Balak: Blaming Sins on “Sin City”

When it comes to nature vs. nurture, we think of "nurture" in reference to people and one's surroundings. But what role is played by a person's name or place? Can a bad name cause a person to sin?

Jul 19, 2024

Article voiceover

1×

0:00

-8:45

The Torah Content for the remainder of July has been sponsored by the Lichters in honor of Jonny Schneeweiss "for being Jonny."

Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article.

MetAI’s response to the prompt: “imagine an untrustworthy, greedy, shifty-eyed innkeeper from the 2nd century in Babylonia with a nametag that says ‘Kidor’”

Balak: Blaming Sins on “Sin City”

Las Vegas, Nevada, is nicknamed “Sin City.” According to Wikipedia, this nickname arose due to the prevalence of gambling, organized crime, prostitution, strip clubs, indulgence, and other vices. Now, imagine a guy who gambles away all his money, cheats on his wife with a prostitute, and gets arrested for attempting a drug deal with an undercover cop. When his family asks, “How could you do this?” he replies, “Don’t blame me! It’s called ‘Sin City’!”

Ridiculous excuse, right? Yet, that’s what Chazal seem to suggest about the national sins at the end of Parashas Balak—at least, according to the Torah Temimah’s counterintuitive analysis.

The Torah states: “Israel settled in Shittim, and the people began to stray promiscuously after the daughters of Moav” (Bamidbar 25:1). The Gemara (Sanhedrin 106b) presents a machlokess (disagreement) about why it was called “Shittim.” R’ Eliezer says simply, “Shittim was its name,” whereas R’ Yehoshua says that it was called “Shittim” (שִּׁטִּים, from שׁ.ט.ה.) “because the people engaged in matters of folly (שְׁטוּת, from the same root).”

It would seem that these Tannaim disagree on whether Shittim was an actual name or whether the Torah calls it Shittim as a nickname due to the national sin that transpired there. Rabbi Dr. Zvi Ron (Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel: Numbers) explains that the word “Shittim” means “acacia trees,” and that this is “an example of a floral toponym, a place named for a floral feature.” This is the straightforward reading of R’ Eliezer and is cited by Rashi (Bamidbar 25:1) as such. In contrast, R’ Yehoshua holds that “Shittim” is like many of the other places in Torah named after events, such as Marah, Masah u’Merivah, and Kivros ha’Taavah.

But this is not how the Torah Temimah (Bamidbar 25:1, Note 2) understands it. He begins by explaining R’ Eliezer:

It seems that this explanation follows what is said in general (Sanhedrin 102a), namely, ha’makom gorem (the place causes them to sin). Here, too, according to the view of R’ Eliezer, the place caused them to stray promiscuously, as stated in the midrash: “they did not break out in promiscuity until they came to Shittim.”

The midrash he refers to can be found in Tanchuma (Bamidbar 25:1:26):

There are springs that rear strongmen and those that rear weaklings; some handsome and some ugly; some modest and some steeped in promiscuity. The spring of Shittim was of the promiscuity [variety], and watered Sedom … From the days of Avraham [the people] were never unbridled in sexual immorality until they came to Shittim and drank its waters, and once they did, they broke out in promiscuity, as it is stated, “the people began to stray.”

If we were to take this midrash at face value, its author is claiming that there was actually “something in the water” that fomented lechery in those who drank it. According to this reading, “the place caused them to stray promiscuously” is to be understood literally. But that’s not how the Torah Temimah understands the Tanchuma:

And this is similar to what we find in Yoma 83b, that R’ Meir saw a man named “Kidor” and called him a rasha (evildoer) because his name caused this, as it is written, “for they are a generation of reversals.” Here, too, the name of the place caused them to stray (לִשְׂטוֹת, from the root שׂ.ט.ה.) from the upright path.

