Parsha Pearls
מַה־טֹּבוּ אֹּהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹּב מִשְׁכְׁנֹּתֶיךָ יִשְׁרָאֵל.
How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwelling places, O Yisrael! [Bamidbar 24:5]
The verse connects “Yaakov” to an אוהל (a tent) and “Yisroel” to משכן (a dwelling place). Both expressions - an אוהל and a משכן - are used in the description of the Tabernacle that we built in the desert. The אוהל is the outer tapestry of the Tabernacle and משכן is the inner tapestry. Based on this, the Ba’al Shem Tov teaches that our verse is referring to both the outer appearance of a Jew and to his inner-self. “Yaakov” represents the simple level of a person, while “Yisrael” represents the spiritually elevated level. The verse connects “Yaakov” to an אוהל, and “Yisroel” to a משכן, to teach us that one should treasure his spiritual elevation, but not to show it off to the world around him.
Ask Around Your Shabbos Table
מַה־טֹּבוּ אֹּהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹּב מִשְׁכְׁנֹּתֶיךָ יִשְׁרָאֵל. - How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwelling places, O Israel! [Bamidbar 24:5]
The Chasam Sofer writes that in this verse, “Yaakov” represents a person involved in prayer, while “Yisroel” represents a person engaged in Torah study. The verse praises “the tent” - the tent of prayer where “Yaakov” prays, because it is there (i.e., in shul) where his prayer is accepted by Hashem. Then, the verse continues and praises the “the dwelling place” - the place of Torah study where “Yisroel” studies, i.e., the beis midrash.
Ask Around Your Table: Since both the shul and the beis midrash are in the same verse, Wwhat is the connection between them?
Answer: The connection, says the Chasam Sofer, is that “the tent” is dependent on the “the dwelling place”, meaning to say that the merit of Torah is what elevates prayer and allows it to be accepted in Heavens.
