Parsha:

Balak 

Description

The story of Bil'am has always inspired consternation. Amongst the mysteries unique to this narrative is one of setting - it is the only story in the Torah since the end of Sefer Beresheet where Am Yisrael is not front and center - in fact, during this entire narrative, Am YIsrael isn't even in the background; they are the target and focus of discussion and attempted spiritual ambush - but we never see or hear them. This oddity likely led Haza"l to ascribe "Parashat Bil'am" to Moshe Rabbenu - even though they already credited him with writing most/all of the Torah. There is, however, another way to understand that unusual statement. A Ritb"a suggests, there was a separate book, known as "the book of Bil'am", that Haza"l were able to reference - and this is somewhat substantiated by an odd conversation between R. Hanina and a sectarian (BT Sanhedrin 100). where the latter refers to something he read "in Bil'am's log book". These mysterious statements gained more traction with a remarkable find in Tel Dir-'Alah (Biblical Sukkot, on the East Bank of the Jordan) in February 1967 - the mysterious "Book of Bil'am bar B'eor" Enjoy!