Spirit of G-d
ב תֶא םָעְּלִב אָש ִיַו-עֵינָיו, וַיַרְּ א אֶת -יִשְּרָאֵל, שֹכֵן, לִשְּבָטָיו; וַתְּהִי עָלָיו, רוּחַ אֱ -לֹהִים. 2 And Bilaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the spirit of G-d came upon him.
Commentator
- וַתְּהִי עָלָיו רוּחַ אֱ -לֹהִים
- Targum Onkelus: Bilaam Spirit of Prophecy rested upon him.
- Zohar: Jews - Bilaam was going to use the “evil eye” (lifting his eyes) on the Jews; thus, HaShem spread His spirit of protection upon the Jews, as a father who takes his child to a public area, would protect him from the “evil eye” by spreading a covering over the child.
- Tosfos (Bava Basra 60a): Jews - The arrangement of the tents allowing privacy prompted Bilaam to speak the virtues of the Jews that allowed the goodness of the Divine Presence to rest upon them.
- Rashi: Bilaam - Not a spirit of nevuah (prophecy), but a sentiment not to curse the Jews.
As an introduction to the verse “how goodly are your tents...” the Torah writes: “Bilaam raised his eyes and he saw Israel dwelling according to its tribes.” Rashi comments: “Dwelling according to its tribes -- he saw each tribe dwelling by itself, not intermingling {with other tribes}, and he saw that the openings of their tents did not face each other, so that its occupant should not glance {accidentally} into the neighboring tent.”
What difficulty compelled Rashi to offer this explanation? The plain sense of the verse “he saw Israel dwelling according to its tribes” suggests that Bilaam saw something out of the ordinary -- unique and exceptionally good conduct, which caused “the spirit of Hashem {to rest} upon him.” As Rashi explains: “It entered his heart not to curse them.”
The Jews’ exceptional conduct, expressed by the word “dwelling,” was observed by Bilaam, when he saw “Israel dwelling according to its tribes.” That is why Rashi writes “he saw each tribe dwelling by itself, not intermingling {with other tribes},” implying that the Jews were especially careful to preserve their pedigree. For (as Rashi explains) the Jews had “brought the records of their pedigrees and witnesses of their birth claims...,” indicating that the Jews were exceptionally virtuous in their modesty. Bilaam was profoundly affected when he saw the Jews’ virtuous conduct, and as a result, “it entered his heart not to curse them.”
Yet on this basis, the Torah should have written “he saw Israel dwelling according to tribes, implying that the tribes were not intermingled. By writing “dwelling according to its tribes,” the Torah suggests that Bilaam saw something even more admirable in the Jews, expressed by the phrase “according to its tribes” -- each tribe individually was recognizable as a tribe of Israel. Rashi explains that Bilaam also “saw that the openings of their tents did not face each other, so that its occupant should not glance {accidentally}into the neighboring tent.” Clearly, noticing this virtue of the Jews also contributed to Bilaam’s hesitation to curse them.
