And in Balaam’s prophecies, he speaks of “God, Who took them [the Jews] out of Egypt” (23:22, 24:8). Invoking the Exodus underscores the connection between the narratives.

Balaam does not want the Lord to hear that Balak might adopt more than a defensive posture. The thought of Balak clobbering the Lord’s chosen people, thwarting their march to Canaan, would ...

To facilitate the curse, Balak led Balaam to various vantage points overlooking the Israelite camp. According to ancient belief, for a curse to be effective, the object must be visible.

Balaam declines. Balak sends another delegation of “higher rank” and increases the price. Eventually, Balaam is “persuaded” to travel to Balak and do his bidding.

After rebuffing Balak’s messengers a few times, God comes to Balaam and tells him, “If these men come to call for you again, go with them, but only speak the words I tell to you say ...

Balaam will go on to defy Balak once again, blessing rather than cursing Israel. Is Balaam’s talking donkey the true moral center of the tale? For one moment, yes.

In this week’s Torah portion, “Balak,” we read about the prophet Balaam, who was hired Balak, the king of Moab, to curse the Jewish people as they approached the Land of Israel. But instead ...

Basically, Balaam told King Balak: “I can’t curse the Israelites. God won’t let me. But there’s another way that you can get God to curse them. It’s a back-door approach.

And in Balaam’s prophesies, he speaks of “God, Who took them [the Jews] out of Egypt” (23:22, 24:8). Invoking the Exodus points to the connection between the narratives.

He finds the courage to tell Balak, “I can only utter the word that God puts into my mouth” (as opposed to the curse on the Israelites that Balak desires). There are times when we, like Balaam ...