Parashat Balak (Numbers 22:2 - 25:9)

A weekly Torah exploration for families by Michael S. Raileanu, M.A.Ed.

A weekly Torah exploration for families by Michael S. Raileanu, M.A.Ed.

This is a great parasha! Parashat Balak (Numbers 22:2 - 25:9) rocks. We've got a talking donkey, one of the craziest blessing/curse/blessing scenes in the Torah, and a real bad guy. The t'fillah we sing at the beginning of morninf services, Mah tovu, comes from this parasha but that's just the end of the story of stories in the book of Numbers. This one would make a great movie.

King Balak hires Balaam to curse the Jews. If God is the ruler over everything should the people be afraid of Balaam? Is it possible that he might really have some magical power? Could he be a very special non- Israelite? Does it change your Judaism in anyway if you believe that Balaam had special powers?
Balaam's donkey stops along the road because she sees an angel in the road and will not go past. Why can't Balaam see the angel? What is the difference between "seeing" and "looking"? Can a person look without seeing?
The donkey speaks (Num 22:28-30). Did you know that? Balaam doesn't say anything about how weird it is that his donkey is speaking to him he just answers her. Why doesn't it surprise Balaam that the donkey is speaking? What would you do if the donkey you were riding on started speaking to you? Would you answer it? Do you think that your pets can communicate with you? How do they do it?
Balaam meets with Balak after meeting with the angel. The angel said that what Balaam was going to do was a bad thing. Why does he go ahead with his mission even though he knows that God does not approve and will not let him do it? Have you ever done something even though you knew that it wasn't going to work or that it might just be a bad idea? Why did you do it? How did it turn out? What did you learn from the experience?
Once Balaam gets going with his "curse" he really gets going. He blesses the Israelites over and over. He curses Balak and the other enemies of Israel and nothing Balak says or does can stop him. Have you ever been like that? Have you ever been so excited about something that you just couldn't stop speaking? Or singing? How does that feel? Why do you think Balaam just went on and on? Did you know that "Mah tovu" is part of this "curse"? When do we say that prayer?