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If Torah portions had thematic titles instead of using a word near the beginning that’s easy to spot, this would not be Parashat Balak but Parashat … Balaam. (You knew that.) This week, I want to look ...

Balaam is hired in this week’s Parashat Balak by the Moabite King Balak to curse Israel as they traverse his territory, but Balaam blesses Israel instead with famous words now included in the morning ...

Does Balaam’s donkey mock him? She disagrees with his plan. She holds fast to her perception of the danger before them. She disobeys his order. These actions do not amount to mockery. Rashi says ...

There is a clear parallel between Balak and events in the Book of Exodus. In both narratives, kings (Pharaoh of Egypt and Balak of Moab), alarmed about the success of the Jewish People, conspire to ...

The concept of repentance is one of Judaism’s greatest contributions to religious thought. The concomitant idea, however, that the Eternal may experience a change of heart detrimental to the entire ...

Bilaam the prophet to the nations declares in our parsha that "Amalek is the first ( Rosh) of the nations." (Num. 24:20) Rashi explains that the Hebrew word "rosh" here refers to the fact that Amalek ...

Read Blogging the Bible Entries about Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, or Numbers. To learn more about the Blogging the Bible project, click here. Chapter 21 The Israelites are back to bellyaching again, ...

In Memory of our beloved David Schwartz, who fell in battle sanctifying God’s name, on 27 Tevet, 5784 (8 January 2024). “Le’David Barchi Nafshi” is a compilation of essays written on the weekly Torah ...

Much of the opposition that we read about public displays of Christmas is petty. It is both instructive and consoling, therefore, to remember that Christmas is a great and divine blessing, and one ...