(ו) עֲשָׂרָה דְבָרִים נִבְרְאוּ בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, פִּי הָאָרֶץ, וּפִי הַבְּאֵר, וּפִי הָאָתוֹן, וְהַקֶּשֶׁת, וְהַמָּן, וְהַמַּטֶּה, וְהַשָּׁמִיר, וְהַכְּתָב, וְהַמִּכְתָּב, וְהַלּוּחוֹת. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, אַף הַמַּזִּיקִין, וּקְבוּרָתוֹ שֶׁל משֶׁה, וְאֵילוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, אַף צְבָת בִּצְבָת עֲשׂוּיָה:
Ten things were created on the eve of the [first] Shabbat at twilight. And these are they: (1) The mouth of the earth [that swallowed Korach in Numbers 16:32]; (2) the mouth of the well [that accompanied the Israelites in the wilderness in Numbers 21:17]; (3) the mouth of the donkey [that spoke to Bil'am in Numbers 22:28–30]; (4) the rainbow [that served as a covenant after the flood in Genesis 9:13]; (5) the manna [that God provided the Israelites in the wilderness in Exodus 16:4–21]; (6) the staff [of Moses]; (7) the shamir [the "wonder worm" that helped build the Temple without metal tools]; (8) the letters; (9) the writing; (10) the tablets [the last three were aspects of the Ten Commandments]. And some say: also the destructive spirits, and the burial place of Moses, and the ram of Abraham, our father. And some say: also the first set of tongs from which all others were made.
(א) ויפתח ה' את פי האתון. מיום שנבראת הקב"ה פתח את פיה שהיה מסור בפיה, אבל לא היתה רשאה לדבר, כי נסתם פיה עד אותה שעה, שלא נאמר וישם ה' דבר בפיה אלא ויפתח ה', מכאן שהיה הדבר מושם בפיה, ולא היתה חסרה אלא מפתח:
"The Lord opened the mouth of the donkey."
The Holy One opened her mouth from the day when she was created, since [the power of speech] had been given to her mouth [from that time], but she did not have permission to speak. For her mouth had been sealed until this moment, since the text does not say, "The Lord put speech in her mouth," rather, "The Lord opened her mouth." From this we know that speech had been placed in her mouth [from creation], and the only thing lacking was the act of "opening."
(1) "The Lord opened the mouth of the donkey."
God provided her with the ability to speak, as in the verse [Psalms 51:17, which we recite daily before the Amidah], "O Lord, open my lips [and my mouth will declare your praise].” God did all this in order to inspire Bil'am to turn in repentance, by remembering [the principle expressed in Proverbs 16:1], “The response of the tongue comes from God"--even when a person is not prepared to change [God may guide him that way]. How much more so can God lead him [away from wrongdoing] when the person is ready and willing. All this was done in order to save such a person from destruction.
"The Lord opened the mouth of the donkey."
It seems that this too addressed the needs of the moment, in order to show him [Bil'am] that he was similar to a donkey which does not have the capacity to speak, but God opened its mouth only for the sake of Israel. So too, the Lord only opened Bil'am's mouth in prophecy for the sake of Israel. And also so that the nations would not say, "If we too had prophets, we would have done what is right."
לוּ יֶשׁ חֶרֶב בְּיָדִי, מָשָׁל לְרוֹפֵא שֶׁבָּא לְרַפְּאוֹת בִּלְשׁוֹנוֹ נְשׁוּךְ נָחָשׁ, בַּדֶּרֶךְ רָאָה אֲנָקָה אַחַת הִתְחִיל מְבַקֵּשׁ מַקֵּל לְהָרְגָהּ, אָמְרוּ זוֹ אִי אַתָּה יָכוֹל לִטֹּל, הֵיאַךְ בָּאתָ לְרַפְּאוֹת בִּלְשׁוֹנְךָ נְשׁוּךְ נָחָשׁ. כָּךְ אָמְרָה הָאָתוֹן לְבִלְעָם אֲנִי אֵין אַתָּה יָכוֹל לְהָרְגֵנִי אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן חֶרֶב בְּיָדְךָ, וְהֵיאַךְ אַתָּה רוֹצֶה לַעֲקֹר אֻמָּה שְׁלֵמָה, שָׁתַק וְלֹא מָצָא תְּשׁוּבָה
"If only I had a sword in my hand."
A parable: This is like a doctor who comes to heal, by means of his words, a patient who was bitten by a snake. Along the road he sees a lizard and starts to look around for a stick to kill it. They said to him, "You can't get rid of this [without a weapon]?! How are you going to heal by means of your words one bitten by a snake?"
