לֹֽא־הִבִּ֥יט אָ֙וֶן֙ בְּיַעֲקֹ֔ב וְלֹא־רָאָ֥ה עָמָ֖ל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהָיו֙ עִמּ֔וֹ וּתְרוּעַ֥ת מֶ֖לֶךְ בּֽוֹ׃
No harm is in sight for Jacob,
No woe in view for Israel.
Their God יהוה is with them,
And their King’s acclaim in their midst.
No woe in view for Israel.
Their God יהוה is with them,
And their King’s acclaim in their midst.
ה' אלהיו עמו. אֲפִלּוּ מַכְעִיסִין וּמַמְרִים לְפָנָיו, אֵינוֹ זָז מִתּוֹכָן:
ה' אלקיו עמו THE LORD HIS GOD IS WITH HIM — Even when they provoke Him to anger and act rebelliously before Him He does not depart from their midst,
ה׳ אלהיו עמו. על יעקב אמר. שאף ע״ג שהוא חוטא מכ״מ ה׳ אלהיו עמו. אינו כופר בעיקר. אלא אינו יכול להתגבר באותה שעה על התאוה והרצון. ועל ישראל אמר ותרועת מלך בו. באמת הצדיק אינו עושה נסים בקביעות ומה שראו בלעם ובלק אינו אלא מה שהצדיק מועיל בתפלתו בעת צרה. וזו באמת אינו נסיי אלא כך הנהגת מלכות שמים שתועיל תפלה לכל דבר. ותרועת היינו מלשון והרעתם בחצוצרות שמשמעו תפלה גם כן כמש״כ שם בשם הרמב״ם. וכ״ז היא מדת מלכות שמים ולא כמדת משה רבינו שהנהיג עולמו במדת תפארת. ומש״ה לא התפלל שמ״ע קבועה כמש״כ בספר שמות ל״ב י״א ולעיל כ׳ י״ג בהר״ד באורך. וזה אינו בכל הצדיקים וגדולי ישראל. מש״ה לא ראה עמל בישראל. ויש לבאר עוד כונה פשוטה במליצה זו ותרועת מלך בו. שהוא כמו מלך שמצביא את חילו. וע״י אותות בני חיל בתרועת מלחמה החיל נגשים אל המלך. ומי שאינו איש חיל תמה איך נגש ליד המלך בלי פחד. אבל איש חיל יודע שאין זה פלא. שכך הוא אות תרועת מלחמה. כך בני אדם הנגשים לעשות איזה דבר גדול ומצליח בשם ה׳. אינו אלא אתערותא מלעילא שיהא נגש לזה וכמש״כ בפי׳ שה״ש עה״פ קול דודי דופק פתחי לי וגו׳. ואם כן אינו חידוש ועמל כלל:
Adonoy, his God, is with him. This is describing Yaakov: Although he transgresses, Adonoy, his God, is with him. He does not deny the fundamental existence of Hashem, but rather he is unable to overcome his desire at that moment. In describing Yisroel, it says and he has the King’s friendship. In truth, the righteous person does not regularly perform miracles. What Bil'am and Balak had seen was only that the righteous person can have an effect with his prayers in a time of suffering, which is not actually miraculous. Rather, it is the how the Heavenly King conducts Himself — that prayer always helps. ותרועת המלך. This expression is related to the phrase (v. 10:9), and you shall blow teruahs with the trumpets, which also implies prayer.
בִּשְׁלָמָא זִכְרוֹנוֹת וְשׁוֹפָרוֹת אִיכָּא טוּבָא, אֶלָּא מַלְכִיּוֹת — תְּלָת הוּא דְּהָוְיָין: ״ה׳ אֱלֹהָיו עִמּוֹ וּתְרוּעַת מֶלֶךְ בּוֹ״, ״וַיְהִי בִּישׁוּרוּן מֶלֶךְ״, ״ה׳ יִמְלוֹךְ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד״, וַאֲנַן בָּעֵינַן עֶשֶׂר, וְלֵיכָּא!
