Balak precedes the Fast of the Fourth Month (that’s what the navi calls Shiv’a Asar b’Tammuz) almost 80% of the time. That includes, in Chutz LaAretz, the years when Shavuot is Friday-Shabbat an ...

Balak was evil – he did not want to elevate himself to the level of Am Yisrael, he wanted to reduce Am Yisrael down to his level, or even lower.