…episode of Bilam’s talking donkey. This is not a fanciful tale, nor simply a miracle. It arose because of the way the people of Moab and Midian thought of Bilam – and perhaps, by extension, the way he thought of himself. Balak the Moabite king, together with the leaders of the Midianites, sent a delegation to Bilam asking him to…
The Parsha in a Nutshell Balak is the king of Moav, a country next to the Land of Israel. He becomes scared when he hears that the Israelites are heading his way. Together with the elders of Midian (another country near Israel), he tries to hire the famous non-Jewish prophet Bilam to curse the Israelites. Bilam asks God what he…
…animals can you find mentioned in parshat Balak? This question has been adapted from Torah IQ by David Woolf, a collection of 1500 Torah riddles, available worldwide on Amazon. For the answer, please head to the Education Companion section (directly below, in grey). Educational Companion Torah Trivia: this week’s answer These are the 12 animals mentioned in Balak: tzippor (bird…
…darkness, blessings rose. Balak: King whose plan to cause a blight was thwarted by Divine oversight. Bilam’s Donkey: The donkey saw what others missed: Divine intervention in their midst. Bnei Yisrael: The Jewish people were unaware of schemes and curses in the air. Parsha Practical Parshat Balak offers profound insights into the nature of blessings and curses. What’s meant to…
…he says to King Balak King of Moab: How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? From the top of the rocks I see them, and from the hills I gaze down: a people that dwells alone; not reckoned among the nations. Num. 23:8-9 Hearing these words in that…
…you help lift the people around you with positive speech? Parsha Parable A Biblical Tail Here’s a story that might ring a bell… or a hee-haw! Once upon a time, there lived a king named Balak. King Balak was fearful because the Jewish people were approaching his land during their journey through the desert, and he thought they were too…
Many questions have rightly been asked about the story of Balak and Bilam and the would-be curses that turned into blessings. Was Bilam a true man of God, or was he a fraud, a magician, a sorcerer, a practitioner of dark arts? Did he have genuine powers? Was he really – as some of the Sages said – the equal…
…Israel. Numbers 22:3 The strategy Balak adopts is to seek the help of the well known seer and diviner, Bilaam. Again there is a literary evocation, this time of the words of God to Abraham: God to Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse.” Genesis 12:3 Balak to Bilaam: “I know…
…and Pinchas, Balak and Bilam and others. This emphasis on individuals reaches a climax in Moses’ prayer to “God of the spirits of all flesh” to appoint a successor (Bamidbar 27:16) – understood by the Sages and Rashi to mean, appoint a leader who will deal with each individual as an individual, who will relate to people in their uniqueness…
In the course of blessing the Jewish people, Bilaam uttered words that have come to seem to many to encapsulate Jewish history: How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce the Lord has not denounced? From the tops of crags I see them, From the hills I gaze down: A people that dwells alone[1], Not…