The Gemara asks: Granted, it is possible to conclude Remembrances and Shofarot with a verse from the Torah, as there are many such verses. However, with regard to Kingship, there are only three: “The Lord his God is with him, and the sounding of a king is among them” (Numbers 23:21); “And he was king in Jeshurun” (Deuteronomy 33:5); and: “The Lord shall reign for ever and ever” (Exodus 15:18). And we require ten verses, and according to Rabbi Yosei there are not enough, as he maintains that one should recite four verses from the Torah, the first three and the concluding one.
לא הביט און ביעקב ולא ראה עמל בישראל ה' אלהיו עמו (במדבר כב, כא). פירוש, לא הביט און ביעקב ולא ראה עמל בישראל, כשבאין למעלה עבירות ישראל חס ושלום השם יתברך אינו מביט להם דאינו רוצה כלל שיבואו עבירות ישראל לפניו. ה' אלהיו עמו, פירוש מה שאין כן כשבאין זכיות שלהם למעלה מחבר עצמו בהם זהו ה' אלהיו עמו, שמיד מחבר עצמו בישראל ובזכיות שלהם. ותרועת מלך בו, פירוש שזה בחינות תרועה שנחלק לשנים שלא להביט בעבירות ולחבר בזכיות ישראל דתרועה הוא לשון נחלק מלשון רועה התרועעה הארץ, שפירושו שנחלק ונשבר לשנים שלא להביט בעבירות ולחבר בזכיות ישראל. זהו ותרועת מלך בו, בחינת תרועה נוהג הקדוש ברוך הוא עם ישראל להסתכל בזכיות שלהם ושלא להסתכל בעבירות ואבאר לך שזהו ענין תקיעה תרועה תקיעה. דתקיעה, הוא לשון חיבור דאותיות תקיעה היא תקע י"ה כביכול הוא מחבר עצמו לישראל זהו בזמן שבית המקדש היה קיים שהשם יתברך היה מחובר תמיד בישראל דתמידין היו מכפרים על ישראל. ותרועה, הוא נגד הגלות שנתערבו בגוים אז הוא תרועה שהשם יתברך מחלק שלא להסתכל בעבירות בגלות ולהסתכל בזכיות ואחר כך תקיעה נגד בנין העתיד שיהיה במהרה בימינו אמן שיבער רוח הטומאה מן הארץ ולא יצטרך לחלק שלא להסתכל בעבירות שלא יהיה עבירות כלל, רק תקיעה התחברות השם יתברך בישראל. ויבואר בטוב טעם להבין שבפרשת בהעלותך כתיב שצוה השם יתברך למשה בנסוע המחנות יתקעו תרועה ובהקהיל את הקהל תתקעו ולא תריעו (במדבר י, ז) כי כשמקהיל כל ישראל הוא השראות השכינה כמאמר חכמינו ז"ל אין השכינה שורה על ישראל בפחות מס' רבוא, והוא תקיעה שהשם יתברך מחבר בישראל. לכן היה תקיעה. אמנם בנסוע המחנות ממקום למקום היה תרועה. דידוע מ"ש האריז"ל נסיעות ישראל במדבר להגביה ולהעלות נצוצות עיין שם, והיות כשמגביה הניצוץ גם כשהניצוץ ההוא עד עכשיו לא טוב עשה יש לו עלייה שמכאן והלאה עובד ה' והשם יתברך מחלק שלא להסתכל בעבירות שעשה עד עתה ובזכות שיעשה מכאן ולהבא יסתכל דאם היה השם יתברך מסתכל בעבירות שעשה עד עתה הניצוץ לא היה באפשרי שיהיה לו עלייה, גלל כן בנסוע המחנות היה תרועה שהיה מרומז על ידי נסיעה יגביה נצוצות ויתעלו שהוא ענין תרועה שהשם יתברך חלק שלא יסתכל בעבירות שעשה הניצוץ עד עתה ולהסתכל בזכיות שיעשו מכאן ולהלאה אחר העלייה שתרועה הוא דבר המחלק לשנים ודו"ק:
Numbers 23,21. “no harm is in sight for Yaakov no woe for Israel. The Lord their G’d is with them.” The true meaning of these words is hard to understand, [as the Israelites certainly had not been faultless throughout these 40 years. Ed.]
