Baalam’s Tents
Jul 22, 2016 By Lilly Kaufman | Commentary | Balak
Tell me, where can I go today to see a deeply good community? How will I know it when I see it? Where can I go today and exclaim, Mah tovu?
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Words Are Sacred
Jul 12, 2003 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Balak | Hukkat
Words are sacred. I remember the sanctity of words being inculcated in me as a high school student. My history teacher, Mr. Reilly, an admired, knowledgeable and articulate pedagogue (not to even mention his black belt in karate), instilled within us the fear of God with regard to proper attribution of words. His definition of plagiarism was ‘two or more words copied and unattributed.’ I remember being shocked by this Puritan definition, but it also instilled a respect for the written word. So valued are words that numerous violations, in addition to plagiarism, are attributed to their misuse. On occasions, words are distorted – in transmission, either knowingly or unknowingly; such distortion leads to the promulgation of lies and deception. And words are used to hurt – to curse, to destroy, and to instigate.
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What Happens to Us After We Die?
Jun 22, 2002 By Lauren Eichler Berkun | Commentary | Balak | Hukkat
We are challenged to reflect upon death when we read parashat Hukkat/Balak. Our double parashah begins with the elaborate purification ritual for one who has come into contact with a corpse; it ends with Pinchas’ zealous killing of an Israelite man and Midianite woman; and in the middle we learn about the deaths of both Miriam and Aaron. As we confront mortality throughout our Torah reading, it is natural to question Jewish views of the afterlife – a topic which has been the subject of many books of late.
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Finding Lessons in Miracles
Jul 3, 2004 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Balak
One of the most challenging aspects of the Torah for modern readers, we, who have been trained to think logically and rationally, is how to interpret the miracles that occur in the narrative. Desiring to be faithful to the text, yet, not wanting to close off the rational side of our brains, contemporary readers may be troubled by passages in the Torah that clearly contradict what they know to occur naturally.
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God is Gracious, Not Angry
Jul 9, 2011 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Balak
So much for fire and brimstone!
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Miriam’s Death
Jun 16, 1999 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Balak | Hukkat
Biblical narrative begs for reader participation. Time and again we come across a story short on context, background and human emotions, traces of an event barely recalled and crying out for elucidation. This week’s parasha contains a gem of an example.
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“Judge Not…”
Jul 7, 2001 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Balak
How is our behavior judged by others? What determines whether our actions are seen as positive and appropriate, or as negative and improper?
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Infusing the World with Holiness
Jul 12, 2003 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Balak | Hukkat
After two impressive victories against the Canaanites of the Negeb and the Amorites in Transjordan, the looming military might of Israel throws the leaders of Moab into a panic. Only the land of the Moabites separates Israel from the Jordan River and the conquest of Canaan. Balak ben Zippor, King of Moab, knows that he is next. In desperation, he takes recourse in an unconventional pre-emptive measure. He summons Balaam son of Beor, a sorcerer from Mesopotamia to curse Israel, making it susceptible to defeat on the battlefield. Though Balaam comes, God frustrates the plan. Within the monotheistic framework of the Torah, Balaam can utter only what God imparts to him. Hence he ends up in rapturous praise of Israel, to the consternation of Balak.
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