Parshat Balak (Numbers 22:2-25.9)
In Parshat Balak we receive words of blessing from the non-Israelite prophet Balaam. The Torah, and subsequently the sages, see Balaam as a true prophet, one who has true communication with God. Balaam is not a prophet on the same level or of the same stature as Moshe – no one is – but he’s up there. Not only that, but the words of this nonIsraelite prophet make their way into our morning liturgy.
מַה־טֹּ֥בוּ אֹהָלֶ֖יךָ יַעֲקֹ֑ב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶ֖יךָ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel!
Ma Tovu (Numbers 24:5) is but a simple blessing on the goodliness of Israel’s homes. But if COVID has shown us anything, it is that we can no longer take anything for granted. This includes the the meaning of אֹהָלֶ֖יךָ/ Ohalecha – your tents or מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶ֖יךָ/Mishkenatecha your dwellings or sanctuaries.
So let’s parse this out – what is a home?
As Ma Tovu is a 6 word blessing, here are 6 synonyms for the word home. The number 6 isn’t truly meaningful here, it just felt right. Though, when one thinks about it – God did create the world in 6 days. So perhaps in those 6 days we were given a variety of meanings and understandings of the word “home.”
- Ohel – (tent) – ohel mohed, Tent of Meeting that housed the ark in the desert
- Mishkan (dwelling place) term used for the portable Tabernacle
- Bayit –(house) an intimate domestic space sheltering families from the element
- Heichal (palace) the abode of a king
- M’on (refuge) where wild beasts seek safety from predators
- Makom (place) my favorite meaning of all. It is one of the many names of the Omnipresent God in our lives and experiences BUT it also means just a space – of ANY kind that we decide we want to designate as “home.”
What did Balaam see when he went to curse the Israelites for Balak, King of the Moabites?
According to Rashi, when Balaam looked out from Mt Peor over the Israelite camp, he saw the Israelites encamped in such a way as to guarantees the privacy for each home. The tents/dwelling were placed such that they did not directly face one another, thereby ensuring that one could not look into another’s private spaces or eavesdrop on each other’s conversations. To Rashi, this shows a people with great modesty and respect for each other; concepts that are foreign for Balaam who was raised in an idolatrous and immoral culture.
Rabbi J.H. Hertz, who edited the Hertz Chumash, says Balaam was swept away in rapt admiration of the Israelite encampments and homes that were arranged so harmoniously and peacefully. He goes on to define the word tents as the tents of Torah and dwellings as synagogues. He wrote, “There loomed up before Balaam’s mental vision the schoolhouses and synagogues that ever been the source and secret of Israel’s spiritual strength. “ (p678 Hertz Chumash)
Much later than the Torah, the Talmud in Bava Batra 60a uses Ma Tovu as the source of a ruling that one cannot build a door directly opposite the door of a neighbor or make a window in line with a neighbor’s window. This ensures privacy and respect of personal dignity and is in keeping with the value of modesty in behavior. The Talmud writes that when Balaam saw the tents aligned (or one could say "mis"aligned) in such a way he said, "If this is the case, these people are worthy of having the Divine Presence rest on them."
There are so many cliches about homes: Home is where the heart is. A man’s home is his castle. There's no place like home. ....
I want to look a bit more closely at Ma Tovu and discerning a new meaning of home and the prayer based on my experiences during COVID.
מַה־טֹּ֥בוּ אֹהָלֶ֖יךָ יַעֲקֹ֑ב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶ֖יךָ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel!
Where ever, how ever, we gather in community to pray, learn, rejoice, mourn, comfort, kick back, relax, sing, talk, even argue – it becomes our home. This space of gathering becomes our tents and it becomes our sanctuaries.
Where ever, and how ever, we gather becomes our sacred space. Of course we want to gather physically if we can. But have learned that even if we can’t, our virtual space can become our sacred space.
There is an expression: "When two or three people study Torah, God is present." Studying Torah is not just about the words and concepts, it is about being together in such a way that godliness is present and the sacred nature of being in relationship shines.
We are blessedly – I hope- at the tail end of the tsunami that is COVID. I don’t know what will come next or when it will come. But one thing that I hope we have learned from all this is that our synagogues, our holy communities, and even our homes, are more than just physical spaces. We can survive and actually thrive as a community in whatever way we are able to be together – simply because our being together highlights sacred community and creates sacred space.
An end note: I’m not saying that we should get rid of our buildings and do everything on-line. Besides making us continually run around in halachic-circles, this would, in time impact the fabric of our communal life. Being a Jew in community is not an either-or prposition; it is not either meeting in-person or meeting virtually. Nor is it that meeting in person is superior and meeting virtually is a poor relation. (mixed metaphors here, sorry).
What I’m saying is that God is in the space in-between. Sacredness exists where we recognize it - be it in synagogue or at home or in a myriad of other dimensions. We are very blessed to recognize that that is the case.
Thus my new understanding of Ma Tovu is as follows:
מַה־טֹּ֥בוּ אֹהָלֶ֖יךָ יַעֲקֹ֑ב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶ֖יךָ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
How goodly are your homes O Israel that their sacredness can exist wherever it is intentionally invoked.
Shabbat Shalom
Originally given at Tikvat Israel Congregation, 6/26/21
