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Remote Youth Groups!!! Parshas Balak June 26Th 2021 16 Tammuz

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Remote Youth Groups!!! Parshas Balak June 26Th 2021 16 Tammuz Remote Youth Groups!!! Parshas Balak June 26th 2021 16 Tammuz 5781 Parsha Summary and Discussion In the previous Parshah, we read about how when other nations attacked the Jews, they were badly defeated and their lands were conquered? So in this week's Parshah we learn that Balak, the king of Moav, has seen what's happened to those other nations and he's terrified. But he knows that he if he tries to fight the Jews, he will lose. So he thinks of a better plan. He will hire a prophet to curse the Jews, and then he will able to be victorious over them. So he hires Balaam, a non-Jewish prophet, to curse the Jews, and Balaam saddles his donkey and sets out on his journey. G-d sends an angel to block his path, and Balaam's donkey, seeing the angel, goes off the road to bypass the angel. Balaam, who doesn't see the angel, beats the donkey for going off the road. The donkey then opens its mouth and starts speaking to Balaam, asking why he is beating her! Then Balaam sees the angel who tells him that he should know that he will not be able to curse the Jews and will only be able to say what G-d allows him to. So Balaam arrives at his destination, and King Balak and all the dignitaries are there, waiting for Balaam to come and curse the Jews. Balaam begins to speak, and instead of cursing the Jews, he blesses them! Balak tells Balaam, "What did you do?! I hired you to curse the Jews, and instead you're blessing them!" Balaam replied that he can only say the words that G-d puts into his mouth. Balak takes Balaam to another mountain, hoping that a change of place will allow him to be more successful in cursing the Jews. But when Balaam opens his mouth again, he says more blessings! This time, Balak just says, "Enough! Don't curse them and don't bless them. Just don't say anything!" But Balak really wants it to work , so they go to one last place. There, once again, Balaam opens his mouth and out come blessings. Finally, Balak gets really angry, saying, "I hired you to curse my enemies, and instead you blessed them three times!" Balaam answers that he can only say the words that G- d puts in his mouth and then ends off with a prophecy about the time of Moshiach. Unfortunately, the Jews then begin to sin by serving idols and being with non-Jewish woman. A man named Zimri takes a Midianite woman to his tent, and a fierce plague starts spreading, killing many Jews. Pinchas, the grandson of Aaron, knows what he must do. He takes his spear and kills Zimri and the woman, and the plague stops. Stay tuned. Next week we hear about Pinchas' reward for this heroic deed. Parsha Questions: 1.Who was the king of Moav: A: Balak Q: Why did Balak hire Bilaam the Navi? A: To curse the Jewish people Q: Did Bilaam agree to go right away? A: No Q: Why did Hashem give prophecy to an evil person like Bilaam? A: To give the other nations an equal chance to become better Q: What did Hashem send to block Bilaams path? A: An angel holding a sword Q: What miracle happened with Bilaams donkey? A: It spoke Q: What did the donkey say? A: “What did I do that you hit me 3 times?” Q: Why couldn’t Bilaam curse the Jewish people? A: Bilaam was unable to do against Hashem’s will Q: What was the famous blessing of Bilaam that we say as part of our davening? A: Mah Tovu Q: What was so special about the tents of the Bnei Yisroel A: Their modesty – that the doorways didn’t face each other Harder Questions: Why did Moav consult specifically with Midian regarding their strategy against the Jews? 22:4 - Since Moshe grew up in Midian, the Moabites thought the Midianites might know wherein lay Moshe's power. What was Balak's status before becoming Moav's king? 22:4 - He was a prince of Midian. Why did G-d grant prophecy to the evil Bilaam? 22:5 - So the other nations couldn't say, "If we had had prophets, we also would have become righteous." Why did Balak think Bilaam's curse would work? 22:6 - Because Bilaam's curse had helped Sichon defeat Moav. When did Bilaam receive his prophecies? 22:8 - Only at night. G-d asked Bilaam, "Who are these men with you?" What did Bilaam deduce from this question? 22:9 - He mistakenly reasoned that G-d isn't all-knowing. How do we know Bilaam hated the Jews more than Balak did? 22:11 - Balak wanted only to drive the Jews from the land. Bilaam sought to exterminate them completely. What is evidence of Bilaam's arrogance? 22:13 - He implied that G-d wouldn't let him go with the Moabite princes due to their lesser dignity. In what way was the malach that opposed Bilaam an angel of mercy? 22:22 - It mercifully tried to stop Bilaam from sinning and destroying himself. How did Bilaam die? 22:23 - He was killed with a sword. Why did the malach kill Bilaam's donkey? 22:33 - So that people shouldn't see it and say, "Here's the donkey that silenced Bilaam." G-d is concerned with human dignity. Bilaam compared his meeting with an angel to someone else's meeting with an angel. Who was the other person and what was the comparison? 22:34 - Avraham. Bilaam said, "G-d told me to go but later sent an angel to stop me. The same thing happened to Avraham: G-d told Avraham to sacrifice Yitzchak but later canceled the command through an angel." Bilaam told Balak to build seven altars. Why specifically seven? 23:4 - Corresponding to the seven altars built by the Avot. Bilaam said to G-d, "The Jewish People's ancestors built seven altars, but I alone have built altars equal to all of them." Who in Jewish history seemed fit for a curse, but got a blessing instead? 23:8 - Yaakov, when Yitzchak blessed him. Why are the Jewish People compared to lions? 23:24 - They rise each morning and "strengthen" themselves to do mitzvot. On Bilaam's third attempt to curse the Jews, he changed his strategy. What was different? 24:1 - He began mentioning the Jewish People's sins, hoping thus to be able to curse them. What were Bilaam's three main characteristics? 24:2 - An evil eye, pride and greed. What did Bilaam see that made him decide not to curse the Jews? 24:2 - He saw each tribe dwelling without intermingling. He saw the tents arranged so no one could see into his neighbor's tent. What phrase in Bilaam's self-description can be translated in two opposite ways, both of which come out meaning the same thing? 24:3 - "Shatum ha'ayin." It means either "the poked-out eye," implying blindness in one eye; or it means "the open eye", which means vision but implies blindness in the other eye. Bilaam told Balak that the Jews' G-d hates what? 24:14 - Promiscuity. Good Shabbos!! .
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