{"id":47664,"date":"2018-07-09T17:41:25","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-140\/"},"modified":"2022-08-18T09:54:10","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T06:54:10","slug":"wall-140","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-140\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Torah-Numbers-23"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"140","date":"20260312","book":"Numbers","chapter":"23","chapter_main_number":"140","books_group":"Torah","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"47974","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Numbers 23 - Judy Hammond ","post_title":"Numbers 23 - Judy Hammond","slug":"numbers-23-judy-hammond","old_id":"47974","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"140","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Numbers 23","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"read by Judy Hammond","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/numbers-chapter-23-read-by-judy-hammond","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"23","chapter_main_number":"140","date":"20260312","wall_id":"140"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"107258","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Did Balaam Repent? ","post_title":"Did Balaam Repent?","slug":"did-balaam-repent","old_id":"107258","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":62571,"post_title":"Yaakov Bieler","slug":"yaakov-bieler","old_id":"62571","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Bieler ","description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University in 1974. He has lectured and written extensively on Modern Orthodoxy, and blogs daily at https:\/\/yaakovbieler.wordpress.com ","short_description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":62572,"alt":"","title":"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","width":141,"height":180,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler-141x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":141,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium-width":141,"medium-height":180,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium_large-width":141,"medium_large-height":180,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","large-width":141,"large-height":180,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","1536x1536-width":141,"1536x1536-height":180,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","2048x2048-width":141,"2048x2048-height":180,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","post_full_size-width":141,"post_full_size-height":180,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","home_baner-width":141,"home_baner-height":180}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"140","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Balaam\u2019s fatalism, versus Jewish free will\u00a0","post_main_content_content":"

Among the pronouncements of Balaam praising rather than cursing the Jewish people, is a prayer regarding his mortal end (verse 10): \u201cMay I die the death of the upright! <\/span>\u00a0<\/b>May my fate be like theirs!\u201d Yet the bible records that Balaam died violently during the war with the Midianites: \u201cThey also put Balaam, son of Beor, to the sword\u201d (Num 31:8).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ohr Hachayim suggests that Balaam, confronted with the positive qualities of the Jewish people, wished to aspire to the Jews\u2019 exalted level and repent, at least immediately before dying. However, he recognized how thoroughly evil he had become (see Joshua 13:22, and Rashi on Numbers 31:8), and that such an aspiration could never be attained by him. Ohr Hachayim continues:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u2026evil doers have said to him explicitly, that were they to be assured that upon repenting they would instantly die, they would try to achieve this. But they knew in terms of themselves that they wouldn\u2019t be able to maintain the stance of a penitent for very long, because the \u2018Decree of the King was upon them\u2026\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In other words, Balaam thought, like Elisha ben Abuya (Chagigah 15a), that he couldn\u2019t stop being evil, because he was created that way.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Many medievalists who felt that \u201cfatalism\u201d governed individual behavior more than did \u201cfreedom of choice,\u201d could assert that those who were good, were meant to be so from birth, and likewise for evil.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There are other perspectives, though. For instance, Rabbi Chanina\u2019s Talmudic view:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0Rabbi Chanina said in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yoc\u1e25ai: The Holy One, Blessed be He, has nothing in His treasury other than a treasure of fear of Heaven, as it is stated: (Isaiah 33:6) \u201cFear of the Lord is his treasure\u201d (Berachot 33b).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Maimonides also insists upon individual accountability as an incontrovertible fundamental of Judaism:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

1. Every man was endowed with a free will \u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

3. And, this matter is a great and component part, the very pillar of the Torah and its precepts, even as it is said: (Deuteronomy 30:15) \"See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil\" and it is, moreover, written: (Ibid. 11:26) \"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and curse.\u201d\u00a0 This is as if saying, the power is in your hand, and whatever human activity man may be inclined to carry on, he has a free will to elect either good or evil\u2026 (Mishneh Torah, <\/span>Hilchot Teshuvah<\/em> <\/span>5:1, 3).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While there may be comfort for a person to believe that they are inevitably and irreducibly either good or evil, Judaism insists that our actions are the results of our own decisions, and only we are responsible for them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":73121,"alt":"","title":"ez3-repentance","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance.jpg","width":1024,"height":568,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance-300x166.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":166,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance-768x426.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":426,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance-1024x568.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":568,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":568,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":568,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":568,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance-757x420.jpg","home_baner-width":757,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Did Balaam Repent?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Balaam\u2019s fatalism, versus Jewish free will\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":73121,"alt":"","title":"ez3-repentance","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance.jpg","width":1024,"height":568,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance-300x166.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":166,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance-768x426.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":426,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance-1024x568.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":568,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":568,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":568,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":568,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ez3-repentance-757x420.jpg","home_baner-width":757,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"23","chapter_main_number":"140","date":"20260312","wall_id":"140"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"571","name":"Repentance","old_id":"971"},{"term_id":"619","name":"Free Will","old_id":"1019"}]},{"order":3,"id":"107260","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Balaam The Righteous ","post_title":"Balaam The Righteous","slug":"balaam-the-righteous","old_id":"107260","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"140","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A deeper look at the character of this complex figure (part II)\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Chapter 23 begins with Balaam preparing to say whatever God commands. He tells Balak: \u201cStay here besides your offerings while I am gone. Perhaps God will grant me a manifestation, and whatever is revealed to me I will tell you\u201d (verse 2). Right off the bat, Balaam reminds Balak that he is that mercy of God. God could appear to him or not and God will tell him what to say. This again shows deference to the Almighty and no nefarious intentions. When God appears to Balaam, Balaam explains that he set up the proper sacrifices of bulls and rams. It seems as if Balaam is responding to an earlier directive from God as to how he can connect with God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Balaam returns and recites the first of his praising poems towards Israel. In this first one, he uses a similar metaphor to the numerous grains of sand that God promised Abraham. Balak is incensed. He demanded a curse and got a blessing. Balaam calmly responds \u201cI can only repeat faithfully what God puts in my mouth\u201d (verse 12). Again, Balaam faithfully defers to God. In the face of an angry king, Balaam repeats his mantra. He does not even say \u201cI tried to curse them!\u201d He simply follows what God tells him. Balak demands that they move to a different location to try to change the vision; Balaam passively goes along.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In this next song, Balaam repeats his mantra: \u201cMy message was to bless: When [God] blesses, I cannot reverse it\u201d (verse 20). Balak again is furious and tells Balaam to not bless the people or curse them, hoping for a different outcome. Balaam responds, yet again, \u201cBut I told you: Whatever God says I will do\u201d (verse 26). Once again Balak requests that they move to a new location, not Balaam.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Four times in this chapter, Balaam tells Balak that he can only follow what God tells him. A plain reading of the text again shows a faithful Balaam. Balak is the instigator here, and Balaam only repeats that God is in control.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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Balak - Like Jethro, A Contribution From Without<\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/cU2Qvw-52-k","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Shabbat With a Schmear","tile_main_caption":"Balak - Like Jethro, A Contribution From Without","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Adam Mintz with Meredith Berkman (ShabbatMom)","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/cU2Qvw-52-k","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1053"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"}]},{"order":6,"id":"47983","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Patriarchal and Matriarchal Merit ","post_title":"Patriarchal And Matriarchal Merit","slug":"patriarchal-and-matriarchal-merit","old_id":"47983","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46994,"post_title":"Sarit Kattan Gribetz","slug":"sarit-kattan-gribetz","old_id":"46994","first_name":"Sarit Kattan ","last_name":"Gribetz ","description":"Sarit Kattan Gribetz is an assistant professor in the Theology Department at Fordham University and a core faculty member for the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. She received her Ph.D. from Princeton University. She teaches and publishes about Jews in the Roman Empire, the history of time and time-keeping, gender and sexuality, Jewish-Christian relations, and the history of Jerusalem. Her book, Time and Difference in Rabbinic Judaism, is under contract with Princeton University Press.","short_description":"Sarit Kattan Gribetz is an assistant professor in the Theology Department at Fordham University and a core faculty member for the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":46995,"alt":"","title":"sarit gribetz","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/sarit-gribetz-e1546786449124.jpg","width":2471,"height":2709,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/sarit-gribetz-e1546786449124-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/sarit-gribetz-e1546786449124-274x300.jpg","medium-width":274,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/sarit-gribetz-e1546786449124-768x842.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":842,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/sarit-gribetz-e1546786449124-934x1024.jpg","large-width":934,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/sarit-gribetz-e1546786449124.jpg","1536x1536-width":1401,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/sarit-gribetz-e1546786449124.jpg","2048x2048-width":1868,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/sarit-gribetz-e1546786449124-1095x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1095,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/sarit-gribetz-e1546786449124-383x420.jpg","home_baner-width":383,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"140","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The summits of our historical achievement","post_main_content_content":"

