Riddles of the Week

Riddles of the Week

(For answers see inside)

1. Hashem attempted to impede Bilaam by sending a special sword-wielding maloch [angel] to block his path, but only his donkey saw it. When the donkey tried to turn to avoid the maloch, Bilaam got angry at the donkey, striking it and threatening to kill it (Bamidbar 22:23). Since Bilaam’s power lay in his mouth, why didn’t he simply curse his donkey?
2. The Mishnah in Avos (5:8) teaches that just before Shabbos at the end of the week of Creation, Hashem created ten things, one of which was the mouth of Bilaam’s donkey and its miraculous ability to speak. Does this mean that Bilaam’s donkey actually existed from the time of Creation and was at the time of this incident more than 2000 years old?
3. What language did Bilaam’s donkey speak?
4. Is one allowed to bring a gun into a beis hamedrash? If the answer is no, what is peshat in the Gemara in Shabbos (17a) which says: “They stuck a sword into the ground in the beis hamedrash, and they said, ‘those who enter should enter, and those who want to leave must not leave’”. If it is prohibited to bring a gun or other weapon into the beis hamedrash, how could they do this?