Sotah 47A

רב ושמואל, חד אמר: נס. וחד אמר: נס בתוך נס. מאן דאמר נס ⁠— יער הוה, דובים לא הוו. מאן דאמר נס בתוך נס ⁠— לא יער הוה ולא דובים הוו. וליהוי דובים ולא ליהוי יער! דבעיתי.

Rav and Shmuel had a dispute with regard to this episode. One says there was a miracle, and one says there was a miracle within a miracle. The Talmud explains: The one who says there was a miracle claims that there was already a forest in that place but there were no bears, and the miracle was the appearance of bears. The one who says it was a miracle within a miracle claims that neither was there a forest nor were there bears in that area. The Talmud asks with regard to the second opinion: Why was a double miracle required? And let there be bears and no forest; the forest served no role in the story, so why was it created? The Talmud explains: The forest was necessary, as bears are frightened to venture into open areas but will attack people in their natural habitat, a forest.

אמר רבי חנינא: בשביל ארבעים ושנים קרבנות שהקריב בלק מלך מואב הובקעו מישראל ארבעים ושנים ילדים. איני?

R' Ḥanina says: Due to 42 offerings that Balak, king of Moab, brought when he tried to have Balaam curse the Jewish people, 42 children were broken off from Israel, in that incident involving Elisha. The Talmud asks: Is that so? Was that the reward for his offerings?

והאמר רב יהודה אמר רב: לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ובמצות, ואף על פי שלא לשמה. שמתוך שלא לשמה ⁠— בא לשמה. שבשכר ארבעים ושנים קרבנות שהקריב בלק מלך מואב, זכה ויצתה ממנו רות שיצא ממנה שלמה, שכתוב ביה ״אלף עלות יעלה שלמה״. ואמר רבי יוסי בן חוני: רות בתו של עגלון בנו של בלק היתה! תאותו מיהא לקללה הוי.

But didn’t Rav Yehuda say that Rav says: A person should always engage in Torah study and in performance of mitzvot, even if he does so not for their own sake, as through such acts performed not for their own sake, one will come to perform them for their own sake. He proves the value of a mitzva done not for its own sake: As in reward for the 42 offerings that Balak, king of Moab, brought, he merited that Ruth descended from him, from whom King Solomon descended, about whom it is written that he brought many offerings: “1,000 burnt-offerings did Solomon offer up” (I Kings 3:4). And R' Yosei ben Ḥoni similarly says: Ruth was the daughter of Eglon, son of Balak. These rabbis state that Balak’s reward was to have Ruth descend from him, not that a number of Jewish people perish. The Talmud answers: His desire, in any event, was to curse the Jewish people, and his reward for sacrificing his offerings was that the curse was fulfilled in the incident involving Elisha, as well.