Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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Bilam's Journey to Balak

Bilam wakes up in the morning and tells Balak's officers that G-d will not let him go back with them. Due to his conceit, he made it sound like G-d wouldn't let him go because Balak's men weren't prestigious enough . So Balak kept sending more and more officers of higher rank. If Balak knew that G-d forbidding Bilam from going had nothing to do with the rank of the officers he would not have sent more messengers to him.

The messengers told Bilam that Balak said that Bilam should not refuse him as Balak will give him more honor than he had received in the past and that he will obey anything Bilam tells him to do.

Bilam replies that even if Balak were to give him his entire houseful of silver and gold (demonstrating Bilam's greed that he thought not only of silver and gold but of Balak's silver and gold specifically), he would not be able to go against G-d's word even slightly.

Bilam tells these new messengers to stay the night as the others did (thus inadvertently hinting at the fact that they would fail in their efforts just as the first ones did). He says that that night he will see what else G-d will tell him ("what else" was him inadvertently foretelling that G-d would end up adding blessing to the Israelites through him).

G-d comes to Bilam at night and tells Bilam regarding these new men who came to summon him that if it is for Bilam's benefit he should go with them however he should only do what G-d tells him to do.

Bilam thought that he would be able to later on convince G-d to let him curse Israel.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

War with Sichon and Surrounding Nations

The Israelites* send messengers to Sichon the king of the Amorites asking if they can pass through their land. Although they were instructed not to begin talking to them with words of peace, they did so anyways, reassuring the Amorites that if they were to pass, they would not wander in their fields or vinyards nor drink from their wells.

*Side note: Rashi points out that in Devarim 2:22, it is narrated that Moshe was the one who specifically sent these messengers. Rashi says that this is to teach us that the leader and his nation are one and the same.

All of the Canaanite kings paid tribute to Sichon in exchange for Sichon guarding these Canaanite nations against invading armies. So Sichon said no way that can he let the Israelites pass through.

Sichon went out to the desert of Yachaz to attack the Israelites.

Cheshbon, which contained the Amorite city and its surrounding areas was so strongly fortified that according to Rashi, even if it were full of only gnats, no one would be able to conquer it. And Sichon was such a mighty warrior that even if he were in a weak village he should have naturally been victorious.

So G-d miraculously put it into Sichon and the other men on his side to go out into open field to wage war against the Israelites, rather than waiting for the Israelites to come to them and have to fight their fortifications. This way the Israelites were able to more easily fight all of their enemies at once in one open field.

The Israelites indeed won and conquered their land (from Arnon to Yavok, until the chidren of Ammon - as the children of Amon were very strong). . They approached Cheshbon where only women and children were now (who were so confident that their men were going to win they did not keep their city gated as the gnats would have as per Rashi's description).

So the Israelites settled in the Amorite city within Cheshon.

Sichon had conquered Cheshbon from Moav and now it was the Israelites'.

Sichon was unable to conquer the Moavites naturally so he hired Bilam to curse it. This is the basis of what Balak later says regarding Bilam (see later on in Bamidbar 22:6) that whatever Bilam curses is cursed and whatever he blesses is blessed.

Chumash now details a poem that Bilam and his father Be'or declared regarding this war which Sichon waged against Moav. (see the text Bamidbar 21:27-35).

It details how Cheshbon conquered Sichon and how Moav suffered as a result. And how the Israelites settled in the land of the Amorites. And then Moshe sent spies to capture Yaezer and its suburbs, driving away the Amorites who were there. And these spies declared that they were not like the spies who went into the Land of Israel in that they would listen to Moshe this time. The Israelites then ascended, passing by Og, the king of Bashan. G-d told Moshe not to fear Og, who Moshe did somewhat fear as he thought that Og might have the merit of Avraham upon him since he alone survived escaping from the Rephaim when Chedarlaomer struck (see Breishis 14:5). Moshe struck Og and his sons and people until none of his people survived and the Israelites conquered that land.

The Israelites journey and encamp in the plains of Moav opposite the Jordan near Yericho.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

The King of Edom Says No to the Israelites Passing through His Land

Moshe sends messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom asking if they can pass through his land.

The messengers are to tell Kadesh that his people are the Israelites' brothers, in having also descended from Avraham (through Esav). Thus they were also supposed to suffer the exile and hardships in Egypt but only the Israelites did. The text mentions that the patriarchs suffered as well from their exile from which Rashi derives that the patriarchs suffer in their grave whenever the Israelites are punished.

Moshe said that it was their prayers, which they inherited from their forefathers which G-d heard and through which He rescued them.

Since only the Israelites paid the debt they were due, since Esav separated from Yaakov, the Edomites should understand that the Israelites are the rightful heirs to the Land of Israel and thus help them by letting them pass through their land to get there.

Moshe did not hope to appeal to Kadesh's brotherly feelings in bringing this up but rather to his sense of justice. He brought up the inheritance of the land as well in order to try to intimidate Kadesh.

Moshe says that although they have their own manna and well for water, they will purchase all of their food and water from the Edomites so the Edomites can benefit from their passing. He says that they will muzzle their animals so they don't veer to the right or to the left as they pass through.

The king of Edom says that he will not let them pass and just as they pride themselves with what they inherited from their forefathers, namely prayer, he prides himself on what his forefathers gave to him, i.e "By the sword shall you live" (Breishis 27:40) and will attack the Israelites if they pass through with a strong and large army.

So the Israelites turn away from them.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Moshe Hits the Rock

G-d tells Moshe that he should take the staff and he and Aaron should gather all of the Israelites together and speak to the rock and the Israelites will see the rock giving them water. The rock will then provide drink for them and their animals*.

*Side note: Rashi points out that in including their animals in the text, this indicates the compassion G-d has for the property of Israel.

So as G-d commanded him to do, Moshe takes the staff and Moshe and Aaron gather everyone before the rock. The area where they gathered was technically too small to hold them, however this is one of several instances in scripture where a small place held something which was technically too big for it (Shmot 9:8, Vayikra 8:3 and Yehoshua 3:9 are other examples).

When the well departed, this designated rock got mixed up with the other rocks and the Israelites said, what difference does it make which rock you bring water out of? Moshe replied by calling them rebels for trying to tell them to get water from a rock that they were not commanded to.

By mistake, Moshe speaks to the wrong rock which does not bring forth water. So they reason that maybe they have to hit the rock, as they did earlier (see Shmos 17:6).

Then they come across the correct rock and Moshe strikes it. It brings forth only a few drops however since G-d did not instruct Moshe to strike it, only to speak to it.

So Moshe then strikes the rock a second time and much water comes gushing out from which all of the people and animals drank.

G-d tells Moshe and Aaron that because of this act of striking the rock which displayed a lack of faith, they will be punished to not enter into the land of Israel.

Aaron was punished as well for this since he could have stopped Moshe from hitting the rock but he did not.

If not for this sin, they would have entered into the land. Although earlier Moshe also erred in saying "If sheep and cattle were slaughtered for them would it suffice for them?"( Bamidbar 11:22) which seemingly called into question G-d's power, the instance of hitting the rock was more severe because it was done in public in front of all of the Israelites, when he had the opportunity to sanctify G-d's name by speaking to the rock and he did not.

Moshe hit the rock out of anger. If he would not have gotten angry he would not have been punished so.

These waters are considered the waters of strife which were originally mentioned by Pharoah's astrologers who foresaw that the savior of Israel would be stricken through water (which is why they decreed that all male Israelites should be thrown into the water (see Shmos 1:22).

Because Moshe and Aaron were judged by G-d through these waters, G-d was sanctified through them.