BALAK, NUMBERS 22:2–25:9
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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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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?
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2-HOW DID BALAK TRY TO BRIBE HASHEM?
3-HOW WAS BILAM EFFECTIVE IN CURSING PEOPLE?
4-WHAT WAS BILAM'S BAD CHARACTERER TRAITS?
5-WHY DIDN'T BALAK ASK BILAM TO BLESS HIM & NOT CURSE THE JEWS?
6-WHY SHOULD WE RAISE OUR TEN FINGERS DURING NETILAS YADAYIM?
7-WHY DID BALAK SACRIFICED BULLS AND RAMS ON 7-MIZBACHOS?
8-WHICH GREAT QUALITY DID BILAM SEE IN KLAL YISROEL?
9-WHY WITH THE EIGEL 3,000 DIED, BUT WITH SIN OF SHEETIN 24,000?
10-WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE WATER OF SHEETIN ?
11-WHEN DID AN ANIMAL GIVE A REBUKE TO A HUMAM?
12-WHO WAS THE LAST NAVI GIVEN TO NON-JEWS FOR GUIDANCE?
13-HOW DO WE KNOW THAT A RASHA'S BLESSING BECOMES A CURSE?
14-WHO INTRODUCED GAMBLING & LUSTFUL BEHAVIOR TO THE WORKD?
15-WHAT DID KAYIN, KORACH, BILAM, AND DO'EG HAVE IN COMMON?
16-WHO WERE THE 7-PROPHETS GIVEN TO INSTRUCT NON-JEWS?
17-WHICH CURSES DID BILAM WANT TO GIVE BNEI YISROEL ?
18-WHY DO GREAT DESCENDANTS (RUTH , DAVID) CAME FROM BALAK?
19-AT WHICH 2-TIMES IN HISTORY 24,000 JEWS PUNISHED WITH DEATH?
20-WHAT IS A GREAT PROTECTION FOR A JEW AT NITE?
21-WHY SHEVET DAN HAVE TO TRAVEL OUTSIDE THE ANANES HAKAVOD?
22-WHY DID HASHEM AT FIRST FORBID BILAM TO TRAVEL AND THEN DID?
23-WHEN DOES HASHEM HAVE A SPLIT- SECOND OF ANGER?
24-WHICH ANGEL CAME TO DETER BILAM ON HIS JOURNEY?
25-WHAT DID BILAM PREDICT ABOUT MOSHIACH ?
26-WHY DO WE COVER OUR EYES WHEN WE SAY THE SHEMA?
27-WHICH PASUK IN TEFILAH WAS INTRODUCED BY A NON-JEW?
28-WHY DID BILAM'S DONKEY DIE RIGHT AFTER IT SPOKE?
29-WHAT DID NAVI YESHAYAHU SAY TO LEARN FROM THE OX & DONKEY?
30-WHY WILL THE MOSHIACH COME RIDING ON A DONKEY?
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.
MAX’S PARSHAT BALAK QUIZ
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Max has come up with a quiz that relates to
this week's Parshah. Attached are his questions and answers. How
did you do? Maybe you have to study
more; I do.
1-WHO WERE KING BALAK'S BODY GUARDS?
BALAK PAID KING SICHON AND KING OG TO PROTECT
HIS BORDERS
> 2-HOW DID BALAK TRY TO BRIBE HASHEM?
HE OFFERED 7-KORBANOS TO EMULATE THE TZADIKIM
> 3-HOW WAS BILAM EFFECTIVE IN CURSING
PEOPLE?
HE WAS MASTER ACCUSER, KNEW PRECISE TIME GOD
GOT ANGRY
> 4-WHAT WAS BILAM'S BAD CHARACTERER
TRAITS?
JEALOUSY, LUST, AND CRAVING FOR HONOR
> 5-WHY DIDN'T BALAK ASK BILAM TO BLESS HIM
& NOT CURSE THE JEWS?
BILAM ONLY KNEW HOW TO CURSE, KNEW NOTHING
ABOUT BLESSINGS
> 6-WHY SHOULD WE RAISE OUR TEN FINGERS
DURING NETILAS YADAYIM
WE SHOW THAT WE HAVE GREAT MERIT BEFORE HASHEM
> 7-WHY DID BALAK SACRIFICED BULLS AND RAMS
ON 7-MIZBACHOS?
