…was a well-known figure in the region. His skills were clearly impressive. He was a religious virtuoso, a sought-after shaman, magus, spellbinder and miracle worker. Balak says, on the basis of experience or reputation, “I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed” (Num. 22:6). The rabbinic literature does not call this into question. On the…
…Educational Companion Torah Trivia: this week’s answer Answer 1: The six parshiyot are: Noach, Chayei Sarah, Yitro, Korach, Balak, and Pinchas. Interestingly, four of these six are named for non-Jews. Answer 2: The inanimate object that is described performing a human action is the earth, as it says “and the earth opened its mouth” (Bamidbar 16:32). The inanimate object that…
…utterance he says to Balak King of Moab: How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy, whom the Lord has not defied? From the top of the rocks I see Him, and from the hills I behold Him: lo, it is a people that dwells alone, not reckoned among the nations. Num. 23:8-9 Hearing…
…answers, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Bereishit 4:9) 3. Hashem asks Bilaam, “Who are the people who came to visit you tonight?” and he answers that Balak had sent them to him. (Bam. 22:9) All three answers indicate a lack of trust in Hashem, because if they had really listened, they would have realised that Hashem already knew the answers….
The year is 1933. Two Jews are sitting in a Viennese coffee house, reading the news. One is reading the local Jewish paper, the other the notoriously antisemitic publication Der Stürmer. “How can you possibly read that revolting rubbish?” says the first. The second smiles. “What does your paper say? Let me tell you: ‘The Jews are assimilating.’ ‘The Jews…
One of the most profound and influential comments ever made about Jewish destiny was made by the pagan prophet Bilaam in this week’s sedra: As I see them from the mountain tops, Gaze on them from the heights, Behold it is a people that dwells alone, Not reckoned among the nations. Num. 23:9 To many – Jews and non-Jews, admirers…
This is an extraordinary moment in Jewish history, for good and not-so-good reasons. For the first time in almost 4,000 years we have simultaneously sovereignty and independence in the land and state of Israel, and freedom and equality in the Diaspora. There have been times – all too brief – when Jews had one or the other, but never before,…
…have the power of blessing. They were able to invoke supernatural forces. This is the meaning of what Balak king of Moab says to the pagan prophet Bilaam: “A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. 6 Now come and put a curse on these people, because they…
…are afraid it might be, let faith banish fear. KORACH: If you seek to learn, grow, pursue truth and find freedom, seek places that welcome argument and respect dissenting views. CHUKAT: Life lives in the tension between our physical smallness and our spiritual greatness. Life is short, but when we lift our eyes to heaven, we walk tall. BALAK: By…
The Parsha in a Nutshell Parshat Pinchas completes the episode which began in Parshat Balak: Pinchas had ended the plague that was devastating the Israelites who had been led into idolatry by the Moabite and Midianite women. Pinchas’ reward for his zealotry was a “covenant of peace” (Bamidbar 25:12) and “lasting Priesthood” (25:13). The parsha then moves on to the…