Parashat Balak: Scavenger Hunt
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Devash: Scavenger Hunt

Parashah Scavenger Hunt שְׁאֵלוֹת הַשָּׁבוּעַ

Welcome to Devash's Parashah Scavenger Hunt for Parashat Balak!
  1. What town is Bil’am from? Look for the answer in Aliyah #1 (Bemidbar 22:2-12)
  2. On what condition does God let Bil’am go to Balak? Look for the answer in Aliyah #2 (Bemidbar 22:13-20)
  3. What was the angel of God carrying? Look for the answer in Aliyah #3 (Bemidbar 22:21-38)
  4. What three Hebrew roots are used in some way to mean “curse”? Look for the answer in Aliyah #4 (Bemidbar 22:39-23:12)
  5. What is the name of the second place where Balak tries to curse the people? Look for the answer in Aliyah #5 (Bemidbar 23:13-26)
  6. What famous line from the Siddur is in this aliyah? Look for the answer in Aliyah #6 (Bemidbar 23:27-24:13)
  7. What two nations other than Benei Yisrael does Bil’am see and address before leaving? Look for the answer in Aliyah #7 (Bemidbar 24:14-25:9)
  8. How many words for animals appear in our parashah?
  9. What phrase in our parashah might remind you of Pesah, Shavuot, and Sukkot?
  10. What verbs are used to describe how God makes contact with Bil’am?
Scroll down to see the answers!
Answers: 
  1. The town of Petor. The Torah says פְּתוֹרָה (Petorah), but remember, the ה (heh) at the end of a place just means “to,” as in, “in the direction of Petor” (22:5).
  2. As long as Bil’am will only say whatever God tells him to say (22:20)
  3. A sword (22:31)
  4. The roots א.ר.ר in לְכָה אָרָה־לִּי (“come curse for me”), ק.ב.ה in מָה אֶקֹּב לֹא קַבֹּה אֵ-ל (“how can I curse whom God has not cursed”), and ז.ע.ם in ‘וּמָה אֶזְעֹם לֹא זָעַם ה (another way to say “how can I curse whom God has not cursed”) (23:7-8)
  5. Sedei Tzofim (23:14)
  6. מַה־טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל (mah-tovu ohalekha Yaakov, mishkenotekha Yisrael; how fair are your tents, Yaakov, your dwellings, Yisrael) (24:5)
  7. Amalek and the Keini (24:20-22)
  8. Eleven! צִפּוֹר (tzippor, bird), שׁוֹר (shor, ox), אֲתוֹן (aton, donkey), בָּקָר (bakar, ox), צֹאן (tzon, sheep), פָּר (par, cow), אַיִל (ayil, ram), רְאֵם (re’em, ox), נַחַשׁ (nahash, in our parashah it means “magic,” but it’s the same word for “snake”), לָבִיא (lavi, lion), אֲרִי (ari, another word for lion)
  9. שָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים (shalosh regalim, in our parashah it means “three times,” but in other places it seems to also refer to the holidays when you would walk with your feet to celebrate at the Beit Ha-Mikdash!) (22:28)
  10. וַיָּבֹא (vayavo, God came) (22:9, 20) and וַיִּקָּר (vayikar, God encountered) (23:4, 16). Neither of these terms is ever used to describe God’s communication with Moshe!