|
|
Balak
Numbers
22:2 - 25:9
|
Balak, the King of Moab, summons the
prophet Balaam to curse the people of Israel. On the
way, Balaam is berated by his ass, who sees the
angel that G-d sends to block their way before
Balaam does. Three times, from three different
vantage points, Balaam attempts to pronounce his
curses; each time, blessings issue instead. Balaam
also prophesies on the end of the days and the
coming of Moshiach.
The people fall prey to the charms of the daughters
of Moab and are enticed to worship the idol Peor.
When a high-ranking Israelite official publicly
takes a Midianite princess into a tent, Pinchas
kills them both, stopping the plague raging among
the people.
|
 |
FROM THE WORDS OF OUR SAGES ON
THE PARSHAH:
--And Balak said to Balaam: "I called you to curse
my enemies, and, behold, you have blessed them
altogether" (Numbers 24:10)
It would have been fitting that the rebukes (in the
Book of Deuteronomy) be pronounced by Balaam, and
that the blessings (in the Parshah of Balak) be said
by Moses... But G-d said: Let Moses, who loves them,
rebuke them; and let Balaam, who hates them, bless
them. (Yalkut Shimoni)
This is why the most explicit reference to Moshiach
in the Five Books of Moses is found in the prophesy
of Balaam. Indeed, this is the essence of Moshiach
-- "the greater wisdom that comes from folly, and
the greater light that comes from darkness"
(Ecclesiastes 2:13). (The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
|
|
|
