parshat Matot: Bilaam the Flying Soothsayer

There is an interesting midrash that Bilaam flew, and (in certain variants) that Pinchas flew and brought him down to earth. There is a lot to discuss regarding these midrashim, but I am going to focus on only a few points.

First, the midrashim. In midrash Rabba on parshat Balak:

וכלי הקדש, זה הציץ, שכתוב בו: קדש לה'.

וחצוצרות התרועה בידו

אמר להם משה לישראל: בלעם הרשע עשה להם כשפים ופורח ומפריח לחמשת המלכים, הראו לו את הציץ, ששמו של הקדוש ברוך הוא גלוף עליו, והן נופלין תדע, שכן כתיב (במדבר לא): ואת מלכי מדין הרגו על חלליהם את אוי ואת רקם ואת בלעם בן בעור.

while on parshat Matot we have the same midrash, more or less:

דבר אחר:

נקום נקמת

זה שאמר הכתוב (איוב ל): לא יגרע מצדיק עיניו ואת מלכים לכסא.

מהו לא יגרע מצדיק עיניו?

אין הקב"ה מונע מן הצדיק מה שרוצה בעיניו, ללמדך שמשה מתאווה לראות בנקמת מדין קודם שימות, והיה מבקש מן הקדוש ברוך הוא שיראה בעיניו.

על משה נאמר (תהלים נח): ישמח צדיק כי חזה נקם נקמת מדין פעמיו ירחץ בדם הרשע, זה בלעם.

אמר משה לפנחס ולאנשי הצבא: יודע אני שבלעם הרשע הוא שם ליטול שכרו, עד שהזאב בא לצאן, פרשו לו מצודה, ואותו רשע, אם תראו אותו שעושה כשפים ופורח באוויר העולם, הראו לו את הציץ שכתוב בו: קדש לה' והוא נופל, והרגו אותו ואת מלכי מדין הרגו על חלליהם, שהיו עושין כשפים עם בלעם ופורחין, וכשראו את הציץ נפלו על חלליהם:

A bit earlier in midrash Rabba on Matot there is a dispute:

וכלי הקדש, זה הארון, שנאמר: כי עבודת הקדש וגו'.

רבי יוחנן אמר: אלו בגדי כהונה, שהם אורים ותומים, כמו שנאמר: ובגדי הקדש אשר לאהרן.

There are several pesukim that enter into this midrash, just at first glance. One set is the one describig the deaths of Bilaam and these 5 kings. In Bemidbar 31:8:

ח וְאֶת-מַלְכֵי מִדְיָן הָרְגוּ עַל-חַלְלֵיהֶם, אֶת-אֱוִי וְאֶת-רֶקֶם וְאֶת-צוּר וְאֶת-חוּר וְאֶת-רֶבַע--חֲמֵשֶׁת, מַלְכֵי מִדְיָן; וְאֵת בִּלְעָם בֶּן-בְּעוֹר, הָרְגוּ בֶּחָרֶב.

8 And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian; Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

and in sefer Yehoshua 13:21-22:

כא וְכֹל, עָרֵי הַמִּישֹׁר, וְכָל-מַמְלְכוּת סִיחוֹן מֶלֶךְ הָאֱמֹרִי, אֲשֶׁר מָלַךְ בְּחֶשְׁבּוֹן: אֲשֶׁר הִכָּה מֹשֶׁה אֹתוֹ וְאֶת-נְשִׂיאֵי מִדְיָן, אֶת-אֱוִי וְאֶת-רֶקֶם וְאֶת-צוּר וְאֶת-חוּר וְאֶת-רֶבַע, נְסִיכֵי סִיחוֹן, יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ.	21 and all the cities of the table-land, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the chiefs of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the princes of Sihon, that dwelt in the land.
כב וְאֶת-בִּלְעָם בֶּן-בְּעוֹר, הַקּוֹסֵם--הָרְגוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּחֶרֶב, אֶל-חַלְלֵיהֶם.	22 Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among the rest of their slain.

Thus in parshat Matot, in sefer Bemidbar, it states עַל-חַלְלֵיהֶם rather than אֶל-חַלְלֵיהֶם, and it is midrashically (that is hyperliterally) read as "upon/over their slain," thus deducing that they were flying in the air overhead.

Note also that the assumption that Pinchas combats this with the tzitz, the mitre, also finds root in the pesukim:

ו וַיִּשְׁלַח אֹתָם מֹשֶׁה אֶלֶף לַמַּטֶּה, לַצָּבָא: אֹתָם וְאֶת-פִּינְחָס בֶּן-אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן, לַצָּבָא, וּכְלֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ וַחֲצֹצְרוֹת הַתְּרוּעָה, בְּיָדוֹ.