The 23<\/span>rd<\/span> chapter of the book of Numbers continues the narrative of Balak and Balaam. In verses 7 and 8, Balaam addresses Balak and confesses to him that he cannot curse Israel because God has not cursed Israel. \u00a0Then, in verse 9, he continues:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cFor from the top of the rocks I see it,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>from the hills I behold it.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Here is a people living alone,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>and not reckoning itself among the nations!\u201d (NRSV, with modifications)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is part of Balaam\u2019s oracle, in which he was meant to curse Israel but ends up blessing them.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But what does this passage mean? \u00a0To what do the terms \u201cthe top of the rocks\u201d (<\/span>merosh zurim<\/span><\/i>) and \u201chills\u201d (<\/span>migevaot<\/span><\/i>) refer? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Taken literally, it seems to mean that Balaam, standing on high on the mountains or hills, saw the Israelites encamped below, living separately from others. \u00a0He presents this as a positive feature of the community. \u2018I saw them from a heightened distance, they weren\u2019t bothering anyone, they kept to themselves!\u2019 Balaam seems to be telling Balak. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

This verse, though, is interpreted differently in rabbinic tradition. \u00a0In the tannaitic midrash Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael (<\/span>Amalek <\/span><\/em>1<\/span><\/i>; ed. Horovitz-Rabin, 179), Numbers 23:9 is understood in light of Exodus 17:10, which states: \u201ctomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill\u2026\u201d. \u00a0Once these two verses are read together, the midrash is able to explain that \u201ctop of the rocks\u201d is a reference to patriarchal merit (<\/span>zekhut avot<\/span><\/em>) and \u201chills\u201d is a reference to matriarchal merit (<\/span>zekhut imahot<\/span><\/em>). \u00a0When these two verses are read together, we see that, according to this midrash, Balaam was not only blessing the community of Israel for its present habits, but also that he was noting that the community of Israel had ancestral merit from the past \u2013 both from the patriarchs as well as from the matriarchs \u2013 that contributed to its grandeur and was worthy of praise. \u00a0This ancestral merit could then be tapped, both by individuals and also by leaders such as Moses (as happens in Exodus 17:10, during the Israelites\u2019 battle with Amalek), during times of crisis and suffering. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

If the merits of present-day Israelites were not sufficient to merit God\u2019s help, then surely the merits accrued by fore-mothers and fore-fathers would make up the difference.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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Mouthpiece ","post_title":"God\u2019s Mouthpiece","slug":"gods-mouthpiece","old_id":"48000","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34004,"post_title":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg","slug":"avivah-gottlieb-zornberg","old_id":"34004","first_name":"Avivah Gottlieb","last_name":"Zornberg","description":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg lives in Jerusalem where she has been lecturing on Torah since 1980. She reads biblical narratives through the prism of midrash, literature, philosophy and particularly psychoanalysis.\r\nShe was born in London and grew up in Glasgow, where her father was a Rabbi and the head of the Rabbinical Court. She studied Torah with him from childhood. Her PhD in English Literature is from Cambridge University, England. She taught English literature at the Hebrew University before turning to teaching Torah. She now teaches throughout the Jewish world, at synagogues, universities, and psychoanalytic institutes.\r\nShe is the author of five critically acclaimed books. Her latest book, Moses: A Human Life, was published by Yale University Press.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg lives and lectures on Torah in Jerusalem. She is the author of five critically acclaimed books. 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In a repeated act of poetic justice, God takes control of Balaam\u2019s mouth, in the most literal way. \u201cAnd God placed a <\/span>davar<\/span><\/em> [word\/thing] in Balaam\u2019s mouth\u201d (Num. 23:5,16). The <\/span>davar<\/span><\/em> becomes in the rabbinic imagination either an angel, or a bit. His mouth is invaded, twisted into the shape of blessing. He is, quite literally, possessed. This is the most intimate meaning of having one\u2019s curse<\/span> turn, twist<\/span><\/em>,<\/em> into a blessing. This act of violence controls not only what comes out of his mouth but - like a bit in a horse\u2019s mouth - also his movements. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The thing\/word in Balaam\u2019s mouth reduces him to an object to be penetrated and mastered at will. If it is an angel who takes up residence in his mouth, editing and transforming his words, this expresses one level of reification; but, of course, the bridle-bit metaphor is considerably more horrifying. The effect is, as Sforno puts it, that Balaam\u2019s blessings become fully <\/span>involuntary<\/span><\/em> speech. Strangely, Balaam foresees from the outset that this will be his situation; he even announces it to Balak. Most strangely, it is he who coins the expression, \u201cthe word\/thing which God shall place in my mouth,\u201d which the midrash interprets so concretely.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

