Bemidbar

There’s something unusual about Parshat Balak. It’s the only parsha in the Torah where the Jewish People, the “stars of the show” seem to only have a “walk-on” part. We see Bilam and Balak close up as they plot to destroy the Jewish People, but Israel is only seen in the background – almost off-camera. Why is this?

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.

Similarities and Differences Between Obvious and Hidden Miracles? You Won't Believe It!

The Torah reading of this week deals with the Red Heifer which is characterized as being a commandment beyond the ken of human understanding and rational interpretation.

When opening up their morning newspaper, why do atheists turn to the horoscope page?

The connection between this week's Haftarah reading (from the Books of the Prophets) and the Torah portion of Hukat is very clear. In both of them we read how the Emorite king, Sichon, refused to allow Israel to pass through his land on our way to the Promised Land – paving the way for Israel to defeat him in battle...

The common denominator between Moshe's anger at Israel and his hitting of the rock for its water

“Is this the Torah and this its reward?” we are tempted to say. What was Moses’ sin that it merited such punishment?

In Josephus' description of what happened after the destruction, he talks about the thickness of the stones in Jerusalem and the difficulty of destroying them. "I would never have been able to breach these walls if it wasn't for the Jews fighting among themselves and the disputes between them." About the unlimited power we can attain and about the havoc that controversy can cause.