaks.”
Balaam’s Donkey in the Mishna
The sages of the Mishna reveal that Balaam’s talking donkey was planned from the creation of the world.
Ten things were created on Sabbath eve at twilight, and they are: The mouth of the earth; the mouth of the well; the mouth of the donkey; …
A “mouth” is the defining essence of these 3 creations. These are all types of openings but serve very different purposes.
The mouth of the earth was to swallow Korah and his supporters. The mouth of the well was to sustain the Jewish people with water during the years in the wilderness.
The mouth of the donkey was to enable Balaam’s donkey to speak to him at the decreed time. It seems best to consider that what was created was not the actual mouth of the donkey, but the eventual power of speech.
Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi in The Kuzari explains the Mishna this way:
The purpose of this text is to reconcile nature with the Torah, for according to the laws of nature, things occur naturally, while according to the Torah, things occur supernaturally. But we are able to harmonize those elements, because all supernatural phenomena were implanted within nature. They were part of God’s original intent when He first created the laws of nature, and were therefore fixed within the nature of these things – during the six days of creation – to surface at the appropriate time.
He is saying that what we call a “miracle” was actually built into nature from the beginning. God was never “fooled” by events and needed to quickly come up with a solution.
Rabbi Kehati in his commentary quotes Hameiri: “The ten things enumerated in the Mishnah are crucial to the national existence and prosperity of the Jewish people and the integrity of its faith … Thus, the reference to the mouth of the earth signifies belief in the punishment of the wicked; the mouth of the well expresses belief in the reward of virtue … the mouth of the donkey illustrates the full story of Balaam wherein, were it not for Divine providence, Israel would have perished…”
Did Balaam’s Donkey Really Talk?
I have come across three approaches to this question.
Rambam is the best known proponent of the idea that Balaam’s donkey did not “talk” in the way a person talks.
And likewise the whole story of Balaam on the way and of the donkey speaking; all this happened in a vision of prophecy, as it is finally made clear that an angel of the Lord spoke to him.
[emphasis in the original]
According to Rambam, the donkey did not actually speak. What happened is God showed Balaam a vision of what the donkey would do and say to him if it could.
Nehama Leibowitz (Studies in Bamidbar, page 298) quotes Rabbi Shemeul David Luzzatto who suggests the donkey did not actually speak. Rather, it made sounds which implied the words that are recorded in the text. Balaam was able to understand what the donkey’s sounds meant.
However, most commentators accept the narrative in the Torah according to its simple meaning: God allowed the donkey to speak words that Balaam understood and responded to.
Lessons from Balaam and the Donkey
Why did God use a donkey to speak to Balaam? Different commentators have detected many lessons from the talking donkey.
Midrash Bereshit Rabbah 93:10 draws a lesson of what the future judgment will be like. “Woe to us. If Balaam could not refute the donkey’s reproof and was humiliated by her, what shame will we experience on the Day of Judgment?”
Sforno (verse 28) writes the purpose of the donkey talking was to arouse Balaam to repentance. He should realize that God was giving him a chance to change his ways.
As mentioned above, Rambam thinks the incident with Balaam and his donkey was a vision and not an actual event. Even so, he derives practical lessons from these verses.
Why did you strike your donkey (Numbers 22:32) – it is set down with a view to perfecting us so that we should not acquire moral habits of cruelty and should not inflict pain gratuitously without any utility, but that we should intend to be kind and merciful even with a chance animal individual, except in case of need … for we must not kill out of cruelty or for sport.
I count 4 lessons from the Rambam. A person should
- strive to not be cruel;
- not inflict pain if there is no benefit;
- be kind and merciful to individual animals;
- not kill animals for sport.
R. Sorotzkin – 6 More Lessons
Rabbi Sorotzkin starts by pointing out that the donkey didn’t say anything of great significance. She merely asked, “What have I done to you?”
What’s the point of giving the donkey the power of speech if she will only say simple things?
He then proceeds to draw 6 lessons from the talking donkey. These lessons illustrate why it wasn’t sufficient for just the angel to speak to Balaam.
1. God had warned Balaam not to curse the Jewish people. When the Angel of God stood before him in the narrow place (22:26), this was to teach him that he was not to deviate from God’s instructions either to the right or the left.
Balaam might think that he controls his mouth and can say what he wants.
Therefore, by letting the donkey speak, God is showing him that the power of speech is a gift from God. He can give it to an animal. He can also take it away from a person.
2. The men of Moab that were with Balaam heard everything that Balaam said. They heard him say foolish things to the donkey. They heard Balaam threaten to kill the donkey, if only he had a sword.
As a result, the men from Moab mocked Balaam. They said, “He is going to destroy an entire nation with his words. But to kill an animal he needs a sword!?!”
3. Balaam had told the men from Moab that he usually rode on a horse. But now his donkey revealed that Balaam lied when it said, “Am not I your donkey, upon which you have ridden ever since I was yours until this day?”
4. The donkey said, “Have I ever been in the habit …”
The Hebrew words here can be understood in more than one way. The sages of the Gemara point out that the donkey is hinting that Balaam had intimate relations with her at night.
When the men from Moab heard this, they wondered if Balaam did have the power to bless and to curse.
5. Balaam boasted that he (24:16) “knew the knowledge of the most High.” However, he didn’t even understand his own animal.
6. Animals don’t have important wisdom to teach people. We do see that some animals can sense a coming storm or find objects using their sense of smell. This is very different than having important wisdom to share with people. The donkey opened her mouth. She couldn’t explain to Balaam what she saw. She only asked why he hit her.