To be God\u2019s mouthpiece can be imagined imagined along a spectrum of possibilities. In the case of Balaam, there is an absolute tension between his desire and his words. The imagery of the bridle bit piercing his mouth suggests the horror of the loss of personal autonomy. Prophets and poets also know about possession, perhaps value it as a privilege. But in the context of relationships such as those described in this narrative - of asses controlling and brutalized by riders, of kings manipulating and being manipulated by hired clairvoyants, Balaam\u2019s relation to God takes on a similarly dialectical tension. He is rider and ridden; his power, which lies in his mouth, takes on a life of its own, leaving him helpless to achieve his desires.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Even in the third blessing, which seems to emerge from a more autonomous place, there is a strange dissonance that infiltrates the biblical account. \u201cBalaam saw that it was good in the eyes of God to bless Israel\u201d: he realizes that he will not be able to curse them. \u201cThere came upon him the spirit of God.\u201d He becomes God\u2019s mouthpiece, his own desire leaves some residual poison in his inspired words. \u201cHe turned his face toward the wilderness\u201d: to bless the people with reservations, with the sting of envy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Excerpted from: \u00a0Bewilderments<\/em>, Schocken Books, 2017, p. 243<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":107281,"alt":"","title":"-62fd0bc3b2a68--62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse neigh bit.jpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg.jpg","width":1581,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg-247x300.jpg","medium-width":247,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg-768x933.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":933,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg-843x1024.jpg","large-width":843,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":1265,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":1581,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg-988x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":988,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2019\/01\/62fd0bc3b2a68-62fd0bc3b2a6anum23-horse-neigh-bit.jpg-346x420.jpg","home_baner-width":346,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"God\u2019s Mouthpiece","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"He is rider and ridden; 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The effusive praise God puts into Balaam's mouth in chapter 23 starkly contrasts the bitter complaints and harsh punishments we've read of in previous chapters.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Balaam says: \"How can I be angry when God isn't angry?\" But God has been exceedingly angry- repeatedly, violently angry.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Balaam says: \"There is no <\/span>nachash<\/span><\/em> (literally- a snake) in Jacob and no sorcery in Israel\", and yet we just finished reading the story of the snake whose healing properties seemed quite magical.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Balaam says: \"He has seen no iniquity in Jacob, and has seen no tiresome sin in Israel,\" but God and Moses have both complained about how tired they are of the Jews' repeated misbehavior.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Balaam says: \"God is not a man that He should lie\"- so how do we understand all these contradictions?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Israel there's a saying- \"things you see from here, you don't see from there.\" But what\u2019s strange is that this statement always seems to be used to silence criticism, rather than to offer it. It's true that criticism coming from an outsider's perspective can be problematic, opportunistic, hypocritical, destructive. The story of Balaam is the story of the ultimate outsider, with a well-trained evil eye, a penchant for noticing the negative. There is little good that can come of this, and God won't tolerate it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But this doesn't mean that criticism should not be delivered, just that it must originate from within. This is something the Torah models consistently and boldly, and that we tend to do a terrible job at. All too often, the forces within restrain themselves from criticizing, out of fear of embarrassing the community, airing dirty laundry, or similar excuses. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps, if we would be braver when it comes to criticizing our own communities, and more honest when it comes to hearing, internalizing, and responding to that criticism, we would find that that which we had thought of as a curse can actually be turned into a blessing.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":96748,"alt":"","title":"ecc7-glitch self critique","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique.jpg","width":1920,"height":1357,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique-768x543.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique-1024x724.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":724,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1086,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1357,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique-1200x848.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":848,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique-594x420.jpg","home_baner-width":594,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Criticizing In All the Wrong Places","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The view from without, and those from within","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":96748,"alt":"","title":"ecc7-glitch self critique","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique.jpg","width":1920,"height":1357,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique-768x543.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique-1024x724.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":724,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1086,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1357,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique-1200x848.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":848,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ecc7-glitch-self-critique-594x420.jpg","home_baner-width":594,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"23","chapter_main_number":"140","date":"20260312","wall_id":"140"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"622","name":"Criticism","old_id":"1022"}]},{"order":9,"id":"48009","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Israel Like a Leaping Lioness - Then and Now ","post_title":"Israel Like A Leaping Lioness - Then And Now","slug":"israel-like-a-leaping-lioness-then-and-now","old_id":"48009","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"140","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A midrashic elaboration of Balaam\u2019s blessings","post_main_content_content":"

In our chapter, Balaam, the gentile magician and prophet, returns to Balak, the king of Moab, to tell him, in a poetic parable (mashal<\/em>) that he cannot curse the people Israel whom God has blessed (Numbers 23:1-10). Balaam\u2019s parable continues in verses 14-17, ending with the graphic depiction of Israel as \u201ca people that rises up as a lioness, and as a lion does he lift himself up. He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain\u201c (Numbers 23:24). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Midrash (Numbers Rabbah 20:20) elaborates on this rather gory biblical image by metaphorically applying it to the far more pleasant (and present!) practices of the Jewish people: According to this rabbinic tradition, Balaam is made to proclaim that there is no nation in the world like Israel. When they are asleep, they are indeed far from Torah and Mitzvot. But as soon as they awake, they arise like lions (compare Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim 1:1). They leap to read the Shema\u2019 (Deuteronomy 6:4). And, proclaiming the sovereignty of the Holy One, blessed be He, (\u201cBlessed be His name whose glorious kingdom is for ever and ever\u201c), they become like lions. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Then they set sail to their worldly affairs to engage in business. If any of them stumble or if enemies (mechablim<\/em>) come to harm anyone of them, he again proclaims the sovereignty of the Holy One, blessed be He. \u201cHe shall not lie down until he eats of the prey\u201d (Numbers 23:24). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

