BALAK, NUMBERS 22:2–25:9
The setting for this week's Parsha is the Kingdom of Moab where Balak rules as King. Israel has already conquered the Amorite peoples led by Schon and Og. We are dwelling in what was the Kingdom of Ammon, opposite Jericho across the river.
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Who was Balak, Son of Zippor?
The Zohar interprets Balak as being "The Son of Zippor", (ציפור) means "bird". This was not the name of Balak's father, but rather a magical metal bird which Balak made use of. Only the most skilled of wizards could construct such a bird. Balak, the greatest wizard of his age, managed it.
As the Zohar recounts, such a bird has a head made of gold, a mouth made of silver and wings made of copper mixed with silver, and its body is made of gold; once the bird is made, it should be put during the day in a window facing the Sun and during the night in a window facing the Moon, while burning incense in front of it for seven days and seven nights. Thereupon, the bird would start talking and foretelling of what is about to happen.
The Zohar tells that the bird spoke true words of prophecy in Balak's ear and warned him not to set himself against the B'nai Yisrael. It also foretold of the harsh punishment in store for him and for the Moabites. Nevertheless, Balak persisted in his wrong way and was punished exactly as the bird foretold.
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Balaam and the angel Nuremberg Chronicle (1493)
Who was Bilaam?
While not specifically set out in this week's Parshah, Bilaam turns out to be an "agent provocateur". An agent provocateur is a person who entices another person to commit an illegal act. An agent provocateur is employed to discredit or harm a group by provoking them to commit a crime. So exactly do we know about this meddler, Bilaam Ben Beor? When he could not curse us directly, Bilaam in league with Balak and the Midianites found out a way for us to bring down a curse on our heads all by our self.
In 1967 in Jordan, archaeologists found an inscription with a story relating visions of the seer of the gods Bala'am, son of Be'or. The inscription is dated 840–760 BCE.
Balaam wakes up weeping and tells his people that the gods (not Hashem) appeared to him in the night telling him about a goddess threatening to destroy the land. She is to cover the sky and reduce the world to complete darkness.
Deir Alla Plaster Texts, Prophets and prophecy in the ancient Near East, Vol 12, 138, 2003)
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Balak initially conferred with his Midianite allies in order to block Israelite settlement, before sending his elders along with Midianite elders to have Balaam curse the Israelites. After his mission with Balaam to curse Israelites failed, Balak allied the Moabites with the Midianites. The plan was to gather their women in order to lead Israelites men astray in adultery.
What’s going on with Midianies? Considering that only 40 years before, Moshe’s father-in-law Yisro a Midianite leader persuaded Moshe to take back Zipporah, this is a very strange happening. Were the Midianites always our enemy? What do you think?
The Haftarah portion is from the Prophet Micah, מִיכָה. At 6:8 the Prophet says:
“Mankind, what is good has been told to you, and what the LORD requires of you: only to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God”.
הִגִּיד לְךָ אָדָם, מַה-טּוֹב; וּמָה-יְהוָה דּוֹרֵשׁ מִמְּךָ, כִּי אִם-עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד, וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת, עִם-אֱלֹהֶיךָ.
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