July 20, 2024 | 15 Chamiyshiy (Av)
Parshat: Bemidbar (Numbers) 22:2 - 25:9
And Balaq the son of Tsippor saw את all that Yashar’el had done to the Emoriym. 3 And Mo’av was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Mo’av was distressed because of the children of Yashar’el. 4 And Mo’av said unto the elders of Midyan: Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licks up את the grass of the field. And Balaq the son of Tsippor was king of the Mo’aviym at that time. 5 He sent messengers therefore unto Bil`am the son of Be`or to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying: Behold, there is a people come out from Mitsrayim: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me: 6 Come now therefore, I pray you, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: perchance I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I know that he את whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed. 7 And the elders of Mo’av and the elders of Midyan departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Bil`am and spoke unto him the words of Balaq. 8 And he said unto them: Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as Yahuah shall speak unto me: and the princes of Mo’av abode with Bil`am. 9 And Elohiym came unto Bil`am, and said: What men are these with you? 10 And Bil`am said unto Elohiym, Balaq the son of Tsippor, king of Mo’av, has sent unto me, saying, 11 Behold, there is a people come out of Mitsrayim, which covers the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; perchance I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out. 12 And Elohiym said unto Bil`am: You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people: for they are blessed. 13 And Bil`am rose up in the morning and said unto the princes of Balaq: Get you into your land: for Yahuah refuses to give me leave to go with you. 14 And the princes of Mo’av rose up, and they went unto Balaq, and said: Bil`am refuses to come with us.
15 And Balaq sent yet again princes, more, and more honorable than they. 16 And they came to Bil`am and said to him: Thus says Balaq the son of Tsippor: Let nothing, I pray you, hinder you from coming unto me: 17 For I will promote you unto very great honor, and I will do whatsoever you say unto me: come therefore, I pray you, curse me את this people. 18 And Bil`am answered and said unto the servants of Balaq, If Balaq would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the Word of Yahuah Elohai, to do less or more. 19 Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what Yahuah will say unto me more. 20 And Elohiym came unto Bil`am at night and said unto him: If the men come to call you, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto you, that shall you do. 21 And Bil`am rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Mo’av.
22 And Elohiym’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of Yahuah stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the ass saw the angel of Yahuah standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way and went into the field: and Bil`am smote the ass, to turn her into the way. 24 But the angel of Yahuah stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. 25 And when the ass saw the angel of Yahuah, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Bil`am's foot against the wall: and he smote her again. 26 And the angel of Yahuah went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the ass saw the angel of Yahuah, she fell down under Bil`am: and Bil`am's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. 28 And Yahuah opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Bil`am: What have I done unto you, that you have smitten me these three times? 29 And Bil`am said unto the ass: Because you have mocked me: I would there were a sword in my hand, for now would I kill you. 30 And the ass said unto Bil`am: Am not I your ass, upon which you have ridden ever since I was yours unto this day? Was I ever wont to do so unto you? And he said, Nay. 31 Then Yahuah opened the eyes of Bil`am, and he saw the angel of Yahuah standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head and fell flat on his face. 32 And the angel of Yahuah said unto him: Wherefore have you smitten your ass these three times? Behold, I went out to withstand you, because your way is perverse before me: 33 And the ass saw me and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain you, and saved her alive. 34 And Bil`am said unto the angel of Yahuah, I have sinned; for I knew not that you stood in the way against me: now therefore, if it displeases you, I will get me back again. 35 And the angel of Yahuah said unto Bil`am: Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto you, that you shall speak. So Bil`am went with the princes of Balaq.
36 And when Balaq heard that Bil`am had come, he went out to meet him unto a city of Mo’av, which is in the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost coast. 37 And Balaq said unto Bil`am: Did I not earnestly send unto you to call you? Wherefore came you not unto me? Am I not able indeed to promote you to honor? 38 And Bil`am said unto Balaq: Lo, I am come unto you: have I now any power at all to say anything? The word that Elohiym puts in my mouth, that shall I speak. 39 And Bil`am went with Balaq, and they came unto Qiryat Chutsoth. 40 And Balaq offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Bil`am, and to the princes that were with him. 41 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balaq took Bil`am, and brought him up into the high places of Ba`al, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.
