Zohar, Balak
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(במדבר כ״ב:ב׳) וַיַּרְא בָּלָק בֶּן צִפּוֹר וְגוֹ'. רִבִּי יוֹסֵי פָּתַח, (משלי כ״ג:ו׳) אַל תִּלְחַם אֶת לֶחֶם רַע עָיִן וְגוֹ'. דָּא בִּלְעָם, דְּבָרִיךְ לְהוּ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל. וְאַל תִּתְאָו לְמַטְעַמּוֹתָיו, דָּא בָּלָק, דְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לָא אִתְרְעֵי לְאִינּוּן עִלָּוָון דְּאַתְקִין קַמֵּיהּ.
And so with the rest.’ R. Jose quoted the verse: “Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye” (Prov. 23, 6). ‘This’, he said, ‘is Balaam who blessed Israel. “Neither desire thou his dainties”: this was Balak, whose burnt offerings were not accepted by the Almighty.
תָּא חֲזֵי, בְּשַׁעֲתָא דְּחָמָא בָּלָק דְּהָא סִיחוֹן וְעוֹג אִתְקְטָלוּ, וְאִתְנְסִיבַת אַרְעֲהוֹן, חָמָא מַה חָמָא, דְּאִיהוּ אָמַר וַיַּרְא. אֶלָּא חָמָא בְּחָכְמְתָא דִּילֵיהּ, דְּאִיהוּ, וַחֲמִשָּׁה עִלָּאֵי דְּמִדְיָן, וְעִמֵּיהּ, נַפְלִין בִּידָא דְּיִשְׂרָאֵל. חָמָא, וְלָא יָדַע, וְעַל דָּא אַקְדִים לְבִלְעָם, דְּחֵילֵיהּ בְּפוּמֵיהּ, כְּגַוְונָא דְּיִשְׂרָאֵל דְּחֵילֵיהוֹן בְּפוּמֵיהוֹן.
When Balak observed that Sihon and Og had been killed and their land taken away, he foresaw in his wisdom that he and five princes of Midian and his people would fall by the hand of Israel, and not knowing what to make of it he approached Balaam, whose power was in his mouth, just as the power of Israel was in its mouth.
וַאֲפִילּוּ בִּלְעָם תָּאִיב הֲוָה יַתִּיר מִבָּלָק. וְהַהִיא יְדִיעָא דְּאִיהוּ הֲוָה יָדַע, בְּלֵילְיָא הֲוָה יָדַע, בְּגִין דְּאִינּוּן כִּתְרִין תַּתָּאִין וַחֲמָרֵי, לָא שְׁכִיחוּ אֶלָּא בְּמִשְׁמָרָה רִאשׁוֹנָה דְּלֵילְיָא, וְעַל דָּא הֲוָה לֵיהּ אֲתָנָא, דְּהַאי גִּיסָא, לְאִתְחַבְּרָא חֲמָרֵי בַּהֲדָהּ בְּרֵישָׁא דְּלֵילְיָא.
Balaam was even more anxious to attack them than Balak. The knowledge which he acquired was at night time, because the lower crowns and the asses are at large only in the first watch of the night. Therefore he had an ass to attract the asses to her in the early part of the night.