Balak 5777

Sponsored in loving memory of Sadie Rose Wolff z”l Sarah Rachel bat Avigdor

Service Times

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Parshat Balak

Shabbat Kabbalat Shabbat

19:30

(Candle Lighting)

19:55

Shacharit

09:15

Leining

10:15

Summer Seudah at the Portnoys

20:30

Shabbat Ends

22:51

13 Tammuz 5777 6 July 2017

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Leining

Haftarah

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Weekday Shacharit

Mincha & Ma’ariv

Sun

09:00

19:30

Mon

07:00

19:30

Tues*

06:45

19:30

Wed

07:00

19:30

Thur

07:00

19:30

In this week’s parsha we encounter the only

show us clearly that Hashem protects

Fri

07:00

19:30**

episode in the entire Torah, which records

the Jewish People at all times, and we can

19:50

a narrative that the Jews had no idea was

never know the true extent to which this

taking place.

is true, unless He chooses to share those

Candle Lighting

* 17 Tammuz ** Mincha & Kabbalat Shabbat

Chayim Arukim

to all those who have Yahrzeit this week as follows

Thought For The Week Behind The Scenes

We read the story of Balak, who recruited Bilaam to curse the Jews on his behalf.

details with us. Hashem always acts in our best interests, and even though there may be times where we wish to challenge the

Victor Wolff Ian Halpern Paul Wertheim Aubrey Greene

Mother Father Father Sister

Rose Menachem Malcolm Gruber

Father Father

Muriel Mond

Mother

place, through Hashem’s intervention. The

There could be countless occasions where

13 July 19 Tammuz

Beverley Rosenthal

Mother

Jews were on the brink of receiving curses

we face danger, either individually or collec-

Fri

David Kay Marcia Halpern

Father Father

which could have had destructive results,

tively, and we would be completely oblivious

‫שבת‬

Raymond Crammer Nadine Wagman

Father Mother

but they were saved just in time.

to His hidden Hand, shielding and protecting

Sun

9 July 15 Tammuz

Mon

10 July 16 Tammuz

Tues

11 July 17 Tammuz

Thurs

14 July 20 Tammuz 15 July 21 Tammuz

The story is richly described; the repeated attempts to persuade Bilaam to accept the task, the unique incident with his donkey, the numerous efforts to pronounce his curses, and the blessings he uttered in their

It sounds amazing, and yet, the Jews had no idea that any of this was going on! These

Kiddushim

events happened away from the Jewish

8 July Nursery Leaver’s Shabbat 15 July Michelle & Ben Sallon 22 July Unsponsored

camp, and if Bilaam had been successful,

positive nature of things which appear to us to be bad, we can take comfort from this story that everything He does is for the best.

us. So ‘all’ we have to do is cultivate our faith and trust that Hashem is there for us at all times.

Rabbi Nick Kett

there would have been nothing that they could have done about it.

Shabbat Weather

Hashem places this story in the Torah to

AM Partly Cloudy 19o High 13o Overnight Low

Parsha

verview

First Aliyah - 11 verses Following the victories over the Emorites and the Bashanites, Balak, king of Moav, worries that his nation will be next. He sends messengers to recruit Bilaam, a famed non-Jewish prophet and sorcerer to come and curse the Jews. G-d appears to Bilaam and instructs him not to go to Moav.

Second Aliyah - 8 verses Bilaam sends word with Balak’s messengers that G-d doesn’t permit him to go with them. So Balak sends more prestigious messengers to Bilaam, promising him great riches. This time G-d allows him to go, provided that he only speak the words which G-d dictates to him.

Third Aliyah - 18 verses Bilaam leaves to join Balak. G-d sends an angel to block Balaam’s path. Though Bilaam can’t see the angel, his donkey could, and refused to move, causing Bilaam to strike her. The donkey miraculously speaks. Eventually, G-d allows Bilaam to see the angel. After this humbling episode, Bilaam arrives in Moab where he is greeted by Balak.

Fourth Aliyah - 15 verses Bilaam instructs Balak to build seven altars and offer sacrifices.

G-d dictates to Bilaam the words he should repeat, and then proceeds to shower the Israelites with beautiful blessings and praises.

Fifth Aliyah - 14 verses Balak takes Bilaam to another location, hoping that he could curse the Jews, but to no avail.

Sixth Aliyah - 17 verses The entire process repeats itself once again in another place. At this point, Balak gives up.

Seventh Aliyah - 21 verses Before leaving, Balaam prophesies about the end of days. Moabite and Midianite women seduce many Jewish men. Pinchas kills Zimri and a Midianite princess for their inappropriate behaviour, thus ending a plague that Hashem sent as punishment for the Jew’s immorality.

Moav & Midian were actually enemies, but they united to attack the ‘greater evil’: the Jewish People.

S L E W

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M S I DA

U J F O

Delve into the deeper side of Judaism This week we examine how much power Bilaam had with his words

Do Words Never Hurt?

Was Bilaam actually able to help someone by blessing him, or harm him with a curse? How was it possible for him to inflict a curse even against G-d’s Will? Since G-d had declared that the Jewish people were blessed, how could a curse harm them?

Moreover, if he was able to give blessings, why didn’t he simply cause Balak to be invulnerable to attack, and not bother with cursing the Jews?

rather than seeking honour and wealth from Balak?

