Haters & Hired Guns

What Makes God Laugh

Tarshish, Canals and Divrei Hayamim

We will soon discover that attempting to identify “Tarshish,” mentioned numerous times in Tanach, will lead us to a fascinating search! Let us start with the most basic of questions: Was Tarshish a person, place, or thing?

Was Bil'am Jewish?

He Did not Look at Iniquity in Jacob

A Tiny Part of the Picture

The majority are good. The minority are evil. Stay away from the "Bilams" and "Bilamism"; get closer to Moses our Teacher.

The Curse of Loneliness

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.

A Prophet for the Nations

From Siach Shaul p. 425-6

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.

Enemy's Compliments

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

Leadership and Loyalty

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?

You Better Think

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.

Balak - A Mouse Hole

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.

Micha’s Mashiach

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 Very Pessimistic Man

You May Need (Israel) Glasses

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.

Einstein on the Parsha

Balak

Vote Nedivei Am for the Knesset

The Hidden Meaning of the Bilam Story

From Curses to Blessing