Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

Today is the 17th of Tamuz, the beginning of the mourning period of the destruction of both Temples. The rabbis made it clear that the reason for the destruction was that Jews mistreated other Jews.

Micah reminds the Jews that God is their ultimate protector. That we should prepare to defend ourselves but that we have to trust in God and follow His commandments.

Balaam cannot curse the Jewish people because they are under God’s protection as long as they are doing what they are commanded to do. That’s why they send in temptresses into the camp to compromise them.

Balak could have found a way to work with the Jews to make his own country better. But his hatred of the Jews and their spiritual journey blinded and led him and his nation to disaster.

In Balak’s mind life is a zero-sum game. If Israel succeeds, then Moab is finished. Therefore, he has to stop Israel at any cost. This is the story of anti-Semites throughout history. The Torah relates it so show us how wrong they are.

There is a question about whether or not Bilaam was evil or not. For those who believe that he was essentially good the problem was that he was persuaded by the money that Bakak gave him.

In this week’s portion we meet Balak and Bilaam. What is interesting is that the action takes place away from the Jews. This teaches us that God is protecting us even when we are totally unaware of the dangers around us.

The Hebrew translation of the United States is “The Lands Of The Agreement.” This is different from most other languages. The reason is that Jews recognized the uniqueness of the US and its foundation.

The were commanded not to go to war with Edom and Moab even though they were denied passage through their lands. One of the reasons is you do not go to war when there are valid alternatives.

When Miriam dies the well dries up.  The people were not aware that they had water in her merit.  This teaches us that there are many people who do a job that without their efforts we would not be able to exist but we do not know who they are.