Despite knowing that it was not what Hashem wanted, Bilam still saddled his donkey and went to curse Bnei Yisrael. The pasuk (22:22) tells us that he did not travel alone:
וְהוּא֙ רֹכֵ֣ב עַל־אֲתֹנ֔וֹ וּשְׁנֵ֥י נְעָרָ֖יו עִמּֽוֹ
The Midrash Rabbah (Rashi quotes a similar derash) comments on why this detail is mentioned:
זוֹ דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ שֶׁהַיּוֹצֵא לַדֶּרֶךְ צָרִיךְ שְׁנַיִם לְשַׁמְּשׁוֹ וְחוֹזְרִים וּמְשַׁמְּשִׁין זֶה לָזֶה.
Derech eretz -- for a chashuv person to go out without two others to escort him would be like an important person going out without his tie on, or without his shoes shined. (I don't know whether to be happy or sad that these these days no matter who you are you can go outside in your pajamas and no one will give you a second glance.)
It would be a peleh if we had not seen similar things not so long ago in our history. Here we have someone going to commit genocide and he is worried about the niceties of derech eretz, that he should not be seen as not comporting himself properly on the trip!
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"going to commit genocide and...worried about the niceties of derech eretz"
ReplyDeleteon the one hand, maybe not so worried, as the first thing Bilam does after saddling up is go, whereas Avraham first takes his two naarim (22:3). Bilam may even have forgotten his attendants (satisfied instead by the escort of ranking Moabites), who had to hurry after (summoned by conscientious snorts from the donkey?);
on the other hand, genocide IS derech eretz, a wiping of schmutz off just-shined shoes...