Why Conquer Ourselves?

Real questions, submitted by actual OU Torah followers, with their real answers. NOTE: For questions of practical halacha, please consult your own rabbi for guidance.

Q. Bilaam prophesied that the future "star from Jacob" and "scepter from Israel" shall "tear down all the sons of Seth." This star and scepter is interpreted to be a messianic personage. The rest of the prophesy is positive. This is the only negative statement in the prophesy against the future of our people. Since Jacob, or Israel, is himself a descendant of Seth, why would his own descendant “tear down all the sons of Seth,” especially as being a deliverer type?

A. Thanks for your question. Yes, the Jews are descended from Seth but so is literally everyone else. "The sons of Seth" means "mankind." (See Rashi, Onkelos, et al., on Numbers 24:17.) If I said, "Moshiach will conquer the world," you wouldn't ask, "Why would he conquer Israel?" even though Israel is part of the world. You'd understand from context that I meant the world except for Israel, on whose behalf he'd be doing the conquering. It's like that.

I should mention that the previous part of the verse is talking about the nation of Moav. Ibn Ezra says that "the sons of Seth" refers specifically to the nations of Ammon and Moav, and this is just a scriptural way of doubling down on what was just said.

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