The Blessing of the Jewish Home
The greatest blessings and praises of the Jewish people recorded in the Torah, were, ironically, spoken by the gentile prophet Balaam, who tried to curse the Jewish people.
Balaam was the great gentile prophet hired by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the Jews, who were camped at the bank of the Jordan River as they readied to cross into the promised land. The Torah relates in intricate detail, the story of Balaam's travel to the proximity of the Jewish camp, how Balak took Balaam to the mountain peaks so he could gaze upon the Jewish people as he would curse them. Balak’s plan was foiled when G-d placed blessings in the mouth of Balaam instead of curses.
Of all the praise and blessings uttered by Balaam, one verse was incorporated into our daily prayers:
How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel! (Numbers 24:5)
“How goodly are your tents Jacob”: Balaam was a prophet, steeped in spirituality, the service of G-d was not foreign to him. What impressed him about the Jewish people and their culture was that while virtually all people created temples and designated places for worship, the Jewish people understood that it is primarily in the home, not the shrines and temples, where the connection to G-d is experienced and celebrated. Balaam understood that a Jew’s relationship with holiness is not relegated to a specific time and place, when he separates from daily life and goes to worship, but rather, holiness permeates life itself and expresses itself within the home of every individual Jew.
“Your dwelling places Israel”: The word for “dwelling places” is the same word the Torah uses to describe the tabernacle, the temple that the Jewish people built in the desert, fulfilling the commandment: “they shall make for me a sanctuary and I will dwell amongst them”. At this point in the Torah when we hear the word “mishkenosecha” (your dwelling places) we can't help but think of the word “mishkan” (tabernacle). What Balaam was saying about the Jewish people was that every Jewish home is indeed a mishkan, a sanctuary for the Divine presence.
As we read Balaam’s words, we are mindful of our own individual mission. Each of our homes can become a dwelling place for G-d, when it becomes a place of Torah study, hospitality, charity, celebration of Shabbat, and performing all Mitzvot, creating a dwelling place for G-d in our home.