Parashat Balak
Another classic ParshaPix. Upper-left is from one of the very first ParshaPix Puzzles. It is a BLOCK - B'LAK - BALAK in a nest, which makes it BALAK BEN TZIPOR. Upper-right is a play on the phrase U'K'SAMIM B'YADAM. The elders of Moav and Midyan brought with them all the "tools of the trade", the conjuring and wizardry trade. Rashi explains that Bil'am would not be able to say, "Oh, I left my wand at home", or "I forgot my essence of toad toenails", or whatever. Rashi alternately explains that the elders of Midyan brought a "magic" omen with them to determine if things would work out with Bil'am or not. When Bil'am asked the delegations to sleep over, the Midyanite delegation interpreted his "stall" as a sign that he would not work out well with them. And they left. Thus, the Torah tells us that the elders of MOAV (by not Midyan) stayed with Bil'am. The hand with the sword is that of the angel who was seen by the donkey, but not by Bil'am (at first) and who blocked the donkey's way three times. The donkey is asking (hence, the question mark) why Bil'am struck him three times. The angel repeated the same question. Both times, the term for Three Times is Shalosh Regalim, considered an allusion to the nation that observes the Three Festivals. In the donkey's speech bubble are a matza for Pesach, a Lulav & Etrog for Sukkot, and a Torah for Shavuot. The bull and sheep are the 21 pairs of sacrifices that Bil'am requested of Balak - one pair for each of seven altars, three times over. The lion is the oft-used description by Bil'am of the People of Israel. How many different terms for lion are used and how many times each? And at the bottom of the PP is the ROMACH, the spear that Pinchas used for his zealous protection of G-d's honor in the Zimri-Kozbi affair. See the SDT at the end of the parsha.
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