Archive for the Balak Category

Chazal tell us that Bilaam harasha had incredible powers of prophecy which in some ways were even greater than those of Moshe Rabbeinu.  Yet, at the same time, he possessed numerous bad midos.  How can these two opposite factors come together in one man?  The answer is that Bilaam never

Bilaam and Balak are two of the most well-known enemies of the Jewish people.   A full Parsha in the Torah is devoted to their efforts to harm the Jewish people.  What is unique about their strategy is that they realized that they could not physically overcome the Jewish people

Malchus of Hashem The gemara[1] states that Hashem exhibits His wrath for only one particular, passing moment every day. Throughout history, says the gemara, only one person has ever been able to calculate the precise second of the day at which this occurs, and that person was Bilaam. Bilaam’s success in cursing the Jewish

“And Hashem came to Bilaam…” Bamidbar 22:9 No man ever has reached the level of Moshe’s prophecy[1] nor will there ever be a man who will until the Moshiach. With one exception. It was not Yechezkel, or Yirmiahu, or Ezra. The one man that we are told did

Bilaam Harasha is considered to be the archetype of a person with bad midos.  The Mishna in Avos describes him as having an ‘ayin raah’ (he looked upon people in a negative way), a ‘ruach gevoah’ (he was arrogant), and a ‘nefesh rechava[1]‘ (he was greedy). ‘Nefesh Rechava’

Topics covered in this class: I. Being a prophet yet denying G-d. II. You are led in a way that you want to go. Being a prophet, yet denying G-d Who was Bilaam? At the end of Deuteronomy, chapter 33:10, “a prophet like Moshe amongst the Jewish

There are some famous stories in the Torah that have been made even more famous through literature, the theatre, films and of course television. However, there are some lesser-known stories that would make great movies and even some great television sitcoms. This week’s Portion tells the story

Bilaam Rav Yaakov Weinberg ZTL asked the following question. Rashi brings the Chazal that says: Why is is that Hashem gave prophecy to Bilaam? Because He did notwant the goyim to have a complaint. The goyim would say, it’s easy to see why the Jews are so righteous. They have

Chazal tell us that Bilaam harasha had incredible powers of prophecy which in some ways were even greater than those of Moshe Rabbeinu.  Yet, at the same time, he possessed numerous bad midos.  How can these two opposite factors come together in one man?  The answer is