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 pers