Balak, the king of Moab, is gripped by fear that his kingdom may be overwhelmed by the children of Israel. To avert this threat, he hires Balaam, the renowned sorcerer-prophet, to curse them. After much cajoling, Balaam accedes to Balak’s request, but warns him that, as a true prophet, he can only speak the words that God places in his mouth. Balak then takes Balaam from place to place overlooking the Israelite camp, erecting sacrificial altars at Balaam’s direction. At each location, however, Balak is forced to listen as Balaam blesses Israel rather than curses them.

The Torah introduces each of Balaam’s oracles with the words: “And he took up his theme (mashal) and said” (Numbers 23:7, 18; 24:3). Mashal is often translated as “parable,” providing the rabbis with an opportunity to present two remarkable anecdotes illustrating the far-reaching consequences of seemingly minor Jewish ritual practices.

“So he took up his theme and said.” Let our master instruct us: What penalty does one incur for eating without washing his hands? Our sages taught: Washing one’s hands before a meal is optional, while washing after a meal is obligatory. It once happened that an Jewish innkeeper sold both kosher meat and pork. He concealed his Jewish identity so effectively that no one recognized him as a Jew. Whenever someone entered his establishment without ritually washing his hands (netilat yadayim), he assumed the customer was a non-Jew and served him pork. Whenever someone........

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