A Subtle Enemy: Exploring Rashi’s commentary on Balaam’s advice to seduce the Israelites into sin
Jews are naturally repelled by promiscuity. Discover Rashi’s insight into Bilam’s top secret plan to get the Jews to sin in the one area they were vigilant to avoid.
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Rabbi Ari Shishler is the director of Chabad of Strathavon, South Africa
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Join the Discussion
Larissa Nielsen
Stockholm
August 17, 2016
Which three nations are we going to win over in the future before messianic age? Reply
Tash
August 12, 2016
Rabbi, how this shiur is wonderful! Thank you! Reply
Tash
August 7, 2016
Thank you, Rabbi, for this wonderful lecture. Reply
Adonai's Anointed
Pittsburgh
August 1, 2016
Toda raba. Reply
Tash
August 1, 2016
Excellent presentation! thank you Rabbi Shishler! like always! Reply
Three nations Hi Larissa
The Torah identifies those three nations as the "Keini, Knizi and Kadmoni", otherwise known as Edom, Moab and Ammon.
We will only conquer these three nations in the Messianic period, and even then, we are taught that we will conquer them peacefully, i.e. there will be no war.
Every one of the nations associated with Canaan represents an element of our own personalities that needs to be transformed from its primal state into holiness. The seven nations that Joshua conquered represent the seven main paradigms of emotion, which each of us can modify and transform. The three remaining nations represent the three modes of intellectual processing (Chochma/ innovation, Binah/understanding and Da'as/integration), which we will only learn to master and transform when Moshiach comes.
Who are the edom,moab and ammon in this present day world?
Hi Chinedu,
We are taught that when the Assyrian king Sennacherib conquered their lands, he sent them into exile into other countries, where they assimilated completely. For the past 2000 years, we have no knowledge of people with any genealogical ties to these nations.