Недельная Глава Балак

1. R’ Yehuda He’chassid z”l (Germany; died 1217) asks: Why didn’t Bil’am answer, “I struck the donkey because it pressed my leg against the wall”? And, why did Bil’am say, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing opposite me on the road”? To the contrary, if he didn’t know the angel was there then he did not sin!


The Torah teaches that one is held responsible for what he should have known, even if it was never explicitly commanded.
Bil’am should have known that G-d did not want him to go to Moav. Thus, when Bil’am said, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing opposite me on the road,” he really meant, “for I did not make it my business to know . . .” That is also why he did not make excuses to the angel for hitting his (Bil’am’s) donkey; Bil’am knew that he was in the wrong.


2. "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die"


3.  In the words of our Sages, "Some tomorrows come immediately, while some tomorrows are more distant." 


4."Teruat (the trumpet blast of) the King is bo (in him) ." (Bemidbar 23:21)

R' Nachman of Breslov z"l (1772-1811; great-grandson of the Ba'al Shem Tov and an influential chassidic rebbe in his own right) taught: The word "teruat" ("trumpet blast") also can mean "breaking," as in the verse (Tehilim 2:9), "Tero'em (break them) with an iron rod."Read this way, our verse is teaching that when we break all the lies that cause us to deny G-d's existence, we find that "the King is bo / in it." Within our disbelief itself, G-d can be found.

5.the gemara states that it is blasphemous to pray that one be able to marry a specific person. One should only pray that he be able to marry the "right" person.

6. Балак был большим колдуном, чем Билам. Именно он находил "слабые" места в нашем народе, там, где стоит произнести проклятия, и они могут подействовать. Тора называет его сыном Ципора, то есть сыном птицы. Зоар объясняет, что у Балака была особая птица, которая с помощью колдовства открывала ему тайны и предсказывала будущее. Обладание этой птицей  давало ему особую силу.

Для чего же ему был нужен Билам? Талмуд говорит, что Билам обладал уникальной в мире способностью проклинать. Только он интуитивно чувствовал времена, когда в мире в полную силу действует Мера Суда, его проклятия, произнесённые в эти мгновения, обладали убийственной силой. Можно задать закономерный вопрос.