Balak

Bilam's Donkey: Inner GPS

Laura Duhan Kaplan

When a donkey appears in a story from the Tanakh, it often represents a person's inner GPS.

Consider who rides on a donkey and when. Avraham rides a donkey on his way to bind Yitzchak on the altar in the as-yet unknown place that God will eventually show him. Avigail rides a donkey on her way to avert a massacre of 400 innocent men. Her husband has insulted the future King David. David, whom Avigail has never met, is by reputation a very violent man. But by the time Avigail arrives, she knows exactly which gifts and words will calm David down. The Shunamite woman rides a donkey on her way to fetch the prophet Elisha. Her son has suddenly become deathly ill and, despite her husband's skepticism about what holy men are good for, she follows her instinct and rides out to find the prophet.

When something must be done, but you aren't sure exactly what, you saddle up the donkey, your intuitive guide to the right destination and the right decision. If you go off course, your donkey will let you know.

When the prophet Bilam is approached by King Balak to curse the Israelites, Bilam cannot imagine that God wants him to go on this mission. Yet God comes to Bilam in a dream and tells him to go. So a confused Bilam sets out on his donkey. The donkey stops, her path blocked by an angel that Bilam cannot yet see. Bilam beats her with a switch to convince her to move, and she responds by speaking reasonably to him. If we follow the usual symbolism of the donkey, the meaning of the story is clear. Bilam doesn't trust his intuition, so beats up on his intuitive guide, who says to him, "Have I ever steered you wrong?" Bilam then sees clearly, and continues on what eventually becomes his path of blessing.

Are you in tune with your animal guides?

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