Here is the anecdote from Yoma 83b in full:

R' Meir, R' Yehudah, and R' Yosei were walking on the road. R' Meir would deduce [character traits from] names while R' Yehudah and R' Yosei would not deduce [character traits from] names.
When they came to a certain place, they looked for lodging and were given it. They asked [the innkeeper,] "What is your name?" He replied: "Kidor." [R' Meir] said [to himself,] "Learn from this that he is a rasha, as it is stated, 'For they are a generation [ki dor] of perversities, [children in whom there is no faithfulness]' (Devarim 32:20)."
[Since Shabbos was approaching,] R' Yehudah and R' Yosei entrusted their wallets to Kidor. R' Meir did not entrust his wallet to him ... The next day, [the rabbis] said to [Kidor,] "Give us our wallets." He said to them, "These matters never occurred (i.e. you never gave me your wallets)."
R' Meir said to them, "Why didn't you infer from his name [that he is a rasha]?" They responded, "Why didn't the master (i.e. you) tell us?" He said to them, "I said one should be suspicious, but have I said [that a person] should be established as [a rasha with certainty on the sole basis of his name]?!"

Let’s summarize what we have so far. Instead of taking R’ Eliezer’s statement (“Shittim was its name”) as a simple fact, the Torah Temimah interprets it as explanation of what caused Israel to sin. He bases this interpretation on the Tanchuma, which attributes Israel’s promiscuity to their arrival at Shittim. Instead of taking the Tanchuma literally, that the spring at Shittim induced licentiousness, he interprets it in light of the principle in Sanhedrin 102a that ha’makom gorem – the place caused the Israelites to sin. He explains this based on the anecdote about R' Meir in Yoma 83b: just as a person’s name can cause wickedness, so too, the name of a place can cause sinfulness.

As for R’ Yehoshua, the second view in our Gemara, the Torah Temimah explains:

And R’ Yehoshua held that it was called [“Shittim”] because “they engaged in matters of folly,” meaning “in promiscuity.” This can be understood as alluding to what is written in Sotah 3a: “a man does not transgress unless a spirit of shtus (folly) enters him, as it is stated, ‘if a man’s wife strays (תִשְׂטֶה, from from the root שׂ.ט.ה.)’ (Bamidbar 5:12), and ‘One who commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding’ (Mishlei 6:32).”

We initially assumed that the machlokess between these Tannaim was about whether Shittim was named after acacia trees or whether the Torah calls it Shittim because of the sinful activity that took place there. But according to the Torah Temimah, this machlokess is about the cause of the people's sin: R’ Eliezer attributes the sin to the specific influence of the place—namely, its name—while R’ Yehoshua attributes the sin to the general spirit of folly that causes people to sin regardless of their location.

Of the two views, R’ Eliezer’s is the most difficult. What does it mean that “the place caused them to sin”? And how could R’ Meir infer that Kidor, the innkeeper, was likely an untrustworthy man solely on the basis of his name?

Although some might posit mystical or supernatural causes, perhaps a psychological explanation would suffice. Names can be neutral, but they can also carry positive or negative associations, often related to other people who share that name. There’s a reason why the name “Adolf Hitler” is illegal in Germany, New Zealand, and other countries. In other cases, the association might be linguistic. “Moran” is an Israeli name that means “viburnum shrub,” but in English, a “moron” is “a stupid person.” Names that suggest vice—such as “Judas” or “Jezebel”—will likely engender prejudicial attitudes that color interpersonal interactions and can even influence the character of the individual. This influence, while not guaranteed, posed enough of a danger to set R’ Meir on guard.

Similarly, the name, identity, or reputation of a location can shape the values, traits, and behaviors of those who reside there or even visit. R’ Eliezer believed that this is what happened to the Israelites, whereas R’ Yehoshua viewed this as the normal dynamic of sexual sin, albeit on a national scale.

So, can someone who hit rock bottom in Las Vegas blame his woes on the nickname “Sin City”? No. But can spending time in a place called “Sin City” make you prone to normalizing and rationalizing sinful behavior? Definitely. Especially if your name is Kidor.

What do you think of (a) the machlokess in the Gemara, (b) the Torah Temimah’s interpretation of that machlokess, or (c) my understanding the Torah Temimah’s interpretation?

The Rabbi Schneeweiss Substack

Discussion about this post