Chapter 23
1 And Bil`am said unto Balaq: Build me here seven altars and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams. 2 And Balaq did as Bil`am had spoken; and Balaq and Bil`am offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. 3 And Bil`am said unto Balaq: Stand by your ascending smoke offering, and I will go: perchance Yahuah will come to meet me: and whatsoever he shows me I will tell you. And he went to a high place. 4 And Elohiym met Bil`am: and he said unto him: I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram. 5 And Yahuah put a word in Bil`am's mouth, and said, Return unto Balaq, and thus you shall speak. 6 And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his ascending smoke sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Mo’av. 7 And he took up his parable and said: Balaq the king of Mo’av has brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying: Come, curse me Ya`aqov, and come, defy Yashar’el. 8 How shall I curse, whom El has not cursed? Or how shall I defy, whom Yahuah has not defied? 9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. 10 Who can count the dust of Ya`aqov, and the number of the fourth part of Yashar’el? Let me die the death of the yashariym, and let my last end be like his! 11 And Balaq said unto Bil`am: What have you done unto me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them altogether. 12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that את which Yahuah has put in my mouth? 13 And Balaq said unto him: Come, I pray you, with me unto another place, from whence you may see them: you shall see but the utmost part of them and shall not see them all: and curse me them from thence.
14 And he brought him into the field of Tsophiym, to the top of Picgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. 15 And he said unto Balaq: Stand here by your ascending smoke offering, while I meet Yahuah yonder. 16 And Yahuah met Bil`am, and put a word in his mouth, and said: Go again unto Balaq, and say thus. 17 And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his ascending smoke offering, and the princes of Mo’av with him. And Balaq said unto him: What has Yahuah spoken? 18 And he took up his parable, and said: Rise up, Balaq, and hear; hearken unto me, you son of Tsippor: 19 El is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of A’dam, that he should repent: has he said, and shall he not do it? Or has he spoken, and shall he not make it good? 20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he has blessed; and I cannot reverse it. 21 He has not beheld iniquity in Ya`aqov, neither has he seen perverseness in Yashar’el: Yahuah Elohayu is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. 22 El brought them out of Mitsrayim; he has as it were the strength of a reym. 23 Surely there is no enchantment against Ya`aqov, neither is there any divination against Yashar’el: according to this time it shall be said of Ya`aqov and of Yashar’el: What has El wrought! 24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eats of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.
25 And Balaq said unto Bil`am: Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. 26 But Bil`am answered and said unto Balaq: Told not I you, saying: All that Yahuah speaks, that I must do?
27 And Balaq said unto Bil`am: Come, I pray you, I will bring you unto another place; perchance it will please Elohiym that you may curse me them from thence. 28 And Balaq brought Bil`am unto the top of Pe`or, that looks toward Yeshiymon. 29 And Bil`am said unto Balaq: Build me here seven altars and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. 30 And Balaq did as Bil`am had said and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
Chapter 24
1 And when Bil`am saw that it pleased Yahuah to bless Yashar’el, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Bil`am lifted up his eyes, and he saw Yashar’el abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the Ruach Elohiym came upon him. 3 And he took up his parable and said: Bil`am the son of Be`or has said, and the man whose eyes are open has said: 4 He has said, which heard the words of El, which saw the vision of El Shaddai, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: 5 How goodly are your tents, O Ya`aqov, and your tabernacles, O Yashar’el! 6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which Yahuah has planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. 7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. 8 El brought him forth out of Mitsrayim; he has as it were the strength of a reym: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. 9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesses you and cursed is he that curses you.
10 And Balaq's anger was kindled against Bil`am, and he smote his hands together: and Balaq said unto Bil`am, I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have altogether blessed them these three times. 11 Therefore now flee to your place: I thought to promote you unto great honor; but, lo, Yahuah has kept you back from honor. 12 And Bil`am said unto Balaq: Spoke I not also to you messengers which you sent unto me, saying: 13 If Balaq would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of Yahuah, to do either good or bad of my own mind; but what Yahuah says, that will I speak? 14 And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise what this people shall do to your people in the latter days.
15 And he took up his parable, and said: Bil`am the son of Be`or has said, and the man whose eyes are open has said: 16 He has said, which heard the words of El, and knew the knowledge of El Elyon, which saw the vision of El Shaddai, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: 17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Ya`aqov, and a Scepter shall rise out of Yashar’el, and shall smite the corners of Mo’av, and destroy all the children of Sheth. 18 And Edom shall be a possession, Se`iyr also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Yashar’el shall do valiantly. 19 Out of Ya`aqov shall come he that shall have dominion and shall destroy him that remains of the city.
