פירוש על במדבר 24:5

מה טבו אהליך HOW GOODLY ARE THY TENTS — He said this because he saw that the entrances of their tents were not exactly facing each other (Bava Batra 60a; cf. v. 2).

!מה טובו אהליך יעקב; a reference to the Torah academies. [the word אהל in that sense dates back to Genesis 25,27 where Yaakov is described as יושב אהלים a dweller in tents.” It was also used in this sense by Noach when he blessed his son Shem (Genesis 9,27) We find it even more prominently as possessing this meaning in Exodus 33,7 “anyone desirous of finding the presence of G’d would go out to the Tent of Testimony.”

מה טובו אהליך יעקב, "How goodly are your tents O Jacob," etc. Bileam addresses both categories of Israelites in this verse. Concerning the average Israelite who studies Torah only occasionally, relatively briefly, Bileam spoke of the "tents of Jacob," i.e. temporary dwellings. Concerning the elite of the Israelites, the ones who make Torah the mainstay of their daily lives, Bileam spoke of the משכנות, the permanent residences. In the homes of the צדיקים Torah finds a permanent home.

VV. 5 u. 6. מה טובו וגו׳. Wie siehst du das Volk מראש פעור, war die Balaksfrage, wie steht es zur Keuschheit, zur Sittlichkeit der Geschlechter? Das Lager "לשבטיו", das er vor sich sah, die אהלי יעקב, die משכנות ישראל, die es ermöglichen, dass jedes Kind seinen Vater kennt, und nach der Vaterschaft sich Häuser und Familien und Stämme gruppieren — משפחת האב קרויה משפחה —: das ist der Maßstab für die Sittlichkeit der Geschlechter.

מה טובו אהליך יעקב, ”how goodly are your tents, Yaakov;” In the Talmud tractate Sanhedrin folio 105 treatment of this verse, Rabbi Yochanan is quoted as saying that the wording, i.e. the metaphors of Bileam’s blessings reveal that these blessings had been involuntary. He had intended to point to the paucity of synagogues and houses of Torah study, but what came out of his mouth were words of admiration for same. He referred to these houses of studies now as if they were equivalent to Tabernacles devoted to G–d as His residence, i.e. משכנותיך ישראל. Instead of saying that its dynasties would be short lived, he said that they would flow like rivers. Instead of saying that they would not enjoy orchards and vineyards, he said: כגנות על נהר, “like gardens situate near a river;” (for easy irrigation) Rabbi Yochanan there continues in this vein. An alternate interpretation by Rabbi Abba bar kahane: all of Bileam’s blessings eventually turned into curses when the Jewish people did not live up to the idealistic version of them he had painted, except the blessings concerning the synagogues and houses of Torah study. A different scholar understands the word נטיו, derived from נטיה, meaning: “propensity,” rivers having a propensity, inclination, to wend their way through the landscape in a certain fashion sometimes becoming wider or narrower depending on the contours of the landscape surrounding them. Bileam suggests that the fortunes of the Jewish people in the future will parallel what we observe with rivers. Isaiah uses the same simile in Isaiah 66,12, when he said: נוטה אליה כנהר שלום, “like a river at peace.” (as opposed to flood in the next simile of the prophet) Bileam’s similes reflect the changing experiences of rivers and streams as reflecting Jewish history in the future. The more active the rivers, the more they symbolise powerful blessings for the Jewish people. Isaiah 54,2 is also a metaphor describing this concept where it is applied to the earth’s solid surface.

מה טובו אוהליך יעקב, “how goodly are your tents o Yaakov.” The reason that Bileam complimented the Jewish people in these terms is that Yaakov had been described by the Torah as: איש תם יושב אהלים, “a quiet man, a dweller in tents.” (Genesis 25,27)

How goodly. Bil'am prophesized that the spirit of Hashem and bounty from the upper worlds cleave to Yisroel in this lowly physical world.

