In Weekly Parsha
Parshat Balak
"How Goodly Are Yours Tents, O Jacob"
Menachem Ginosar 28/06/2009 08:00
Bilaam merited what most others do not: one of the blessings he uttered is said by every Jew each morning. Among the verses we recite daily during the prelude to the morning prayers is Bilaam's paean: "How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel."
There are those who say that by reciting this verse daily, we fulfill HaShem's prophetic injunction, "My people, remember, please, what Balak, king of Moav advised, and how Bilaam the son of Beor answered him, from Sheetim unto Gilgal, so that you may know the righteousness of HaShem"(Micha 6:5). When we recite the phrase beginning "how goodly are your tents" we fulfill HaShem's directive to recall Bilaam's words.
Our Sages, of blessed memory, note that the words "how goodly are your tents" (ma tovu in Hebrew) popped out of Bilaam's mouth after he looked at the encampment of the Children of Israel and discerned that the openings of each family tent were angled away from the openings of neighboring tents [lo k'neged - not "against" or "across from"]. The simple explanation is that the Jewish families arranged the entrances to their dwellings in such a manner in order to safeguard their values of personal modesty.
Some commentators say that the "openings are not against one another" means that the mouths of the people were not opened against each other. The Children of Israel made efforts to ensure that they did not sharpen their tongues against each other, and were careful not to insult each other verbally. They thus merited the choice blessing and compliment of "how goodly are your tents."
May we always act toward each other in a manner that will fulfill Bilaam's blessing so that we may live in peace with our fellow Jews.
There are those who say that by reciting this verse daily, we fulfill HaShem's prophetic injunction, "My people, remember, please, what Balak, king of Moav advised, and how Bilaam the son of Beor answered him, from Sheetim unto Gilgal, so that you may know the righteousness of HaShem"(Micha 6:5). When we recite the phrase beginning "how goodly are your tents" we fulfill HaShem's directive to recall Bilaam's words.
Our Sages, of blessed memory, note that the words "how goodly are your tents" (ma tovu in Hebrew) popped out of Bilaam's mouth after he looked at the encampment of the Children of Israel and discerned that the openings of each family tent were angled away from the openings of neighboring tents [lo k'neged - not "against" or "across from"]. The simple explanation is that the Jewish families arranged the entrances to their dwellings in such a manner in order to safeguard their values of personal modesty.
Some commentators say that the "openings are not against one another" means that the mouths of the people were not opened against each other. The Children of Israel made efforts to ensure that they did not sharpen their tongues against each other, and were careful not to insult each other verbally. They thus merited the choice blessing and compliment of "how goodly are your tents."
May we always act toward each other in a manner that will fulfill Bilaam's blessing so that we may live in peace with our fellow Jews.
