Who are the Goyim?

Shalom Aleichem Chevra, welcome back! What does it actually mean to be a 'goy' — and what is the Jewish mission to the nations of the world all about? In this shiur we dive deep into the fifth aliyah of Parshat Balak, following Bilam and Balak as they scheme from the mountaintop overlooking the Jewish camp in the plains of Moav. We talk about what Balak was really doing when he brought Bilam up to Rosh HaPisga — it was not just a scenic overlook, it was a spiritual outpost. Balak, who was more powerful in black magic and future-seeing, thought that place held an opening against the Jews because he somehow sensed that Moshe would later die there. We also get into the three meanings hidden inside the word used to describe how Amalek met the Jewish people on the way — chance, coldness, and impurity — and how those three tactics are the exact playbook used against us spiritually even today. We learn what the words 'goy' and 'goyim' actually mean — goy is a single nation, goyim means many nations — and why the Jewish people are called 'goy kadosh,' a holy nation. That holiness is specifically rooted in the rejection of idol worship, sorcery, and divination. We talk about how any person from any nation who rejects idol worship and connects to Hashem can be counted among the righteous of the nations. The whole message of the Jewish people to the world is two things: God is real, and no other force or power has any real pull. We also spend time on Rashi's incredible reading of Bilam's lion blessing — that the Jewish people rise like lions not because of armies or nationalism, but because they wake up in the morning and grab onto mitzvot. Tallis, Shema, tefillin. That is the gasoline of Jewish power. And we close out with Bilam's final plot: since he could not curse the Jews with his mouth, he told Balak to send in the Moabite and Midianite women, and that leads us right to the edge of the Pinchas story, which we look forward to learning more about. If this shiur spoke to you, share it with the Chevra and hit subscribe so you never miss a class! ---------------------------------------------------------- 🔹Join Rabbi Moshe Chaim's Exclusive Content Sign up here 👉 https://www.youtube.com/@ChevraRavMosheChaim/join 🔹Join Rabbi Moshe Chaim's Private Chizzuk Group Sign up here 👉 https://subscribepage.io/join-the-chevra 🔹Visit the Website 👉 https://www.ravmoshechaim.com/ 🔹Newsletter 👉 https://ravmoshechaimchevra.substack.com/ 🔹Discover Beautiful Sacred Art 👉 https://bit.ly/chevra-art 🔹Join us in Yeshiva - in Jerusalem! APPLY HERE👉 https://foundations.aish.com ---------------------------------------------------------- #Torah #Judaism #Spirituality #Parsha #ParshatBalak #Bilam #Balak #GoyKadosh #TorahNation #RavMosheChaim #Chevra #AishHaTorah