20 And when he looked on Amaleq, he took up his parable, and said: Amaleq was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perishes forever. 21 And he looked on the Qeyniyiym, and took up his parable, and said: Strong is your dwelling place, and you put your nest in a rock. 22 Nevertheless the Qayiniy shall be wasted, until Ashshur shall carry you away captive. 23 And he took up his parable, and said: Alas, who shall live when El does this! 24 And ships shall come from the coast of Kittiym, and shall afflict Ashshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish forever. 25 And Bil`am rose up and went and returned to his place: and Balaq also went his way.
Chapter 25
1 And Yashar’el abode in Shittiym, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Mo’av. 2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their elohiym: and the people did eat and bowed down to their elohiym. 3 And Yashar’el joined himself unto Ba`al Pe`or: and the anger of Yahuah was kindled against Yashar’el. 4 And Yahuah said unto Mosheh: Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before Yahuah against the sun, that the fierce anger of Yahuah may be turned away from Yashar’el. 5 And Mosheh said unto the judges of Yashar’el: Slay ye everyone his men that were joined unto Ba`al Pe`or.
6 And, behold, one of the children of Yashar’el came and brought unto his brethren a Midyaniyth woman in the sight of Mosheh, and in the sight of all the assembly of the children of Yashar’el, who were weeping before the door of the Tabernacle of the assembly. 7 And when Piynechac, the son of El`azar, the son of Aharon the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the assembly, and took a javelin in his hand; 8 And he went after the man of Yashar’el into the tent, and thrust both of them through, את the man of Yashar’el, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Yashar’el. 9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
Haftorah: Miykah (Micah) 5:6 - 6:8
And they shall waste the land of Ashshur with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from Ashshur, when he comes into our land, and when he treads within our borders. 7 And the remnant of Ya`aqov shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from Yahuah, as the showers upon the grass, that tarries not for man, nor waits for the sons of men.
8 And the remnant of Ya`aqov shall be among the other nations in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he goes through, both treads down, and tears in pieces, and none can deliver. 9 Your hand shall be lifted up upon your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off. 10 And it shall come to pass in that day, says Yahuah, that I will cut off your horses out of the midst of you, and I will destroy your chariots: 11 And I will cut off the cities of your land, and throw down all your strongholds: 12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of your hand; and you shall have no more soothsayers: 13 Your graven images also will I cut off, and your standing images out of the midst of you; and you shall no more worship the work of your hands. 14 And I will pluck up your Asherah poles out of the midst of you: so will I destroy your cities. 15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.
Chapter 6
1 Hear ye now את what Yahuah says; Arise, contend you before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. 2 Hear ye, O mountains, Yahuah’s controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for Yahuah has a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Yashar’el. 3 O my people, what have I done unto you? And wherein have I wearied you? Testify against me. 4 For I brought you up out of the land of Mitsrayim and redeemed you out of the house of servants; and I sent before you Mosheh, Aharon, and Miryam. 5 O my people, remember now what Balaq king of Mo’av consulted, and what Bil`am the son of Be`or answered him from Shittiym unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of Yahuah.
6 Wherewith shall I come before Yahuah, and bow myself before the high Elohiym? Shall I come before him with ascending smoke offerings, with calves of a year old? 7 Will Yahuah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what Yahuah requires of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your Elohiym?
Besorah: Marqus (Mark) 11:12-26
And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. 14 And Yahusha answered and said unto it: No man eat fruit of you hereafter forever. And his Talmidiym heard it.
15 And they come to Yerushalayim: and Yahusha went into the Temple and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the Temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; 16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the Temple. 17 And he taught, saying unto them: Is it not written,
My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer?
but ye have made it a den of thieves.
18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people were astonished at his doctrine. 19 And when evening was come, he went out of the city.
20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Kepha calling to remembrance said unto him: Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which you cursed is withered away. 22 And Yahusha answering said unto them: Have faith in Elohiym. 23 For amein I say unto you: That whosoever shall say unto this mountain: Be removed and be cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says. 24 Therefore I say unto you: What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 25 And when ye stand praying, forgive את, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your transgressions.