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Parashat Chukat-Balak

Chukat and Balak are read together in most years. Together they cover Numbers 19:1 to 25:9, 191 verses.

Updated September 24, 2026

חֻקַּת־בָּלָק

Book
Numbers
Reading
19:1 to 25:9
Verses
191
Position
39 of 54

Opening verse

וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל־אַהֲרֹן לֵאמֹר׃

And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying:

Numbers 19:1

Read the full text from the start of the portion: Numbers 19 in Hebrew and English.

Summary

Chukat (Numbers 19:1 to 22:1)

The red heifer, whose ashes purify those who have touched the dead, is presented as a law without a stated reason. Then the story jumps almost forty years. Miriam dies at Kadesh and the water gives out. God tells Moses to speak to the rock; he strikes it twice, water flows, and Moses and Aaron are told they will not enter the land. Edom refuses passage. Aaron dies on Mount Hor and Elazar takes his place. The people complain again, serpents attack, and a copper serpent on a pole heals those who look at it. Israel defeats Sichon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan and camps across from Jericho.

Balak (Numbers 22:2 to 25:9)

Balak, king of Moab, sees what Israel did to the Amorites and hires the prophet Balaam to curse them. God first refuses to let Balaam go, then permits it on condition that he say only what he is told. On the road Balaam's donkey sees an angel with a drawn sword and stops three times; Balaam beats her until she speaks. From three hilltops Balak has Balaam look down on the camp of Israel, and each time a blessing comes out instead of a curse, including "How goodly are your tents, O Jacob." Balaam goes home. The portion ends at Shittim, where the people sin with Moabite women and Pinchas acts to stop the plague.

Key moments

  • The red heifer (19:1 to 19:22)
  • Moses strikes the rock (20:1 to 20:13)
  • The copper serpent (21:4 to 21:9)
  • The talking donkey (22:21 to 22:35)
  • "How goodly are your tents, O Jacob" (24:1 to 24:9)
  • The sin at Baal Peor (25:1 to 25:9)

When is Chukat-Balak read?

Upcoming Shabbat readings in the Diaspora calendar:

  • Saturday, July 17, 2027
  • Saturday, July 13, 2030