Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its ...

Does Balaam’s donkey mock him? She disagrees with his plan. She holds fast to her perception of the danger before them. She disobeys his order. These actions do not amount to mockery. Rashi says ...

We read in Parashat Balak of one of the wonders that Hashem created at the twilight of Creation: the power of speech that He gave to Balaam’s donkey (Avot 5:6). The Parasha relatesthat Balaam’s donkey ...

Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its ...

Last week’s parashah, Hukkat, ended with Israel “encamped in Arvot Moav, facing Jericho in Trans-Jordan” (Numbers 22:1), and this week, Parashat Balak opens by telling us that “Balak, son of Zippor, ...

There is a clear parallel between Balak and events in the Book of Exodus. In both narratives, kings (Pharaoh of Egypt and Balak of Moab), alarmed about the success of the Jewish People, conspire to ...

Once upon a time, in the days when men were still men and lizards walked in twos, there was a materialistic, covetous fellow called Balaam, for whom the word ‘enough’ didn’t exist at all. As long as ...

The concept of repentance is one of Judaism’s greatest contributions to religious thought. The concomitant idea, however, that the Eternal may experience a change of heart detrimental to the entire ...

Voices of Faith offers perspectives from religion columnists. This week’s question: What does the Bible mean when it says: What do you make of Balaam and his donkey? Personal responsibility The Rev.

“Anyone who has never read the entire Chumash with Rashi is simply not Jewishly literate,” said Rabbi David Hartman, with whom I was studying 14 years ago at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.