To this day, when a Jew recites the words in the Shema, \u201cThe Lord is one\u201d (Deuteronomy 6:4), his enemies are subdued before him, and they are forced to repeat in a whisper after him, \u201cBlessed be His name whose glorious kingdom is for ever and ever\u201d and then they flee. From morning to night, the Jews are sustained through reading the Shema\u2019 by angelic guardians. When a Jew goes to sleep he commits his spirit to the Holy One, blessed be He by reciting \u201cInto Thy hand I commit my spirit\u201d (Psalms 31:6). And when he awakes, he again proclaims the sovereignty of the Holy One, blessed be He (by again reciting \u201cBlessed be His name whose glorious kingdom is for ever and ever\u201d). Then the angelic guardians of the night entrust him to the angelic guardians of the day, as it says, \u201cMy soul is handed over to the Lord, from the guardians of the [previous] morning to the guardians of the [following] morning\u201d (Psalms 130:6). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

And so, Balaam continues to proclaim that there are no people like Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image:\u00a0A Chinese gilt bronze leaping lion: Tang Dynasty,<\/a> dated 7th to 8th century; Freer and Sackler Galleries, Washington D.C.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":48011,"alt":"","title":"num23-Leaping_lion,_gilt_bronze,_Tang_Dynasty","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty.jpg","width":1024,"height":821,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty-300x241.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":241,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty-768x616.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":616,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty-1024x821.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":821,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":821,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":821,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":821,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty-524x420.jpg","home_baner-width":524,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Israel Like a Leaping Lioness - Then and Now","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A midrashic elaboration of Balaam\u2019s blessings","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":48011,"alt":"","title":"num23-Leaping_lion,_gilt_bronze,_Tang_Dynasty","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty.jpg","width":1024,"height":821,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty-300x241.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":241,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty-768x616.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":616,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty-1024x821.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":821,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":821,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":821,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":821,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/num23-Leaping_lion_gilt_bronze_Tang_Dynasty-524x420.jpg","home_baner-width":524,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"23","chapter_main_number":"140","date":"20260312","wall_id":"140"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"}]},{"order":10,"id":"47999","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Integrity and Courage ","post_title":"Integrity And Courage","slug":"integrity-and-courage","old_id":"47999","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33992,"post_title":"Bradley Shavit Artson","slug":"rabbi-dr-bradley-shavit-artson","old_id":"33992","first_name":"Bradley Shavit ","last_name":"Artson","description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson holds the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles, and is professor of philosophy there. Artson is married to Elana Shavit Artson, and they are the parents of twins, Shira and Jacob.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson is the Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33993,"alt":"","title":"Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","width":204,"height":199,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-256x300.png","medium-width":256,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","medium_large-width":204,"medium_large-height":199,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","large-width":204,"large-height":199,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","1536x1536-width":204,"1536x1536-height":199,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","2048x2048-width":204,"2048x2048-height":199,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","post_full_size-width":204,"post_full_size-height":199,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Rabbi-Dr-Bradley-Shavit-Artson-e1532029361140.png","home_baner-width":204,"home_baner-height":199}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"140","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Balaam invites us each to step up to our inner prophet","post_main_content_content":"

The pagan prophet Balaam has been summoned by Balak, King of the Amorites, to curse Israel so he could destroy us. Again and again, the king accommodates the demands of the prophet, hoping that he will then be able to curse, yet time and again Balaam responds by blessing the Children of Israel. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In indignation, Balak explodes: \u201cWhat have you done to me. Here I brought you to damn my enemies, and instead you have blessed them!\u201d In answer, Balaam says \u201cI can only repeat faithfully what the Lord puts in my mouth. (Numbers 23: 11,12).\u201d <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Is Balaam explaining the mechanics of prophecy, that he is physically incapable of saying anything other than what God programs him to articulate? Or is he saying something deeper, that being \u00a0a prophet means listening to one\u2019s truest intuitions and articulating only that?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Nowhere does the Torah (or Bible) present prophecy as kidnapped speech. Prophets are free to evade, flee, falsify. Of course, in choosing those strategies, they betray themselves, their God, and prophecy itself. To be a true prophet is to discern one\u2019s inner truth and to put that truth into words, regardless of the consequences. Prophets are rarely popular. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Read in that light, Balaam invites us each to step up to our inner prophet. What intuition do you know from the inside out, yet fear to articulate? What message bubbles up from your truest place, demanding to add light in a dark and troubling time?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Balaam is willing to offend a king, and to praise a strange and solitary people, in order to serve what echoes from his deepest soul. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

We \u2013 born into an ancient covenant and guided by millennial wisdom, can do no less.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":62369,"alt":"","title":"1kings13-prophet","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet.jpg","width":1200,"height":627,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-300x157.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":157,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-768x401.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":401,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-1024x535.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":535,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":627,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":627,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-1200x627.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":627,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-804x420.jpg","home_baner-width":804,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Integrity And Courage","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Balaam invites us each to step up to our inner prophet","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":62369,"alt":"","title":"1kings13-prophet","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet.jpg","width":1200,"height":627,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-300x157.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":157,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-768x401.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":401,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-1024x535.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":535,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":627,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":627,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-1200x627.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":627,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-804x420.jpg","home_baner-width":804,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"23","chapter_main_number":"140","date":"20260312","wall_id":"140"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"395","name":"Covenant","old_id":"795"},{"term_id":"506","name":"Prophecy","old_id":"906"}]},{"order":11,"id":"48004","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Power of Balaam ","post_title":"The Power Of Balaam","slug":"the-power-of-balaam","old_id":"48004","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":47905,"post_title":"Natasha Mann","slug":"natasha-mann","old_id":"47905","first_name":"Natasha ","last_name":"Mann ","description":"Rabbi Natasha Mann serves as a rabbi at New London Synagogue and Hatch End\/Mosaic Masorti. Natasha hails from the grassy hills of Hertfordshire, England, and has spent most of her adult life between Los Angeles and the Holy City of Jerusalem. Natasha has worked in Jewish education and the non-profit world, promoting better education and legislation on human trafficking issues. ","short_description":"Rabbi Natasha Mann serves as a rabbi at New London Synagogue and Hatch End\/Mosaic Masorti.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":47906,"alt":"","title":"natasha mann","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-e1548150986169.jpg","width":735,"height":954,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-e1548150986169-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-e1548150986169-231x300.jpg","medium-width":231,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-768x568.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":568,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-1024x757.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":757,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-e1548150986169.jpg","1536x1536-width":735,"1536x1536-height":954,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-e1548150986169.jpg","2048x2048-width":735,"2048x2048-height":954,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-1200x887.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":887,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-e1548150986169-324x420.jpg","home_baner-width":324,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"140","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Divine blessings and prophetic curses, and the psychological effects of words","post_main_content_content":"

