Parshat Num. 22:2-25:9
In this week’s parasha, the prophet Bilaam calls out the well-known verse “Mah tovu ohalekha Yaakov, mishk’notecha, Yisrael -How wonderful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel.” (Numbers 24:5) Balak, King of Moab, sends Bilaam to curse the people of Israel. But when Bilaam arrives at their tents and opens his mouth to curse them, this blessing emerges instead.
This verse has become part of our morning prayer service. The Rabbis declared that it should be the first words said when entering the sanctuary in the morning. Rabbi Kerry Olitzky asks the question, “What motivated the liturgists to add these words to the daily spiritual discipline of morning prayer?” He explains that “they are words of conviction, words that suggest that the speaker understands something about the Jewish community and the Jewish people that may not be so obvious: It is good to live within the bounds of this community.”
Bilaam saw the value and greatness of Jewish community. At that time, the Israelite community lived within the boundaries of a single tent village. Today we live throughout the world, practicing and expressing our Judaism in a multitude of ways.
During the summer months many of us take vacations. These trips are a perfect opportunity to connect to the larger Jewish community. Often when traveling, I like to learn about and meet the Jewish community in the places I stay, whether they are far or nearby. Praying in synagogues in Florence, Berlin and New York City; meeting with Jewish college students in St. Petersburg, Istanbul and Warsaw; and touring Jewish sites in the places I visit, has enlightened my understanding of Jewish culture and connected me further to the Jewish community.
As you make your travel plans this summer, I encourage you to visit the Jewish community in the places you visit. For information about Reform synagogues in North America go to the Union of Reform Judaism’s website, http://data.urj.org/conglist/. For congregations around the world, visit the World Union for Progressive Judaism’s website, http://www.wupj.org/.
“Mah tovu ohalekha Yaakov-How wonderful it is to live and be part of this Jewish community!”
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alissa Forrest
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