TO CORRESPOND TO THE 7-MITZVOTS OF BNEI NOACH
> 8-WHICH GREAT QUALITY DID BILAM SEE IN
KLAL YISROEL
THE JEWS RESPECTED EACH OTHER PRIVACY, HIGH
LEVEL OF TZENIUS
> 9-WHY WITH THE EIGEL 3,000 DIED, BUT WITH
SIN OF SHEETIN 24,000?
SIN OF EIGEL WAS ONLY AVODA ZARAH, SHEETIN DID
THIS PLUS ZENUS
> 10-WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE WATER OF
SHEETIN ?
IT POISONED THE DRINKER TEMPTATION TO ZENUS
> 11-WHEN DID AN ANIMAL GIVE A REBUKE TO A
HUMAM?
BILAM'S DONKEY WAS ELOQUENT AND ABLE TO DEFY
HIS MASTER
> 12-WHO WAS THE LAST NAVI GIVEN TO
NON-JEWS FOR GUIDANCE?
BILAM WAS THE LAST PROPHET NON JEW TO GUIDE
THE NATIONS
> 13-HOW DO WE KNOW THAT A RASHA'S BLESSING
BECOMES A CURSE?
RIVKA'S FAMILY BLESSED HER TO BE VERY
FRUITFUL, SHE ONLY HAD TWO
> 14-WHO INTRODUCED GAMBLING & LUSTFUL
BEHAVIOR TO THE WORKD?
BILAM INTRODUCED THE LOWEST BEHAVIORS TO THE
WORLD
> 15-WHAT DID KAYIN, KORACH, BILAM, AND
DO'EG HAVE IN COMMON?
THEY WERE VERY JEALOUS OF OTHERS, THEY ENDED
UP LOSING IT ALL
> 16-WHO WERE THE 7-PROPHETS GIVEN TO
INSTRUCT NON-JEWS?
ELIFAZ, BILDAD, TSOFAR, ELIHU, IYOV, BEOR, AND
BILAM
> 17-WHICH CURSES DID BILAM WANT TO GIVE
BNEI YISROEL ?
THAT THERE SHALL BE NO BATEI KANESIOS, AND NO
BATEI MEDRASHIM
> 18-WHY DO GREAT DESCENDANTS (RUTH ,
DAVID) CAME FROM BALAK?
AS A REWARD FOR OFFERING 42-KORBANOS DURING
HIS EFFORTS
> 19-AT WHICH 2-TIMES IN HISTORY 24,000
JEWS PUNISHED WITH DEATH?
DURING THIS PARASHA AT SHEETN , AND DURING
TIME OF RABBI AKIVA
> 20-WHAT IS A GREAT PROTECTION FOR A JEW
AT NITE?
TO READ THE SHEMA BEFORE SLEEPING
> 21-WHY SHEVET DAN HAVE TO TRAVEL OUTSIDE
THE ANANES HAKAVOD
BECAUSE ONE MEMBER OF THE TRIBE HID AN IDOL IN
SECRET
> 22-WHY DID HASHEM AT FIRST FORBID BILAM
TO TRAVEL AND THEN DID?
FIRST TIME BECAUSE OF HIS HATING JEWS, SECOND
DUE FINANCIAL LOSS
> 23-WHEN DOES HASHEM HAVE A SPLIT- SECOND
OF ANGER?
IN MORNING WHEN HUMAN KINGS BOW TO THE SUN
> 24-WHICH ANGEL CAME TO DETER BILAM ON HIS
JOURNEY?
ANGEL GABRIEL
> 25-WHAT DID BILAM PREDICT ABOUT MOSHIACH
?
HE PREDICTED THAT MOSHIACH WILL COME , BUT FAR
INTO THE FUTURE
> 26-WHY DO WE COVER OUR EYES WHEN WE SAY
THE SHEMA?
TO HELP CONCENTRATE ON THE SERIOUSNESS OF OUR
FAITH TO HASHEM
> 27-WHICH PASUK IN TEFILAH WAS INTRODUCED
BY A NON-JEW?
BILAM--MA TOVU OHELECHA YAAKOV, MISHKENOSECHA
YISROEL
> 28-WHY DID BILAM'S DONKEY DIE RIGHT AFTER
IT SPOKE?
BECAUSE THE DIGNITY OF HUMAN IS VERY IMPORTANT
> 29-WHAT DID NAVI YESHAYAHU SAY TO LEARN
FROM THE OX & DONKEY?
OX AND DONKEY RESPECT AND KNOW THEIR MASTER,
BUT WE DO NOT
> 30-WHY WILL THE MOSHIACH COME RIDING ON A
DONKEY?
THIS IS THE FAMOUS DONKEY THAT ABRAHAM AND
MOSHE USED
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