Questions on Parshas Bolok to think about and discuss:

1. Chazal learn out that there did not stand in Yisroel a prophet like Moshe, implying that there did stand a greater prophet amongst the other nations, namely Bilom. How are we to understand this?
2. Which famous Jewish person descended from Bolok and why did he merit this?
3. What was special about Bilom’s female donkey?
4. What do we know about how Bilom looked?
5. How did the rasha Bilom die and why in this way?
6. Why is it called Parshas Bolok (see Brochos 12b) and not Parshas Bilom (as in the Gemora Bava Basra 14b)?
7. Parshas Bolok was to have been included in the Kriyas Shema, if not for being too long (see Gemora Brochos 12b). How is this to be understood?
8. Bilom was first told he could not go (22:12) and was then told he could go but not curse (22:35). What made this switch?
9. What is the significance of Bilom hitting the donkey three times in three different places until eventually he saw the Malach, Angel?
10. Which possuk, verse, in Parshas Bolok, do we say everyday in davening?
11. If Hashem never got angry during the days when Bilom wanted to curse the Jews, how then could all Bilom’s blessings, besides for one, switch to curses?
12. How was Bilom’s power of prophecy different from Moshe’s since it says that there did not stand another prophet equal to Moshe’s stature amongst the Jews. This implies that there did stand a prophet on par to Moshe amongst the other nations, referring to Bilom (Sifri). How is this to be understood?
13. How was Bilom punished and killed?

Ideas for answers on the general parsha:

2. Rus descended from him in the merit of his bringing 42 korbonous, sacrifices, for the right intentions. He was not looking to annihilate the Jews for who they were but rather was acting in self defense because they were threatening his country. (Gemora Sota 47a)
3. It spoke and this capability was created at the end of the creation of the world – on Erev Shabbos Bein Hashmoshes (Avos, 5:9)…
4. Bilom was blind in one eye and lame in one leg, crushed by his donkey into the wall when the Malach, Angel, was blocking the way.
5. He died when flying in the air with magic with the other kings of Midyon. Pinchos dressed with the Tzitz chased them. When they saw the inscription of Hashem’s Name on the tzitz this stopped the magic and the fell. The Jews below lifted up their swords and this is how he was killed. (Matos, 31:8) This was because “Hakoil Hoil Yakov”, the power of voice belongs to the Jews, “Vihayodayim Yidai Esov“, while the power of the hand and sword belongs to the other nations. Since Bilom switched to use his power of the mouth, through curses, he was punished and died with the power of the sword. (Rashi, Bolok, 22:23) He died at the early age of thirty-three (Gemora Sanhedrin 106b) since the average person lives to seventy (Tehilim  ) and reshoim, evil people, do not live even half this time – i.e. die before thirty five.
10. The possuk of Ma Toyvu…
11. Perhaps it was as if the curses were not removed only were placed on hold. Like the anger of Hashem that was held back during those days. This situation continued – the potential curses are switched to blessings. However, when the Jews are no longer worthy to merit this constant switch that it can revert back to the curses without the override to switch it to blessings.
13. The Mishna (Sanhedrin 90a) brings that Bilom has no portion in the world to come. Bilom also in constantly afflicted with passion that destroys his body and soul (See Gemora Gittin 57a when Onkelos the convert brings up Bilom’s soul when asking him about becoming a Jew). How he was killed was by the sword. It is mentioned in two places: in Parshas Matois (31:8) it brings that he was killed with a sword. In Sefer Yehoshua (13:22) it brings again that he was killed with a sword. The Gemora (Sanhedrin 106b) learns from here that he was killed (not only with the sword) by the four deaths meted out by Beis Din – stoning, burning, beheading and strangulation. This begs the question how can you kill one person with all four deaths simultaneously and why does the possuk, verse, single out to mention his death by the sword? Rashi (ibid) brings that they first hang Bilom (strangulation), then burnt a fire below where they hung him. Then cut off his head (beheading) that fell (like stoning where throw down from height) into the fire (burning). Maharsha (ibid) does not like this explanation since it means that some of these deaths came after he had already died. Instead, he says that to begin with them stoned him a bit (stoning) while he was still a bit alive, then they put a bit of molten iron into his mouth (burning) and then strangled him a bit (strangulation) and while he still was a bit alive then they beheaded him (beheading). With this explanation of the Maharsha we understand why the possuk only mentions him dying by the sword since this was the last one that actually fully killed him.