When Balak asks Balaam to curse the Israelites, Balaam opens his mouth and out fall blessings. Balak\u2019s motivations for hiring Balaam are clear: he is a great warrior, but is nonetheless concerned about warring with the wandering Israelites, and seeks to decrease their power. The motivations of the Almighty are less clear to parse. We know that the Divine interrupts Balaam and weaves blessings for our ancestors, but surely God could simply ignore Balaam\u2019s attempts, and Balaam\u2019s curse would be empty and ineffective. Are we to believe that Balaam has the power to curse the Israelites independently of the Almighty? Furthermore, are we to believe that the Israelites are in need of a blessing from a foreign prophet when they have the Divine fighting in their corner? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In exploring this question, Abravanel reminds us that Balaam is world famous for his status as a prophet. Indeed, Balaam\u2019s name has survived history outside of the Torah and Jewish sources (see the Deir Alla Inscription). It is precisely Balaam\u2019s renown as a prophet that provides Abravanel\u2019s understanding of the divine motivation for interrupting Balaam\u2019s efforts: the psychological effect of a curse. Balaam\u2019s power does not rest solely with the Divine, because there is significant psychological power in words. Balaam\u2019s words cannot remain with him on the mountaintop, as the words of the famous travel far and wide. Had the story gone differently, according to Abravanel, Balaam\u2019s curse would have empowered our enemies to attack. It stands to reason, too, that had the Israelites heard of the curse, they might have been emotionally weakened in a time that called for great courage. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The story of Balaam is one of Divine blessings and prophetic curses, but it is also a story of the human power afforded to us all: the power to influence one another. May we all use that great power to bring blessings into the world. <\/span>
\r\n<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Deir Allah \"Balaam\" Inscription, 880-770 BCE https:\/\/he.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%91%D7%AA_%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%A2%D7%9D#\/media\/File:Deir_Allah_Inscription-text.jpg\u00a0<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":48081,"alt":"","title":"Num23-Balaam-Deir_Allah_Inscription-text","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num23-Balaam-Deir_Allah_Inscription-text.jpg","width":544,"height":468,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num23-Balaam-Deir_Allah_Inscription-text-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num23-Balaam-Deir_Allah_Inscription-text-300x258.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":258,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num23-Balaam-Deir_Allah_Inscription-text.jpg","medium_large-width":544,"medium_large-height":468,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num23-Balaam-Deir_Allah_Inscription-text.jpg","large-width":544,"large-height":468,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num23-Balaam-Deir_Allah_Inscription-text.jpg","1536x1536-width":544,"1536x1536-height":468,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num23-Balaam-Deir_Allah_Inscription-text.jpg","2048x2048-width":544,"2048x2048-height":468,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num23-Balaam-Deir_Allah_Inscription-text.jpg","post_full_size-width":544,"post_full_size-height":468,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num23-Balaam-Deir_Allah_Inscription-text-488x420.jpg","home_baner-width":488,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The 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Number Seven ","post_title":"Lucky Number Seven","slug":"lucky-number-seven","old_id":"48003","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":47901,"post_title":"Ryan Leszner","slug":"ryan-leszner","old_id":"47901","first_name":"Ryan ","last_name":"Leszner","description":"Ryan Leszner is a second-year Rabbinical Student at Hebrew College. He currently serves as the Educator for the Riverway Project, a twenties and thirties group at Temple Israel in Boston. One of his passions is providing educational musical experiences that help connect to Jewish concepts and traditions. He was born in Toronto, Canada, and spent most of his formative years at URJ Camp George and NFTY-NEL, the Reform movements youth group. ","short_description":"Ryan Leszner is a second-year Rabbinical Student at Hebrew College.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":47902,"alt":"","title":"ryan leszner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ryan-leszner-e1548150322695.jpg","width":422,"height":589,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ryan-leszner-e1548150322695-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ryan-leszner-e1548150322695-215x300.jpg","medium-width":215,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ryan-leszner-e1548150322695.jpg","medium_large-width":422,"medium_large-height":589,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ryan-leszner-e1548150322695.jpg","large-width":422,"large-height":589,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ryan-leszner-e1548150322695.jpg","1536x1536-width":422,"1536x1536-height":589,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ryan-leszner-e1548150322695.jpg","2048x2048-width":422,"2048x2048-height":589,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ryan-leszner-e1548150322695.jpg","post_full_size-width":422,"post_full_size-height":589,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ryan-leszner-e1548150322695-301x420.jpg","home_baner-width":301,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"140","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Seven is where we can meet our earthly needs - working, mourning, or celebrating - and also stretch our comprehension to its limits","post_main_content_content":"

