When the Moabite king Balak sees how the Israelites are defeating their enemies, he allies himself to his traditional enemy Midian (a reverse takeover bid) and calls on Balaam the magician to come and curse them. After some negotiation in which Balaam protests that he can only say what God tells him to say (and when God says no, he…
Sefer BaMidbar
On Whose Side?
In the poetry that Balaam the Magician declaims about the Children of Israel, he makes the remarkable statement “Am Levadad Yishkon“, A people that dwells alone, “U’Bagoyim Lo Yitchashav” and is not numbered amongst the nations. The word yitchashav can mean numbered, counted, regarded, reckoned or valued. What does he mean and intend by this? A nation unlike the others…
Magic
The ancient world, indeed our world today, believed in magic, in curses in evil eyes. And Balaam was the best of the magicians and was paid a lot of money to come and curse the Children of Israel, to stop them dead in their tracks and make them disappear. But he failed because God had other plans. Amongst the statements…
Tents
One of Balaam’s famous phrases that he speaks when he reviews the Israelites is Ma Tovu Oholeha Yaakov, Mishkenoteha Yaakov. How good are your tents, Jacob, Your dwelling places Israel. On the face of this Balaam is looking at an impressive array of tents of various sorts that the Israelites were using as they were about to end a nomadic…
Red Heifer
In ancient times, anyone who wanted to be on the Temple Mount had to go through a process of preparation that involved immersing in water into which the ashes of a red cow had been dissolved. The terms used are ‘pure’ and ‘impure’ but these had nothing at all to do with cleanliness. They merely marked the difference in states,…
Striking the Rock
Back in Exodus there was a shortage of water and Moses was told to take his staff and hit the rock and water flowed copiously for the Israelites. This time, years later, he was told to speak to the rock. Instead he hit it again. His punishment for disobeying God was that he (and Aaron) were denied entry into the…