Balak – Peninim on the Torah

From the top of rocks I see him and from the hills I behold him. (23:9)

Horav S.R. Hirsch, zl, interprets this pasuk as a perspective on history. Just as distances draw together in a panoramic view from a height, so it is with time. From a comprehensive survey of world history over centuries taken from above, events seem close together. When one views these events from the closer perspective of the present, they seem farther from one another. To quote Horav Mordechai Gifter, Shlita, “If one wishes to comprehend an event in history, one cannot look at it in the limited scope of the finite, here and now; rather, one must understand the event as…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Balak, 5759

From Aram, Balak, King of Moav, led me, from the mountains of the east, “Come curse Yaakov for me, come bring anger upon Yisrael.” (23:7)

Bilaam begins his curse/blessing. His opening remarks convey a profound message. Bilaam lived in Aram, which was northeast of Eretz Yisrael. He says that Balak led him from the mountains of the east, which, according to the Midrash Tanchuma, is an allusion to the Patriarchs who were the spiritual “mountains” of the eastern world. He claims that Balak distanced him from the feelings of gratitude they both should have felt towards our ancestors. Balak’s kingdom of Moav descended from Lot, Avraham Avinu’s nephew, who lived to father children only as a result of Avraham’s intervention. Bilaam’s ancestor, Lavan, was blessed…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Balak, 5759

And an angel of Hashem stood on the road to impede him.

In a few seemingly simple words, Rashi conveys a profound message. He says that this angel was a malach shel rachamim, an angel of mercy, who was sent to divert Bilaam from sinning. Horav Avraham Pam, Shlita, derives from here that a number of times in our life we imagine that the Satan is bent on destroying everything for which we have worked. The specific situation in question is the area of shidduchim, marriage. One sees a young woman a number of times (depending upon his orientation). He feels she is the one that is right for him; she is…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Balak, 5759

And Moshe sent (spies) to spy out Yaazer and they conquered its towns. (21:32)

One city remained in the land of the Emorites that had not yet been conquered – Yaazer. Moshe Rabbeinu sent spies, Pinchas and Calev, to scout the land. Targum Yonasan relates that while their mission was simply to spy, they decided to upgrade their assignment to wage war with Yaazer. They succeeded, and conquered the city. They were compelled to act differently from their ill-fated predecessors, the original spies sent by Moshe to scout Eretz Yisrael. They conjectured that their faith and trust in the Almighty would protect them and led them to success. They were not willing to risk…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Balak, 5759

Make for yourself a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole; and it shall be that everyone that is bitten when he sees it, shall live. (21:8)

The narrative stimulates a number of questions: Why did Moshe Rabbeinu fashion the serpent of copper? Why not of another substance, such as clay or wood? Is there a relationship between the word nachash, serpent, and the word nechoshes, copper? Why was this serpent placed upon a pole? How is one who is bitten by a serpent cured simply by gazing at the serpent? Horav Avigdor Miller, Shlita, addresses these questions in his commentary on this parsha. The serpent is a symbol of the yetzer hora, evil inclination. The yetzer hora’s strength lies in its ability to be elusive, to…

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From the top of rocks I see him and from the hills I behold him. (23:9)

From Aram, Balak, King of Moav, led me, from the mountains of the east, “Come curse Yaakov for me, come bring anger upon Yisrael.” (23:7)

And an angel of Hashem stood on the road to impede him.

And Moshe sent (spies) to spy out Yaazer and they conquered its towns. (21:32)

Make for yourself a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole; and it shall be that everyone that is bitten when he sees it, shall live. (21:8)

YEARS

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