The number seven holds a special status in Jewish tradition. This is apparent throughout the Torah: God created the world in seven days; Shabbat, the holiest day of the week, is on the seventh day; the plagues in Egypt lasted seven days; and so on. The number seven is also used in practice in modern Jewish society: we read seven <\/span>aliyot<\/span><\/i> (sections) of Torah on Shabbat; when someone dies the family sits <\/span>shiva<\/span><\/i> which lasts seven days; during a Jewish wedding ceremony a bride circles the groom seven times and seven blessings (<\/span>sheva brachot)<\/span><\/i> are said; there are seven major Jewish holidays; and the list goes on.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This prominence raises the question of why? Why is the number seven so important?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The number seven resembles completion and perfection. Each cycle of seven, whether it be the days of the week, the days of mourning, or the seasons of the holidays, marks the end of one ritual and the beginning of another; the completion of a section of life, and the beginning of a new phase.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The number seven also figures heavily in Bamidbar 23. In the chapter\u2019s opening, Balaam says to Balak, \u201cBuild me seven altars here and have seven bulls and seven rams ready for me.\u201d Ibn Ezra, a medieval philosopher and commentator, notes the significance of the seven altars, by stating that there are profound mysteries that a select few can understand: the seventh day, the seventh month, and the seventh year. This implies that when the perfect number is presented, one who is capable can understand these mysteries as connection with the divine.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The number seven is also recognized for its unique properties in contemporary science. Keith Devlin, a mathematician and co-founder of Stanford University\u2019s Human-Sciences and Technologies Advanced Research Institute, has found the brain can recognize only seven items at one time. \u00a0Beyond the number seven, our cognitive abilities are challenged, and we must group items into categories rather than focus on their individual properties.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So, why does Balaam ask for seven altars? Because seven is the minimum number required to complete a cycle, but it is also the maximum number that we can comfortably comprehend. Seven is the space where we can meet our earthly needs, whether they be working, mourning, or celebrating, but also stretch our comprehension to its limits. Seven is where our daily life can intersect with our reach for the divine, and where our relationships with both ourselves and with God can thrive.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":48007,"alt":"","title":"seven-32141_1280","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280.png","width":858,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-201x300.png","medium-width":201,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-686x1024.png","medium_large-width":686,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-686x1024.png","large-width":686,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280.png","1536x1536-width":858,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280.png","2048x2048-width":858,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-804x1200.png","post_full_size-width":804,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-282x420.png","home_baner-width":282,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Lucky Number Seven","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Seven is where we can meet our earthly needs - working, mourning, or celebrating - and also stretch our comprehension to its limits","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":48007,"alt":"","title":"seven-32141_1280","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280.png","width":858,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-201x300.png","medium-width":201,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-686x1024.png","medium_large-width":686,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-686x1024.png","large-width":686,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280.png","1536x1536-width":858,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280.png","2048x2048-width":858,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-804x1200.png","post_full_size-width":804,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-282x420.png","home_baner-width":282,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"23","chapter_main_number":"140","date":"20260312","wall_id":"140"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"789","name":"Numbers","old_id":"1189"}]},{"order":13,"id":"47988","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A People That Dwells Alone ","post_title":"A People That Dwells Alone","slug":"a-people-that-dwells-alone","old_id":"47988","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33923,"post_title":"Jonathan Sacks","slug":"rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks","old_id":"33923","first_name":"Jonathan ","last_name":"Sacks","description":"An international religious leader, philosopher, and award-winning author of over 35 books, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks served as the International President of 929.\r\nRabbi Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth years between 1991 and 2013, and was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 2005 and made a Life Peer. Rabbi Sacks passed away on 7th November 2020, aged 72. He was one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the 20th century, who bridged the religious and secular world through his ground-breaking canon of work.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z\"k (1948-2020) was the former Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, and the International 929 president.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36222,"alt":"","title":"JSacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","width":437,"height":548,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-239x300.jpg","medium-width":239,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-768x448.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":448,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-1024x597.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":597,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","1536x1536-width":437,"1536x1536-height":548,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","2048x2048-width":437,"2048x2048-height":548,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","post_full_size-width":437,"post_full_size-height":548,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-335x420.jpg","home_baner-width":335,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"140","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"What is the key to Jewish singularity?","post_main_content_content":"

One of the most profound and influential comments ever made about Jewish destiny was made by the pagan prophet Balaam in this chapter:<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>As I see them from the mountain tops, Gaze on them from the heights, <\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Behold it is a people that dwells alone, Not reckoned among the nations (23:9)<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>To many \u2013 Jews and non-Jews, admirers and critics alike \u2013 that has seemed to epitomise the Jewish situation: a people that stands outside history and the normal laws governing the fate of nations. For Jews it was a source of pride. For non-Jews, it was all too often a source of resentment and hate. For centuries, Jews in Christian Europe were treated, in Max Weber\u2019s phrase, as a \u201cpariah people.\u201d All agreed, though, that Jews were different. The question is: how and why? The biblical answer is surprising and profound.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>It is not that Jews alone knew God. That is manifestly not the case. Balaam \u2013 the very prophet who uttered these words \u2013 was not an Israelite. Nor were Abimelekh or Laban, to whom God appears in the book of Genesis. Abraham\u2019s contemporary, Malkizedek, king of Shalem (the city that later became Jerusalem) is described as a priest of the most high God. Jethro, Moses\u2019 father-in-law, was a Midianite high priest, yet the portion that contains the supreme moment of Jewish history \u2013 the revelation at Mount Sinai \u2013 bears his name. Even the Pharaoh who ruled Egypt in the days of Joseph said of him, \u201cCan we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?\u201d...<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Nor is it that God\u2019s covenant with the children of Israel means that they are more righteous than others... Nor did any of the major strands in Jewish thought ever see Jewish chosen-ness as a privilege. It was, and is, a responsibility. The key verse here is the famous prophecy of Amos:<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>You alone have I singled out \/ Of all the families of the earth \u2013<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>That is why I will call you to account \/ For all your iniquities (Amos 3:2).<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Where then did Jewish singularity lie? The clue lies in the precise wording of Balaam\u2019s blessing: \u201cBehold it is a \u202fpeople \u202fthat dwells alone.\u201d For it was\u202f as a people \u202fthat God chose the descendants of Abraham; as a people that He made a covenant with them at Mount Sinai; as a people that He rescued them from Egypt, gave them laws, and entered into their history. \u201cYou will be to Me,\u201d He said at Sinai, \u201ca kingdom of priests and a holy nation.\u201d Judaism is the only religion to place God at the centre of its self-definition as a nation. Jews are the only nation whose very identity is defined in religious terms.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: <\/span>A People That Dwells Alone <\/span><\/em>(Covenant & Conversation, Balak 5777)<\/span><\/i><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":101406,"alt":"","title":"-61fbf071d2dad--61fbf071d2daegen1-nations flags 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Sacks","old_id":"754"},{"term_id":"421","name":"Peoplehood","old_id":"821"},{"term_id":"449","name":"Religion","old_id":"849"},{"term_id":"667","name":"Judaism","old_id":"1067"}]},{"order":14,"id":"59688","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Balak: Perceptions And Words Of Others ","post_title":"Balak: Perceptions And Words Of Others","slug":"balak-perceptions-and-words-of-others","old_id":"59688","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36663,"post_title":"Beth Kissileff","slug":"beth-kissileff","old_id":"36663","first_name":"Beth ","last_name":"Kissileff ","description":"Beth Kissileff is the editor of the anthology Reading Genesis (2016 - https:\/\/www.bloomsbury.com\/us\/reading-genesis-9780567381521), and the forthcoming Reading Exodus, and the author of the novel Questioning Return - https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Questioning-Return-Novel-Beth-Kissileff\/dp\/1942134231. \r\nHer journalism appears in many publications; she has taught most recently at the University of Pittsburgh. Visit her online at www.bethkissileff.com. ","short_description":"Beth Kissileff is the editor of the anthology Reading Genesis (Bloomsbury\/ T and T Clark, 2016) , a journalist and teacher.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36664,"alt":"","title":"BethKissileff","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","width":3478,"height":3200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-300x276.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":276,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-768x707.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":707,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-1024x942.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":942,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1413,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1884,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-1200x1104.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1104,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-456x420.jpg","home_baner-width":456,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1053","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The example of Balaam shows that it is not just the words themselves, but who speaks them and how, that give the words their power","post_main_content_content":"

