B"H

Friday, Tammuz 11, 5786 / June 26, 2026

In this week’s Parsha, Balak, which is one of the Parshiot read this Shabbat, the Torah tells how Balak, King of Moab, after seeing that the Jewish people were victorious against the two mighty kings, Sichon & Og, feared the Jewish people. He hired Bila’am to come and curse the Jewish nation. He thought that this way he may win in battle against them and get rid of them.

Bila’am, who, as told in the Parsha, was blind on one eye, had special spiritual powers. He was happy to go and curse the Jews. However, he knew that he needed G-d’s permission to do it. When G-d appeared to him in a dream, he told G-d his plan. In the beginning, G-d wouldn’t allow him to go. Later, G-d gave him permission but warned him to say only what He will tell him to say.

On the way, an angel blocked the road three times and the donkey he was riding on, who saw the angel, stopped each time. Bila’am who didn’t see the angel, hit the donkey each time. After hitting the donkey the third time, G-d opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Bila’am: “What have I done to you that you hit me these three times?” The angel told Bila’am, “Go with these men, but you may only speak the words which I will tell you to say.” No matter how much Bilaam tried to curse them, only blessings came out of his mouth. Many of his passages are about the coming of Moshiach.

Q.Why does the Torah tell us that Bila’am was blind on one eye?

A.Tommorow, the twelfth of Tammuz, the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, of blessed memory, was liberated from Russian prison. He was imprisoned for spreading the teachings of Torah. As a result, he was sentenced to death. Then, his death sentence was miraculously exchanged to his being expelled from Russia instead.

As a child, he asked his father, “Why did G-d create us with two eyes? I see even with one eye."

His father replied, “A person needs two eyes so that with the left eye, which represents judgment, he should look at himself in order to find his own faults and correct them. At another person, however, one should always look with the right eye - with compassion and kindness." The Torah tells us that Bila’am had no vision in one eye - he lacked seeing the good in the Jewish people.

In one of the concentration camps, there was a German Nazi commander. He was extremely cruel to the Jews in his camp. He had only one eye seeing, his left eye was made of glass.  It was made so perfect that one couldn’t distinguish it. One evening he called one of the Jews and said to him, “If you can recognize which is my false eye, I will give you a decent meal. But if not, I will shoot you. The Jew looked at him and said, “It’s your left eye.”

“You’re correct,” said the Nazi. “I will give you the meal I promised. But how did you know?”

The Jew answered, “I saw that only your left eye looked at me with sympathy and compassion…”

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SHABBAT  SHALOM

Montreal Shabbat candle lighting time: 8:29 / Shabbat ends: 9:45