משכנתיך means thy encampments, as the Targum has it. — Another explanation — מה טבו אהליך HOW GOODLY ARE THY TENTS — How goodly are the tent of Shiloh and the Temple when these flourished, in that sacrifices were offered therein to atone for you;

משכנותיך, a reference to the synagogues of the Jews all over, as well as to their Temples when these existed. The reason that Bileam said מה טובו, an unusual formulation, is that he wanted to make plain that the Torah academies are not only of benefit to the people who study in them, but that they also are good in a transitive sense, i.e. their very existence is of benefit to the entire nation. The very name יעקב also contains such a dual meaning. On the one hand it appears to have a negative connotation, but it also symbolises עקב a heel, something at the tail end of matters, meaning after everything else has already disappeared the עקב still remains, endures. The name “Israel” that was added to Yaakov’s name was justified by this thought, that its bearer had come out of a confrontation with celestial forces and had survived, had endured. If Israel could contend with celestial forces successfully, it would certainly be able to do so with terrestrial forces, i.e. עם אנשים, (Genesis 32,29).

Bileam may also have alluded to two different time frames when distinguishing between "tents" and "residences," respectively. In Exodus 26,7 the Torah speaks of the coverings of the Tabernacle making a tent of it. When Bileam spoke of the "tents of Jacob," he referred to this element the Tabernacle represented. In Kings I 8,1 where Solomon dedicates the Holy Temple, he describes G'd as taking up residence in a permanent home, using the word לשכון for residing somewhere permanently. When Bileam spoke of the משכנות ישראל, he referred to the time when the permanent Temple would be built. The reason Bileam spoke of either dwelling in the plural i.e. אהליך and משכנותיך is that both the Tabernacle and the Holy Temple consisted of different levels of holiness in that the Holy of Holies was more sacred than the Sanctuary in front of the dividing curtain.

מה טבו wie "gut" nicht: wie "schön" wie gut, wie sehr dem Sittenideal und der wahren Wohlfahrt eines Volkes entsprechend sind deine "Häuser", sie mögen flüchtige Wanderzelte "Jakobs" sein, oder stolze, festere Wohnungen "Israels!" (משכנות vergl. משכנותם לדור ודור Ps. 48, 12; וישב עמי בנוי שלום ובמשכנות מבטחים Jes. 32, 18). Israels Familienstätten sind נחלים und גנות, sie sind Segen bringende "Bäche" und selbst gesegnete "Gärten". Jedes Haus und jeder Familienzweig führt Bach gleich den Segen leiblicher, geistiger und sittlicher Wohlfahrt auf jedes kommende Geschlecht hinab, und ist selbst in jeder seiner Gegenwart ein leiblich, geistig und sittlich gesegneter Menschengarten. Sie sind in ihrer Gesondertheit in besonderer Eigentümlichkeit ihren Lauf nehmende Bäche, die aber alle wieder einem Strome ihre Errungenschaften zuführen, und sie sind gleichzeitig Gärten, die ihren Blüte- und Fruchtsegen einem gemeinsamen Strome verdanken. Sie sind zu gleicher Zeit אהלים und ארזים, vereinigen die ätherische Aloewürze mit der festen Zedernstärke, das Wohltuende edler und adelnder Geistigkeit mit der Ausdauer und Kraft. — אהלים wie מר אהלים וקנמון (Prov. 7, 17) מר ואהלות עם כל ראשי בשמים (Hohel. 4, 14). Das ätherisch Geistige der אהלים und insbesondere die dadurch vergegenwärtigte geistige Begabung der Israelgeschlechter ist eine unmittelbare Gottesspende, bedingt durch die Pflanzung nach Gottes Willen, daher: אהלים נטע ד׳, und das Wasser, der Leben und Kraft bringende Quell, an welchem diese Menschenzedern wachsen.

'כאהלים נטע ה, “like aloes planted by Hashem.” This is a metaphor recalling the excellence of the plants in the garden (Eden) which G–d Himself had planted. (Compare Genesis 2,8)

משכנתיך How goodly are they even when they are in ruins, because then they are a pledge (משכון) for you, and the fact that they are in ruins is an atonement for your souls, as it is said. (Lamentations 4:11) “The Lord hath brought His fury to an end”. And by what means hath He brought it to an end? “He hath kindled a fire in Zion! (i.e. hath destroyed the Temple) (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Mishpatim 11).