The opening verse of this portion describes what was seen by a non-Jewish king,\u00a0Balak the son of Tzipor, the king of Moab (Num. 22:2, 4).\u00a0Why do his perceptions matter? Shouldn\u2019t our Torah only be concerned with how we define ourselves and what our perceptions of our strengths and weaknesses are?\u00a0Why open with this and what kind of tone does that foundation set out for the rest of the portion?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Rashi suggests that Moab, in seeking to understand the source of Israel\u2019s success learned that the power of Moses was in his mouth, so they sought out a person who also had power in his mouth.<\/p>\r\n

What is never explained clearly is the ultimate source of Balaam\u2019s power and insight \u2013 is he a sorcerer, a magician, a diviner, a prophet?\u00a0Does he use astrological signs to channel a message thus needing to go to a hilltop to do his work, as he says he must in 23:14?\u00a0Does he receive his message by reading signs from birds, as an inscription dated to 800 BCE<\/a> found in Jordan suggests? We know from this external evidence that a character named \u201cBalaam\u201d is known as an important seer of the time. Internally speaking, there are both positive (praise of Israel) and negative (responsible for sin at Baal Peor according to Numbers 31:16) views of this individual within the book of\u00a0Numbers. According to Professor Carl S. Ehrlich<\/a>: \u00a0\u201cthe Bible is working with at least two portraits of\u00a0Balaam; common to them is that his power resides in his words.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Those words are in four different oracular sections: 23:7-10; 23:18-24; 24:3-9 and 24:15-19.\u00a0The words initially come from God in the first and second oracles (\u201cthe Lord put a word in Balaam\u2019s mouth\u201d) but the final two poetic visions have Balaam using his own words, first, inspired: \u201cthe spirit of God came upon him,\u201d and finally on his own, \u201che took up his theme in a parable and said.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

For this prophet who knows how to use his words, there is a progression.\u00a0As he develops, he comes to understand that though he was initially hired to curse the Israelites by a Moabite king, in fact, it is the Israelites who will eventually be victorious over even the most vicious of their enemies, \u201cA leading nation is Amalek but its fate is to perish forever\u201d (24: 20).<\/p>\r\n

In a portion replete with irony, such as Balaam\u2019s need to be given\u00a0instructions by a speaking female donkey (22:21-35), the announcement of ultimate victory by a gentile prophet paid to prophecy downfall is made that much sweeter.\u00a0These words come from the most prized celebrity seer in the ancient Near East at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The example of Balaam shows that it is not just the words themselves, but who speaks them and how, that give the words their power which is why we need to open this portion with the perceptions of a king from among the nations.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":76689,"alt":"","title":"hos14-thinker 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What's a cartoon series without talking animals? Thank God the Bible includes a loquacious donkey.<\/p>\r\n

Join Rabbi Andy Shapiro Katz for the gutsy, brainy story of a donkey who knew better than its rider.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Uu3-Pi4olZs","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"By: Andy Shapiro Katz ","tile_main_caption":"Balak: Donkeys, Angels, Prophecy in the Torah","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A Bimbam Video","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Uu3-Pi4olZs","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1053"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"},{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"}]},{"order":16,"id":"59681","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Balak: There are at Least Two Sides to Every Story ","post_title":"Balak: There are at Least Two Sides to Every Story","slug":"balak-there-are-at-least-two-sides-to-every-story","old_id":"59681","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":45252,"post_title":"Pardes","slug":"pardes","old_id":"45252","first_name":"","last_name":"Pardes","description":"Pardes Institue of Jewish Studies is an open, co-ed and non-denominational Jewish learning community, based in Jerusalem and with programs worldwide. \r\nThrough relationships with faculty, the community and Jewish texts, students leave Pardes with refined critical thinking, improved communication and interpersonal skills and more nuanced and sensitive perspectives. The Pardes model has inspired four decades of Jewish leadership marked by openness, passion, Jewish literacy, knowledge and inclusivity, and continues to inspire new possibilities for Jewish communities worldwide.","short_description":"Pardes Institue of Jewish Studies is an open, co-ed and non-denominational Jewish learning community, based in Jerusalem and with programs worldwide. \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":45253,"alt":"","title":"Pardes rimon color logo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","width":392,"height":394,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo-298x300.jpg","medium-width":298,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","medium_large-width":392,"medium_large-height":394,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","large-width":392,"large-height":394,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","1536x1536-width":392,"1536x1536-height":394,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","2048x2048-width":392,"2048x2048-height":394,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","post_full_size-width":392,"post_full_size-height":394,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","home_baner-width":392,"home_baner-height":394}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1053","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"An Interactive Parsha Experience, a new family-friendly parsha resource, complete with a parsha summary, questions, games, and activities that can be used around the shabbat table. This interactive resource, produced by The Pardes Center for Jewish Educators, is engaging for all ages.","post_main_content_content":"

