A Biblical story, from parshat hashavua:

The king of Moab approaches the prophet Balaam, hoping to hire Balaam to curse the Israelites (Numbers 22:2-24:5). After dreaming that God tells him to take the job, Balaam sets out with his donkey. Inexplicably, God becomes angry with Balaam for accepting, and sends an angel to block the path.

Balaam does not see the angel, but his donkey does. When she refuses to walk forward, Balaam beats her. She speaks to him in his own language, reminding him of her reliability.

His eyes open to a new reality, so that he sees the angel and receives its message. He then blesses the Israelites in rich poetic language, describing their “rising star” and their “good tents.”

What changes for Balaam?

Balaam begins his seer’s journey believing that whatever God tells him in a dream is to be interpreted literally, as the true path to follow. He does not consider metaphorical possibilities or interpretations, as other Biblical dreamers such as Joseph and Daniel do. His dreams do not speak to him of his own psyche and its challenges; they pose no riddles for him to pursue.

Balaam experiences God only as a commander, and himself as a rule-follower. Balaam does not experience God as a living force in psyche and nature, or imagine that his own thoughts and feelings could express or influence God. On both these counts, he differs from earlier Biblical figures such as Abraham and Moses.

It is time for Balaam to change, and his donkey knows it.

As longtime co-workers and companions, Balaam and his donkey communicate regularly through shared action, likely making mutual decisions in a kind of silent dance. On today’s mission, however, the dance breaks down. Balaam sets them on what he thinks is good a path, but the donkey’s options quickly narrow, until there is nowhere for her to go. Physical gestures, her usual means of communication, are ignored, even beaten down.

Finally, as a last resort, the donkey speaks in human words. To Balaam, this is so out of the ordinary, so beyond his previous experience as a seer, that he says, “You are mocking me!” But no, she indicates; she is not. She is, she says, a faithful companion who has journeyed with him everywhere.

In her words, “You have ridden on me me’odcha ad hayom hazeh” (Numbers 22:30). These four Hebrew words combine to make an absolutely unique idiom, not found elsewhere in the Bible. One possible translation, “You have ridden on mean again and again for you — until today,” suggests that something is about to change in Balaam’s attitude towards his donkey.

If the grammar is slightly misread, the word me’odcha can be seen as a cognate of the word mo’ed, sacred meeting. On this more playful reading, Balaam’s donkey says, “You have ridden me to all your sacred meetings — until today,” suggesting that Balaam’s understanding of meeting the divine is about to change.

And that is exactly what happens. Balaam’s eyes open to new possibilities. Suddenly, the world around him is alive with divine communication. He hears his donkey teach; he sees an angel visiting him; he begins to understand the depth and beauty of metaphor. He uncovers new depths in his psyche, meeting his inner guides, respecting a greater diversity of life-forms, and revising his image of God.

Intrigued by this interpretation? Finding too many holes in it?  Read the full length version here.