parshat Balak

The battle against antisemitism can be won, but it will not be if Jews believe that we are destined to be alone. That is Bilaam’s curse, not God’s blessing.

As far as spiritual power, Bilam was a giant. Chazal derive that in prophecy he was on par with Moshe. Yet, there was a huge chasm between them.

This week's Torah reading abounds in compliments given to the Jewish people by the leading prophet of the non-Jewish world, Bilaam.

Is leadership a set of skills, the ability to summon and command power? Or does it have an essentially moral dimension also? Can a bad person be a good leader, or will their badness compromise their leadership?

If you look at this Parsha in a Sefer Torah, you will immediately notice that Bilaam’s narrative is written in “block form” without the usual open spaces (parsha “breaks”) that are found in most Parshiyot.

The Talmud comments it is not the mouse that is a thief, but, rather, it is the hole in the wall that allows the mouse entry into the house that is the culprit. the villain in this week's Torah reading is Bilaam, yet, it is Balak who initiates the entire scenario.

The minhag is to read, as the haftara of Parashat Balak, a section of Micha, apparently because of one of its p’sukim: “My nation, remember what Balak, King of Moav, advised and what Bilam ben Be’or answered him …”. We will suggest another explanation.

A look into the story of Bilaam in this week's Torah reading of Balak which explains the importance of seeing the Jewish People and the Land of Israel with an Ayin Tova - a positive outlook.