So too the donkey said to Bil'am, "You can't kill me unless you have a sword in your hand?! So how do you plan to destroy an entire nation?" Bil'am was silent and had no answer.
SUMMARY OF ASPECTS OF MAIMONIDES' VIEWS. (189) The theory that imagination was an essential element in prophecy is supported by the fact that figurative speech predominates in the prophetical writings, which abound in figures, hyperbolical expressions and allegories. The symbolic acts which are described in connection with the visions of the prophets, such as the translation of Ezekiel from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ez. 8:3), Isaiah's walking about naked and barefoot (Isa. 20:2), Jacob's wrestling with the angel (Gen. 32:17), and the speaking of Bil'am's donkey (Num. 22:28), had no positive reality. The prophets, employing an elliptical style, frequently omitted to state that a certain event related by them was part of a vision or a dream. In consequence of such elliptical speech, events are described in the Bible as coming directly from God, although they simply are the effect of the ordinary laws of nature, and as such depend on the will of God. Such passages cannot be misunderstood when it is borne in mind that every event and every natural phenomenon can for its origin be traced to the Primal Cause. In this sense the prophets employ such phrases as the following "And I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it" (Isa. 5:6); "I have also called my mighty men" (ibid. 11:3).
(ב) ואם תשכיל בנסתר בענין הפרשה תמצא כי דבור האתון כדבור הנחש, וזה וזה לא מדעת עצמן כי אין בהם נפש מדברת, וטעם זה סמך לויפתח ה' את פי האתון ויגל ה' את עיני בלעם וירא את מלאך ה', כי תיכף שדברה ומתה נגלה לו המלאך ודבר עמו, ולכך הזכיר בפרשה שלשה פעמים ותרא האתון את מלאך ה', כי נטיתה מן הדרך ולחיצת הרגל והרביצה שהם שלשה סימנים כל אחד ואחד היה מצד המלאך, ואין צריך לומר הסימן הרביעי שהוא הדבור.
והסתכל בדבור המלאך שאמר לו על מה הכית את אתונך זה שלש רגלים, הושוה עם הדבור של אתון שאמר לו מה עשיתי לך כי הכיתני זה שלש רגלים. ותשכיל בכאן שלשה אנשים נצבים שהיו אנשים ממש והיו מלאכים ממש, וזה תבין בדברי המלאך שהזכיר לו יצאתי, והיה יכול לומר הנה אנכי לשטן, אבל אמר יצאתי כלומר אחר דבור האתון יצאתי אני לדבר לך ולהשטין לך, וזהו מבואר.
(2) Now if you reflect upon the mystical dimension of our portion, you will find that there is a similarity between the donkey speaking [to Bil'am] and the serpent speaking [in Eden to Eve]. Neither of them spoke by their own power, since they did not possess the type of soul that produces speech.
This is the reason that the verse “the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey,” is followed [in verse 31] by, “God uncovered Bil'am’s eyes and he saw the angel of the Lord.” Because as soon as the donkey had spoken, she died, and only then did an angel appear to Bil'am and spoke with him. Therefore, the portion mentions three times that the donkey saw the angel of the Lord--for she went off to the side of the road, and she pressed his leg against the wall, and she sat down--for these were three indications, each the appearance of an angel. And it goes without saying that the fourth indication was the speech [of the angel itself].
Now consider in the speech of the angel that he said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey three times now?" This parallels the speech of the donkey, "What have I done to you that you have struck me three times now?" Realize from this that three men were standing there who were truly men and truly angels. And you can understand this through the words of the angel who tells him, "I came out." He could have said, "I am here as an adversary," but he said, "I came out." In other words [the angel meant], "After the speech of the donkey, I came forth myself to speak with you and to be your adversary." And this is clear.
(52) By now it is clear that Bil’am’s disqualification as a true leader is primarily based on his actions. That being the case, we can understand that the Torah would want to hit hard at his behavior, even while remaining honest about his accomplishments and powers. Perhaps the strongest way in which the Torah does this is via our talking donkey. Returning one last time to this famous biblical passage, the fact that God makes a dumb animal speak is an obvious swipe at Bil’am, who, as many commentators pick up, is actually being compared here to a donkey. “God opened the donkey’s mouth” (Bemidbar 22:28) is not fundamentally different from “God placed words into Bil’am’s mouth" (Bemidbar 23:5). The opening of a prophet’s mouth – meaning the very act of prophecy – is as dependent on Divine intervention as is the opening of a donkey’s mouth. This could be said about any prophet, but it is not, and that is the vital difference.