Bilaam inflicted curses at the appropriate time.

Neither did Bilaam possess the intrinsic power to inflict a curse. However, G-d did grant him a specific point of insight. Bilaam referred to it when he prided himselfthat he knew “the mind of the Most High” and when he admitted that he was prevented from cursing because G-d’s anger was not aroused.

Daily, there transpires

Had Bilaam cursed the Jewish people during the moment of Heavenly anger, he could G-d forbid have destroyed them. Hashem, however, performed a special kindness for the Jews.

On those days that Bilaam attempted to curse the Jews, He suppressed His anger so that Bilaam was powerless.

The answer is that Bilaam was unable to bestow blessing. He knew it, and therefore made no attempt to bless Moav. A proof that Bilaam’s blessings were ineffective is that when Bilaam blessed himself, his blessing did not work. Bilaam had wished upon himself, “Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his” (23:10).

However, this blessing was not fulfilled, as he suffered an ignoble death by sword at the hands of the Jewish People, and did not merit a portion in the World to Come. Moreover, if he truly possessed the power to bestow blessings, why did he not bless himself to become rich and respected,

Better are wounds inflicted by a friend than the kisses of an enemy. a fraction of a moment when the Heavenly anger is kindled at mankind. This occurs when G-d causes the sun to shine upon the world, and the world’s kings lift their crowns from their heads and bow to it.

Bilaam knew the split second of Divine anger. If he began to pronounce evil upon someone at this moment, G-d allowed the curses to be fulfilled. Taking advantage of this power,

However, Bilaam’s unarticulated curses bore fruit too. All the evil intentions he entertained in his heart were realised during our exile as a result of our sins.

“Better are wounds inflicted by a friend than the kisses of an enemy.”

When the Jewish prophets spoke to the people, their word always contained admonitions and warnings; Bilaam’s blessings, on the other hand, consisted only of praises and compliments. Upon hearing them, the Jews held their heads higher than before. .Based on ‘The Midrash Says’

by Rabbi M. Weiss

If you would like to share your words of wisdom, please submit your article of no more than 500 words to nick@hale-community.org.uk

Parsha Stats Balak is the 40th of 54 sedras 7th of 10 in Bamidbar Written on 177.8 lines in a Torah 104 verses - ranks 34th (8th in Bamidbar) 1455 words - ranks 33rd (8th in Bamidbar) 5357 letters - ranks 35th (8th in Bamidbar)

Did You Know Balak is one of 17 parshiyot that contain no mitzvot.

Balak was weaker than Og and Sichon, which is why he was nervous that he would be liable to attack.

One reason the parsha is named after Balak, is because he was an ‘honest enemy’ of Israel. His intentions and actions were clear-cut, and not hidden behind false smiles and friendships.

Tip #36 Motivating Greatness

TEFILLAH TIPS

Whenever a minyan has engaged in the study of the Oral Law - for example, Mishnah, Halachah, and even Midrash or Aggadah - one of them recites the Rabbi’s Kaddish upon conclusion of the study. Since the first section of the morning prayer service is centred around the passages of study, the Rabbi’s Kaddish is recited before commencing Pesukei Dezimrah. It has become customary in most communities for this Kaddish to

be recited by mourners.

The Kaddish prayer enables a public declaration of Hashem’s greatness, and the people leading the Kaddish therefore accrue the merits of galvanising the community for this Kiddush Hashem. Therefore, mourners typically lead this Kaddish to gain merit for their loved one, even after their passing

Bilaam was given prophecy matched only by Moses, in order that the non-Jews could never contest that the Jews only reached great heights, because of the unique nature of Moses’ prophecy. Bilaam used, and abused, his powers.

Just For Fun Two fish in a tank. One turns to the other and says, “How do you drive this thing?”

The other fish says, “Oh my gosh!

A talking fish!”

2

L

KING AHEAD

In The Spotlight Nursery Leavers

THIS WEEK

As we draw closer to the end of another school year, we highlight the eleven children from our nursery who will be joining new friends in Reception at North Cheshire.

Felix Baron, Sienna Basger, Chloe Brown, Tessa Cahill, Poppy Goldstone, Jasmine Heyman, Aliyah Keller, Ellie Lee, Phoebe Mond, Harper Ordman, and Marli Rubin, will be bidding farewell to their teachers, Mrs. Boswell, Michal Abenson and Hayley Kasmir, and starting life in ‘Big School’ in September.

But not without showcasing their talents in their School Leavers Concert, and in Shule on Shabbat morning. The children will be showing us a glimpse of their concert material at the end of the service, following which, Rabbi Portnoy will present the children with a personal Siddur, and a blessing.

We wish Mazaltov to all the families involved, and wish the children success in their next stage. We also take this opportunity to thank Pauline Newton, and the staff at the nursery for the excellent work they do educating our youngest minds, and the love and care they show them on a daily basis.

Mazaltov to Dinah & Tony Crystal on the birth of a granddaughter.

If you would like to sponsor an edition of ‘Something For Everyone’, in honour of a simcha or for a yahrzeit, or for any reason, please contact the Shule office on 0161 980 8846 or admin@hale-community.org.uk

Jonathan Stross on his engagement to Sarah Nathan.