6 And Moses sent them, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.

What are these "holy vessels?" The ambiguity encourages commentary. Thus, in Matot there is a dispute - either the ark of the covenant (which we saw was brought into war in other situations), or the priestly vestments, which equals the Urim veTumim.

Of course, the midrash at hand assumes it is neither, but rather, like the midrash rabba in parshat Balak, it refers to the tzitz.

(Each of these is based on parallels to the word "kodesh," since the pasuk states וּכְלֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ, "and the vessels of "Kodesh." Thus the tzitz had Kodesh LaHashem, and regarding the aron it is written כי עבודת הקדש. And Rabbi Yochanan notes the priestly vestments are called ובגדי הקדש. In fact, these last two are closer because they also share the definite article ha.)

Shadal's pashtanic take on it:

אין נראה שהוא הארון, כי היה הכתוב אומר שהלכו עמו הלויים נושאי הארון, גם לא הציץ כי לא היה לובש בגדי כהן גדול, ואלעזר אביו חי,גם לא כדברי קלעריקוס שכלי הקודש הם הם החצוצרות , כי החצוצרות אינן קודש, לפיכך לא ידענו מה הם, ואולי הם האורים ותומים (כתרגום ירושלמי), ולצורך המלחמה לקח אותם, אעפ"י שלא לבש בגדי כהונה.

Thus, he dismisses the idea that it is the ark, the tzitz, or the trumpets. Thus we don't know what it is, though he offers a speculation that it refers to the Urim veTumim.

Why should we asume that that which Pinchas took is to be used specifically to undo Bilaam's magic and bring him down to earth?

I would suggest that it may be based on the word beyado in the phrase וּכְלֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ וַחֲצֹצְרוֹת הַתְּרוּעָה בְּיָדוֹ. First, though, a digression.

Part of the input to the midrash is quite likely the idea that Bilaam was a sorcerer. This we may easily get from the aforementioned pasuk in sefer Yehoshua: וְאֶת-בִּלְעָם בֶּן-בְּעוֹר הַקּוֹסֵם. qosem can be translated as wizard. That this should be mentioned in proximity to his death, when there are derashot on עַל-חַלְלֵיהֶם, suggests that they are interlinked. The juxtaposition to the five kings, and perhaps the use of the word et, might work to bring these kings of Midian in as well.

Now, where have we seen kosem before? In parshat Balak:

ז וַיֵּלְכוּ זִקְנֵי מוֹאָב, וְזִקְנֵי מִדְיָן, וּקְסָמִים, בְּיָדָם; וַיָּבֹאוּ, אֶל-בִּלְעָם, וַיְדַבְּרוּ אֵלָיו, דִּבְרֵי בָלָק.

7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spoke unto him the words of Balak.

perhaps the elders of Midian = the kings of Midian. Especially (though not necessarily) since a bit earlier they are called malachim, messengers, which might be reread as melachim, kings.

ה וַיִּשְׁלַח מַלְאָכִים אֶל-בִּלְעָם בֶּן-בְּעֹר, פְּתוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר עַל-הַנָּהָר אֶרֶץ בְּנֵי-עַמּוֹ--לִקְרֹא-לוֹ: לֵאמֹר, הִנֵּה עַם יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם הִנֵּה כִסָּה אֶת-עֵין הָאָרֶץ, וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב, מִמֻּלִי.

5 And he sent messengers unto Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the River, to the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying: 'Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt; behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me.

Taking וּקְסָמִים בְּיָדָם not as rewards of divination but rather as magicks, we have a good opposition in place. Even if the earlier elders of Midian are not the kings of Midian, we see that kesamim go in hand. Presumably Bilaam had kesamim beyado, which allowed him to fly and make the kings of Midian fly as well. Therefore, when the pasuk in Matot states וּכְלֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ וַחֲצֹצְרוֹת הַתְּרוּעָה, בְּיָדוֹ, it is a very short leap to associate the two and claim that the tzitz opposed the kesamim which was in Bilaam the kosem's hand.

There is another midrash, similar but different, brought down in Targum Yonatan, which I hope to cover in a later post. Note though that this is not the only place a midrash records a flying Bilaam. In the extra-biblical work Divrei HaYamim leMoshe Rabbenu, we find another instance of Bilaam fleeing by flying via magic.

When Balaam b. Be‘or saw that the city was captured, he pronounced a spell and conjuration: he and his two sons flew through the air and fled back to Egypt to Pharaoh and dwelt there with him.