BALAK

PARSHA PUZZLE:

In this Parsha you will find,

The donkey spoke what was on her mind.

And even though Bilam was a heavy load,

The donkey stopped in the middle of the road.

The Malach had me in his hand,

And Bilam did not understand.

The donkey quickly turned away,

But Bilam wanted her to stay.

Bilam hit the poor donkey,

and threatened her that he will use me.

“Why did you hit me three times just stam?

The donkey asked the shocked Bilam.

I am there when you need me and you know it is true,

Did I ever think to ride on you?

I once was used in a big fight,

If you see me, you might catch a fright.

Never use me for a game,

Because I am sharp and I try to aim.

Do you know what I am?  I think you do.

because now it’s time, to guess this clue…

Answer :  (the sword)

PLAYING WITH THE PARSHA:

As the Bnei Yisrael traveled through the midbar on the way to Eretz Yisrael, they camped together in thousands of tents. When they camped they made sure that no two tents had openings facing each other. This ensured that no one would be able to look into anybody else's tent and invade their privacy.

In this week’s Parsha, Bilaam is impressed by the fact that the children of Israel have set up their tents so that no entrance is overlooked by any other. He utters the sentence 'Ma tovu ohalecha Yaakov mishkenotecha Yisrael. 

He was impressed at how much respect they have for each other.

It is important to give everyone respect and appreciate the differences between each person.  Go around the Shabbos table and talk about what it means to respect someone.  Then ask everyone to tell you:

• What I like about me
• What I like to eat
• What I like about my family
• What I like about school
• What I like to do
• What I like to think about

Everyone might have a different answer, but it reflects their feelings.  Everyone must respect each other’s answers.   A good discussion to follow is, how to keep inside what someone tells you about themselves, in order to protect their privacy.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

Here is a cake that resembles Bilam and his Donkey.

What you will need:

Chocolate Cake

A man figure

A stick figure

A donkey figure

Chocolate Cake:

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

2 cups cold water

1/2 cup cocoa

2/3 cup oil

2 Tbsp vinegar

2 tsp vanilla

Mix all the ingredients together and place in a 9x 13 inch pan or 2 loaf size pans. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Once the cake has cooled assemble the figures on top, to make it look like Bilam is going to hit the donkey! 

Enjoy!  Have a terrific Shabbat!