Carnegie Shul Chatter – June 21, 2013

Candle lighting time is 8:36

Balak

This week’s parshah is Balak.  The parshah takes place soon after the conquest of the Amorites as the Children of Israel are soon to enter into the Promised Land.

The parshah tells how Balak, king of Moab, summons his prophet, Balaam, to curse the advancing Israelis, but an angel of God intervenes and each time that Balaam attempts to curse the Israelis, a blessing is issued instead.

Eventually, the Israelis advance into and take up residency in Shittim, but once again we see misbehavior by our ancestors.  This time the misbehavior is not in the form of a revolution against Moses, but in the form of harlotry with the daughters of Moab, and worshiping of the gods of Moab.

This obviously does not sit well with God and a plague of death is put upon the people.

One Israelite even goes so far as to bring a Midianite woman into the presence of Moses and all of the congregation of the Children of Israel to perform lewd acts, and this so enrages one Israeli, Phineas (or Pinchas), that Phineas takes a spear and thrusts it through both the man and woman, and the plague is removed from the people.

 

Annual Meeting

Please join us for the Carnegie Shul’s annual meeting this Sunday at 2 pm.

 

 

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