17 Tammuz, 5772
An examination of Parashat Balak yesterday led us not only
to ponder the nature of the biblical Balaam as prophet, pagan or both but thehistorical evidence for the real-life existence of the son of Beor (a title
which has a very GoT/LoTR/FoTR resonance to it, IMO) as professional curser in
ancient Middle East; and not only the juxtaposition of curses and blessings in
the Torah (apparently it was a bit of a trend) and viewing Blaam’s blessing as
lyrical poems but the historical perspective on the use of curses in theancient Middle East and a reading of some modern-day Yiddish curses (from which
the examples below have been culled):
Khasene hobn zol er mit
di malekh hamoves tokhter.
He should marry the
daughter of the Angel of Death.
Meshuga zol er vern un
arumloyfn (iber di gasn).
He should go nuts and
run around (through the streets).
Vi tsu derleb ikh im
shoyn tsu bagrobn.
I should outlive him
long enough to bury him.
Got zol im bentshn mit
dray mentshn: eyner zol im haltn, der tsveyter zol im shpaltn un der driter zol
im ba’haltn.
God should bless him
with three people: one should grab him, the second should stab him and the
third should hide him.
A groys gesheft zol er
hobn mit shroyre: vus er hot, zol men bay im nit fregn, un vos men fregt zol er
nisht hobn.
He should have a large
store, and whatever people ask for he shouldn’t have, and what he does have
shouldn’t be requested.
Hindert hayzer zol er
hobn, in yeder hoyz a hindert tsimern, in yeder tsimer tsvonsik betn un
kadukhes zol im varfn fin eyn bet in der tsveyter.
A hundred houses shall
he have, in every house a hundred rooms and in every room twenty beds, and a
delirious fever should drive him from bed to bed.
Migulgl zol er vern in
a henglayhter, by tog zol er hengen, un bay nakht zol er brenen.
He should be
transformed into a chandelier, to hang by day and to burn by night.
Es zol dir dunern in
boykh, vestu meyen az s’iz a homon klaper.
Your stomach will
rumble so badly, you'll think it was Purim noisemaker."
Because yeah, that’s how we roll at Shabbat-morning Torah study…
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