Bileam describes G’d’s attitude when Israel’s merits come to His attention and when, G’d forbid, their sins call for His attention. He says that Israel’s merits will immediately command G’d’s attention and He will respond to them without delay, whereas He does not wish to take a look at their sins immediately. The former is spelled out when Bileam adds: ה' אלוקיו עמו, Hashem, its G’d is with it.” The expression following, i.e. ותרועת מלך בו, “and their king’s acclaim is in their midst,” is a reference to the divisive nature of the teruah sound of the shofar. A king can be acclaimed by unbroken sounds of the shofar or by broken sounds. G’d reacts selectively to reports He receives about the conduct of His people.
The author proceeds to use the opportunity to explain the deeper meaning of the respective sounds תקיעה and תרועה which emanate from the ram’s horn, the shofar. The former sound is unbroken, symbolizing unity, continuity, whereas the latter signifies dissonance, friction, disharmony.
At the time when the Holy Temple stood and service was performed in it, this was an era distinguished by the תקיעה, the very letters in that word when examined meaning תקע י-ה meaning “G’d fastens, clasps, unites.” During periods of exile, however, this is symbolised by the broken sound תרועה; during the period when the Temple stood daily burnt offerings, known as תמידים were offered by the priests on behalf of the entire people (who had contributed on an equal basis to the cost of these animals) both mornings and evenings. All of this symbolised the inner adhesion of the various tribes to one another. The תרועה sound by its very nature calls attention to the fact that the Jews are dispersed among gentiles, lacking this inner cohesion. As a result of their sins and the subsequent exile, G’d delays looking at the sins of the Jewish people while they are in exile, as the conditions for them to observe the Torah in full measure do not exist and it is harder for them to accumulate collective merits. [Some of the words are mine, but the author whose fame rests on his being an advocate vis a vis G’d of his people in exile, is making the point I described. Ed.]. He sees in the sequence in which we blow the shofar a summary of our history which began in glory, i.e. תקיעה, was interrupted by decline, exile, i.e. תרועה, but will most certainly end again with the תקיעה to signal our redemption soon in our days.
In support of his theory, the author quotes the statement of our sages that G’d’s presence cannot rest on us permanently unless at least 600000 male adults are assembled. (Midrash Hagadol Vayishlach 32,3) The תקיעה symbolizes that thought. This explains that whenever the Jewish people made camp while in the desert, a תקיעה as blown as a reminder that the Shechinah, G’d’s presence, was at hand. On the other hand, breaking camp was signaled by the blowing of a תרועה, the broken sound, as breaking camp was a sign that the people had displeased G’d, and that this was why they had to pack up once more. According to the Ari z’al, the various journeys were inspired by the need to accumulate merits by picking up “fallen” sparks along the route and to become the instrument of restoring same to the celestial position before they had “fallen” out of grace. The fact that the Israelites offset their sins by these merits of picking up “fallen sparks,” was responsible for G’d not immediately turning His attention to the misdemeanours of the Israelites that had brought about their need to move on.
The sound of the תרועה, reminder that G’d had broken, interrupted His preoccupation with the Israelites’ sins, was also a reminder of the need to acquire merits by elevating themselves spiritually to offset the effect of their sins.
[Various commentators in dealing with the inverted way in which Moses reports the process of making camp and breaking camp in Numbers 33,1-33,2 refer to each move being testimony to the people having angered G’d. Ed.]
Bileam describes G’d’s attitude when Israel’s merits come to His attention and when, G’d forbid, their sins call for His attention. He says that Israel’s merits will immediately command G’d’s attention and He will respond to them without delay, whereas He does not wish to take a look at their sins immediately. The former is spelled out when Bileam adds: ה' אלוקיו עמו, Hashem, its G’d is with it.” The expression following, i.e. ותרועת מלך בו, “and their king’s acclaim is in their midst,” is a reference to the divisive nature of the teruah sound of the shofar. A king can be acclaimed by unbroken sounds of the shofar or by broken sounds. G’d reacts selectively to reports He receives about the conduct of His people.
