Balak – Page 10 – Peninim on the Torah

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

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

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

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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Moshe Marcovich In Balak, 5758

And he (Balak) sent messengers to Bilaam ben Be’or. (22:5)

Bilaam’s reputation was enviable in his pagan context. Indeed, employing the forces of tumah, impurity, he became a leader and prophet among the pagans. Chazal present their own description of this unsavory person. In Pirke Avos 5:19 they say, “Whoever has the following three traits is among the disciples of our forefather, Avraham, and whoever has three different traits are from the disciples of the wicked Bilaam. Those who have a good eye, a humble spirit and a meek soul are among Avraham’s talmidim. In contrast, those who have an evil eye, an arrogant spirit and a greedy soul are…

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Moshe Marcovich In Balak, 5758

Behold! It is a nation who shall dwell alone and not be reckoned among nations. (23:9)

Bilaam was an archetyypical anti-semite. His ability to master the double-entendre is manifest in his description of the Jewish people. He portrays the Jews as a “people who shall dwell alone.” He seems to be saying that the Jewish people have the ability to resist assimilation, to weather the tide of paganism and immorality that characterize secular society. That is what he seems to be saying. In reality, Bilaam was offering a critique of the Jewish people. He was branding them for their exclusivity, labeling them as reclusive and unsociable isolationists. Historically, the anti-semites reviled us for not distancing ourselves…

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Moshe Marcovich In Balak, 5758

How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwelling places, O Yisrael. (24:5)

As we enter the shul, our daily encounter with the Almighty begins with the pasuk that Bilaam recited. Let us put this into perspective. Bilaam was impressed and inspired by Klal Yisrael’s modesty and sensitivity to privacy issues, as evidenced by the arrangement of their tents. Bilaam was the paradigm of evil, a man whose sense of morality was so eroded that he sought to destroy Klal Yisrael through debauchery. He fully comprehended that Hashem despises licentiousness. He recognized Hashem’s reaction to Klal Yisrael’s promiscuous attraction to the daughters of Moav. Yet, during a brief moment of spiritual ascendency, granted…

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Moshe Marcovich In Balak, 5758

Behold! A man of Bnei Yisrael came and brought a Midyanite woman near to his brothers in sight of Moshe and in sight of the entire assembly of Bnei Yisrael; and they were weeping at the entrance of the Ohel Moed. (25:6)

Rashi attributes the weeping to the fact that Moshe “forgot” the law regarding a “boel aramis.” This law states that one who publicly cohabits with a gentile may be slayed by kanaim, true zealots. Hashem caused Moshe to forget, so that Pinchas could react and merit the blessing he received. Pinchas reminded Moshe of the law, but Moshe told him to take action, claiming that the one who made the law known should execute it. Horav Simcha Zissel Broide, Shlita, comments on the remarkable lesson to be derived from this pasuk. If Hashem decrees that a person should attain a…

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Moshe Marcovich In Balak, 5758

Hashem opened the mouth of the she-donkey and it said to Bilaam, “What have I done to you that you have struck me these three times?” (22:28)

Chazal note that the Torah does not use the word “pe’omim,” which means “times.” Rather, the Torah uses the word “regalim” which is an allusion to the Shalosh Regalim, Three Festivals — when Klal Yisrael went on Pilgrimage to Yerushalayim — and to the Bais Hamikdash. Bilaam wished to harm a nation whose devotion to Hashem was so strong, whose commitment so intense, that they left their fields and homes three times each year to serve Hashem in Yerushalayim. How could Bilaam think that the Almighty would permit him to harm such a dedicated nation? It is interesting to note…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Balak, 5757

And Balak ben Tzipor saw. (22:2)

Horav Ze’ev Weinberger, Shlita, writes that he once heard stated in the name of Horav Moshe M’Rozvandov, zl, an ambiguous statement regarding the relationship among Parshios Korach, Chukas, and Balak. He said that the letter “Kuf,” “e” is found in all three parshios. Kuf begins one, is in the middle of the next, and ends the third parsha. Korach, begins with a kuf; Chukas has the letter kuf in the middle, and Balak has it at the end. Needless to say, this statement is enigmatic. What lesson is to be derived from the position of the kuf in the names…

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

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

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)

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

And he (Balak) sent messengers to Bilaam ben Be’or. (22:5)

Behold! It is a nation who shall dwell alone and not be reckoned among nations. (23:9)

How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwelling places, O Yisrael. (24:5)

Behold! A man of Bnei Yisrael came and brought a Midyanite woman near to his brothers in sight of Moshe and in sight of the entire assembly of Bnei Yisrael; and they were weeping at the entrance of the Ohel Moed. (25:6)

Hashem opened the mouth of the she-donkey and it said to Bilaam, “What have I done to you that you have struck me these three times?” (22:28)

And Balak ben Tzipor saw. (22:2)

YEARS

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