Balak

By Diane M. Sharon, Ph.D.

Balak is a Moabite king who feels his sovereignty threatened by the numerous tribes of Israel as they wander in the wilderness towards the Land of Promise. Balak, along with a Midianite coalition, commissions a renowned Aramean prophet, Balaam son of Beor, to curse the Hebrew tribes to drive them away. What is this foreign prophet doing in the Hebrew Bible? The first words we hear out of his mouth invite the Midianite and Moabite embassy to wait overnight for his answer while he consults the God of Israel, whom he refers to by the Tetragrammaton – YHWH.

Here is the irony of a foreign prophet consulting the Hebrew God, and the further irony that God actually comes to Balaam in a dream, and forbids the prophet from cursing the people whom God has blessed. God’s universal sovereignty is affirmed in this story: God is the master Read More >

By Joan Lenowitz

Every morning in our daily liturgy we recite the words spoken by the gentile prophet Balaam who acts as Balak’s agent and is the main protagonist in the narrative of Parashat Balak, ‘Mah tovu ohalekha Ya’akov mishk’notekha Yisrael,’ traditionally rendered, ‘How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel.’ (Num. 24:5) The Talmud teaches (Bava Batra 60a) that Balaam, noticing the way the Israelite tents are laid out, is commenting here on how respectful the Israelite people are of family privacy, which also implies a fortification against proscribed sexual activity.

We may feel a flush of pride at this distinction of our people in this blessing. We may also feel the pangs of our own failings and those of our ancestors, to live up to this laudation. In fact, no sooner has this blessing been pronounced upon Israel in Numbers 24:3-9, but the honor of the people is impugned. In Read More >