The author proceeds to use the opportunity to explain the deeper meaning of the respective sounds תקיעה and תרועה which emanate from the ram’s horn, the shofar. The former sound is unbroken, symbolizing unity, continuity, whereas the latter signifies dissonance, friction, disharmony.
At the time when the Holy Temple stood and service was performed in it, this was an era distinguished by the תקיעה, the very letters in that word when examined meaning תקע י-ה meaning “G’d fastens, clasps, unites.” During periods of exile, however, this is symbolised by the broken sound תרועה; during the period when the Temple stood daily burnt offerings, known as תמידים were offered by the priests on behalf of the entire people (who had contributed on an equal basis to the cost of these animals) both mornings and evenings. All of this symbolised the inner adhesion of the various tribes to one another. The תרועה sound by its very nature calls attention to the fact that the Jews are dispersed among gentiles, lacking this inner cohesion. As a result of their sins and the subsequent exile, G’d delays looking at the sins of the Jewish people while they are in exile, as the conditions for them to observe the Torah in full measure do not exist and it is harder for them to accumulate collective merits. [Some of the words are mine, but the author whose fame rests on his being an advocate vis a vis G’d of his people in exile, is making the point I described. Ed.]. He sees in the sequence in which we blow the shofar a summary of our history which began in glory, i.e. תקיעה, was interrupted by decline, exile, i.e. תרועה, but will most certainly end again with the תקיעה to signal our redemption soon in our days.
In support of his theory, the author quotes the statement of our sages that G’d’s presence cannot rest on us permanently unless at least 600000 male adults are assembled. (Midrash Hagadol Vayishlach 32,3) The תקיעה symbolizes that thought. This explains that whenever the Jewish people made camp while in the desert, a תקיעה as blown as a reminder that the Shechinah, G’d’s presence, was at hand. On the other hand, breaking camp was signaled by the blowing of a תרועה, the broken sound, as breaking camp was a sign that the people had displeased G’d, and that this was why they had to pack up once more. According to the Ari z’al, the various journeys were inspired by the need to accumulate merits by picking up “fallen” sparks along the route and to become the instrument of restoring same to the celestial position before they had “fallen” out of grace. The fact that the Israelites offset their sins by these merits of picking up “fallen sparks,” was responsible for G’d not immediately turning His attention to the misdemeanours of the Israelites that had brought about their need to move on.
The sound of the תרועה, reminder that G’d had broken, interrupted His preoccupation with the Israelites’ sins, was also a reminder of the need to acquire merits by elevating themselves spiritually to offset the effect of their sins.
[Various commentators in dealing with the inverted way in which Moses reports the process of making camp and breaking camp in Numbers 33,1-33,2 refer to each move being testimony to the people having angered G’d. Ed.]
דֶּרֶךְ הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ – לְהַבִּיט עַל הַטּוֹבוֹת שֶׁעוֹשִׂין, וְאַף שֶׁנִּמְצָא בָּהֶם גַּם־כֵּן מַה שֶּׁאֵינוֹ טוֹב, אֵינוֹ מִסְתַּכֵּל עַל זֶה. כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (במדבר כ״ג:כ״א): לֹא הִבִּיט אָוֶן בְּיַעֲקֹב; מִכָּל־שֶׁכֵּן שֶׁהָאָדָם אָסוּר לוֹ לְהַבִּיט עַל חֲבֵרוֹ לְרָעָה, לִמְצֹא בּוֹ דַּוְקָא מַה שֶּׁאֵינוֹ טוֹב וּלְחַפֵּשׂ לִמְצֹא פְּגָמִים בַּעֲבוֹדַת חֲבֵרוֹ, רַק אַדְּרַבָּא, מְחֻיָּב לְהַבִּיט רַק עַל הַטּוֹב.
3. God’s way is to always focus on the good which people do. Although there is also some not good mixed in with it, He pays no attention to this, as it is written (Numbers 23:21), “He does not look at wickedness in Yaakov.” Certainly, therefore, it is forbidden for a person to look negatively at his fellow man, to find specifically that which is not good and to search for the shortcomings in the other’s religious devotions. On the contrary, he is obligated to focus only on the good.