This week’s parasha, Balak, relates the evolution of Balaam, a magician dispatched by the king of the Moabites to curse the Israelites. This parable gives profound insight into how we can overcome our sometimes narrow-minded view of the world by eroding often deeply ingrained preconceptions of other communities. It also sheds light on the tug-of-war inside each one of us between our inner moral compass, on the one side, and societal pressure to uphold the dictates of commonly accepted perspectives, on the other.