Are you able to see things from multiple perspectives? What would it look like to step into our antagonist\u2019s shoes? In this week\u2019s Interactive Parsha Experience,\u00a0<\/a>Rachel Friedrichs, Assistant Director of the Pardes Center for Jewish Studies invites us, and our students, to think more deeply about the motives of Balak and Bilam creating a more nuanced understanding of the text.<\/p>\r\n

And if you have older kids or teens, be sure to check out our\u00a0Parsha Discussion<\/a>\u00a0for a more mature conversation.<\/p>\r\n

To receive an Interactive Parsha Experience weekly email please subscribe with Pardes\u00a0today<\/a>!<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":45256,"alt":"","title":"pardes cover image","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Interactive Family Study Materials","tile_main_caption":"Balak: There Are At Least Two Sides To Every Story","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Download the study guide","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":45256,"alt":"","title":"pardes cover image","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1053"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"}]},{"order":17,"id":"59682","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Balak: Not Reckoned Among the Nations ","post_title":"Balak: Not Reckoned Among the Nations","slug":"balak-not-reckoned-among-the-nations","old_id":"59682","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42813,"post_title":"Covenant & Conversation","slug":"covenant-conversation","old_id":"42813","first_name":"","last_name":"Covenant & Conversation","description":"Covenant & Conversation: Family Edition is a new and exciting initiative from The Office of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. 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Balak, king of Moab, fears the approach of the Israelites. Together with the elders of Midian, he attempts to hire the well-known Mesopotamian prophet Bilam to curse the Jewish people. Bilam consults with God, who tells him not to go, but the Moabites and Midianites return with another offer. This time God instructs Bilam to accompany them but only to say the words He puts in his mouth. After a strange incident where Balaam\u2019s donkey sees an angel blocking the way, Bilam and Balak climb a mountain overlooking the Israelites\u2019 camp.<\/p>\r\n

Three times at different places they prepare altars and sacrifices, but each time, Bilam utters blessings instead of curses. Balak leaves in anger and frustration.<\/p>\r\n

Having been spared Bilam curses, however, the Israelites bring disaster on themselves through bad behaviour, adultery and idolatry. Twenty-four thousand people die in a plague that strikes the camp until Pinchas, in an act of zealotry and passion, rises up against one of the wrongdoers.<\/p>\r\n

Download the Family Edition for Balak\u00a0<\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":42816,"alt":"","title":"covenant and conversation - Sacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","width":723,"height":426,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-300x177.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":177,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","medium_large-width":723,"medium_large-height":426,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","large-width":723,"large-height":426,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","1536x1536-width":723,"1536x1536-height":426,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","2048x2048-width":723,"2048x2048-height":426,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","post_full_size-width":723,"post_full_size-height":426,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-713x420.jpg","home_baner-width":713,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Family Study Materials","tile_main_caption":"Not Reckoned Among the Nations","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"for Parashat Balak","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42816,"alt":"","title":"covenant and conversation - Sacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","width":723,"height":426,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-300x177.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":177,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","medium_large-width":723,"medium_large-height":426,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","large-width":723,"large-height":426,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","1536x1536-width":723,"1536x1536-height":426,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","2048x2048-width":723,"2048x2048-height":426,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","post_full_size-width":723,"post_full_size-height":426,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-713x420.jpg","home_baner-width":713,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1053"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"}]},{"order":18,"id":"47981","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Dust of Jacob ","post_title":"The Dust Of Jacob","slug":"the-dust-of-jacob","old_id":"47981","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36669,"post_title":"Yakov Azriel","slug":"yakov-azriel","old_id":"36669","first_name":"Yakov ","last_name":"Azriel","description":"Yakov Azriel, who lives in Israel, has published five books of poetry in the USA and hundreds of poems in journals and magazines. 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\"Who can count the dust of Jacob, number the seed of Israel? \u2026\" (Numbers 23:10)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Who knows<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>One?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Who knows the one<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Who would have been a painter greater than Chagall<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Had he not been gassed in Treblinka?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Who knows the one<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Who would have been a musician greater than Mahler<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Had he not been hung in Sobibor? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Who knows the one<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Who would have been a writer greater than Kafka<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Had he not been murdered in Maidenek? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Who knows the one<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Who would have been a scientist greater than Einstein<\/span>
\r\n<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u2014 the biologist who would have discovered the cure for cancer,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span> the chemist who would have invented the alternative to oil and coal \u2014 <\/span>
\r\n<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Had he not been drowned in the Danube in Budapest? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Who knows the one<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Who would have been a scholar greater than Rashi, greater than the G'ra, <\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Had he not been shot in Kovno's Ninth Fort? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Who knows the one
\r\n<\/span>Who would have been the Messiah<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Had he not been buried alive in Ponar?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Or did he starve in the Warsaw Ghetto?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Or was he tortured to death by Mengele?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Who knows<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>One?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I know<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>One.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

One<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Is our God in the heavens and the earth.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":107263,"alt":"","title":"-62fcf987a1e40--62fcf987a1e41num23-number 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\u201cMah Tovu and the Transformative Power of Prayer\u201d<\/span><\/a> by Elliot Kaplowitz: What is compelling about this prayer? <\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Numbers 23","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Click to get links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"23","chapter_main_number":"140","date":"20260312","wall_id":"140"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":22,"id":"107256","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points To Ponder: Numbers 23 ","post_title":"Points To Ponder: Numbers 23","slug":"points-to-ponder-numbers-23","old_id":"107256","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":false,"related_cahpter":"140","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    \r\n\t
  1. Sevenses<\/em>. Seven altars. Seven bulls and seven rams. The magical ritual makes use of the number seven, a very powerful magical number. Though not necessarily where God is concerned.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Geography and topography<\/em>. These play a role both in the vantage points and in the parables themselves.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. Between God and humans<\/em>. You\u2019ll find an interesting definition of the differences in verse 19.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Daily Summary","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder: Numbers 23","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"23","chapter_main_number":"140","date":"20260312","wall_id":"140"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/47664"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}