Some people just thrive on being prophets of doom. One such person was the King Balak in this week’s parsha of the same name. Noting the approach of the Jewish people into his fiefdom, he spreads the stories of Jewish successes against Egypt, the Midianites and the Amalekites, embellished with stories of supposed Jewish excesses.  He wants to engender fear so to rally his people to confront the Jewish people.