parshat Balak

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

We generally relate to a ‘revelation of Eliyahu' as a profound moment in which Eliyahu the Prophet himself appears to us with a message. But is this really so? What is the personal and communal revelation of Eliyahu to all Jews of the world?

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.

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?

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.