Balaam's Curses turn to Blessings

A taste of Shazak Parsha, where the weekly Torah portion comes alive! Geared for kids... Great for adults!

The details differ (a tiger raised in a Brooklyn apartment, a circus lion losing it in the ring) but the basic story is the same: a large cat "suddenly" sheds its domesticated persona and... well, you don't want to be in its way when that happens

Balak hated the Jews—but for good reason; in his estimation, they presented a mortal threat to him. Balaam, on the other hand, like so many anti-Semites throughout the ages, hated the Jews for no reason at all...

At each of their stops over their forty-year trek, the people made sure to erect their tents in a modest arrangement. Apparently, it was this exceptionally sensitive quality amongst them that made it impossible for Balaam to harm them.

"He was one of the most inspiring teachers we've had," Ben said. "He managed to make us feel like we were in control of our studies and that we could do better or worse based on our choices."

Our role as Jews is to be an example. The Torah describes us, thousands of years ago, as expressing the virtues of modesty and privacy.

G‑d has given us something far, far superior to "Donkeyvision": the challenge of liberty and the gift of discernment...

Balaam blessed the Jews, praising the "goodliness of their tents." What was the malicious intent behind these words?

The borderless war by terrorism is a new phenomenon, but its roots are age-old: an ideology of discontent that causes people to be disgusted by, and ultimately hate, cultures different than theirs.

We all know the story of how Balaam's curses turned into blessings. But according to the Talmud, most of them turned back into curses