Questions on Bilom’s power to curse:

1. Hashem’s anger lasted a moment. What already could Bilom have said in such a short time to curse the Jews?
2. In most Ashkenazi Siddurim, after davening it brings six remembrances for every day. In the Siddur of the Chida, taken on by the Sefardim, there are ten remembrances one of which is in remembrance of Parshas Bolok. What is it?
3. There are two ways to make one party victorious. Either by blessing one party to be the stronger one or by cursing one party to be the weaker one that loses. Which one did Bilom use?
4. How do curses work? If a person is deserving of judgement then he gets punished and if not then he doesn’t. Where then do curses come into the picture?
5. How did Bilom’s curse work?
6. If Bilom could only curse at the moment when Hashem gets angry each day, how then could he go on to attempt to curse the Jews by Bolok a few times on the same day, definitely after the time of anger?
7. There are two ways to stop Bilom’s cursing at moment when Hashem was angry. Either by not getting angry or by stopping Bilom’s ability to curse. What could be a reason why Hashem decided to stop His anger as opposed to stopping Bilom’s being able to curse? Why in the pesukim, verses, do we see Hashem constantly objecting and warning Bilom not to go cursing the Jews?
8. How did the curses change to blessings?

Ideas for answers on Bilom’s power to curse:

1. Either he said the word “kaleim“, destroy them. Or, as long as he started cursing in that moment of anger then it could be continued afterwards and would work. (Tosfas Brochos 7a)
2. The remembrance of the tzedoka and kindness of Hashem that during these days when Bilom was attempting to curse at the moment of Hashem’s Anger, during these days there was no anger and therefore no curse. The impact from this effects all future generations and therefore is reason for a daily reminder.
3. The whole discussion revolves around the possuk (22:6) where Bolok says about Bilom: “For i know that whomever you bless is blessed and whomever you curse is accursed“. The Malbim (22:6) brings that Bilom could bless. However, the Sforno says that Bilom could only curse and not bless and here he was just mentioning blessing to honour Bilom. The Netziv adds in the same vein that Bilom knew enough magic to know who naturally would be victorious and only then did he bless them – so it appeared like his blessings worked. The Ibn Ezra brings that he couldn’t curse or bless and that his only power lay in reading the mazolos, zodiac signs, and with this knowledge he told people if they would be successful or would fail.
4. Hashem usually deals with people with the thirteen attributes of mercy, one of which is Erech Apayim, slow to anger. This gives a guilty person more time to repent, before punishment strikes. Bilom knew to curse at the moment of Hashem’s anger. This was a time when the attributes of mercy are not functional and instead it is a time of middas hadin, strict justice, that can be triggered by Bilom’s curse. (Ohr HaChaim, 23:8)
5. Sforno (22:6) brings that Bilom could curse in one of two ways. Either he knew the time when Hashem gets angry every day and cursed at that moment. Alternatively he could curse them by mentioning their sins that creates a persecutor and brings judgement upon them. The Ohr HaChaim says that he used ayin hora, an evil eye.
6. With the Sforno (22:6) mentioned above, we can say that since Bilom used two pathway’s to curse, here he was using the power to curse through ayin hora, evil eye.
7. See the Ibn Ezra (22:9) that had Bilom cursed and Hashem made it not work, nevertheless, when the Jews died later in the plague due to serving the Baal Peor idol, people might say that Bilom’s curses did work causing these deaths.
8. The Gemora (Taanis 20a) brings that the curses of Achiya Hashiloini were better than the blessings of Bilom (cf there). Rashi (ibid) brings that Bilom said a word that could be interpreted as a curse and then the Malach, Angel, added more words that changed it into a blessing.

Sources to use for learning Parshas Bolok:

• Gemora Sanhedrin 105a-106b.
• Gemora Brochos 7a