Parashat: Balak

Parashat: Balak
Numbers 22:2–25:9

“Moab was alarmed because that people was so numerous.”

— Numbers 22:3

In the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Balak, the king of Moab, fears the presence of the Israelites, and worried that they are too numerous to defeat, he hires Balaam to curse the Israelites so that they can be weakened and ultimately defeated. This echoes the words of Pharaoh from the beginning of the book of Exodus, when his claims that the Israelites were too numerous became the pretext for enslaving them (and later for the killing newborn baby boys when the population continued to increase). Of course, just as Pharoah ultimately came to ruin and the Israelites were freed, Balak’s plan fails, and Balaam, after some divine intervention (and a talking donkey), blesses the Israelites instead of cursing them.

— Rachel Peteroff Kessler