Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bamidbar
- Balak
G-d appears to him a 2nd time & permits him to go.
En route, an angel blocks Bilam's donkey's path. Frustrated, Bilam strikes the donkey each time it stops. Miraculously, the donkey speaks, asking Bilam why he is hitting her. The angel instructs Bilam what he may or may not say about the Jewish People.
When Bilam arrives, Balak makes elaborate preparations, hoping Bilam will succeed in the curse. 3 times Bilam attempts to curse Israel; 3 times blessings issue forth from him instead. Balak, seeing that Bilam has failed, sends him home in disgrace.
Bnei Yisrael sin with the Moabite women & Moabite idols & are punished with a plague. Zimri, a Jewish leader, brazenly brings a Midianite princess into his tent in full view of Moshe & the people. Pinchas, a grandson of Aharon, grabs a spear & kills both evildoers. This halts the plague sent by G-d, but not before 24,000 have died.
My Personal Revelation
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu | Tamuz 9 5782
Bilam- Prophet, Sorcerer, or Social Commentator?
Parashat Balak
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | 14 Tammuz 5764
A Prophet for the Nations
From Siach Shaul p. 425-6
Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli zt"l | Tamuz 7 5782
