The Gemara in Sanhedrin (105b) says that Bilaam sought to curse the Jewish people, but Hashem reversed each curse into a berachah. The Gemara illustrates this by listing the blessings that Bilaam gave and their opposite, which reveals what curses he wanted to give. For example, he wanted to curse us with a lack of botei midroshos and botei kenasiyos, but Hashem reversed it to the blessing of (Bamidbar 24:5):מה טבו אהליך יעקב משכנתיך ישראל – “How goodly are your tents, Yaakov, your dwellings, Yisroel”. In what way is this berachah praising our modest homes considered the opposite of Bilaam’s desire to eliminate our botei midroshos and botei kenasiyos?
Rav Moshe Feinstein (Darash Moshe) explains that Bilaam blessed the Jewish people with cozy, private homes in the hopes that they would choose to spend their free time in the comfort of their houses instead of going to the beis medrash and shul to learn Torah and daven. To thwart his intentions, Hashem gave us an abundance of shuls and yeshivos from which to choose. Although it is tempting to remain in our warm, familiar environment, especially at night and on weekends, we should recognize that this allure comes from Bilaam’s curse. While it is certainly a good thing to have a nice Jewish home, it becomes a true berachah when we are able to leave it for the more conducive atmosphere of the beis medrash and shul, where we benefit from being around learned Rabbis and encouraging peers, particularly in the summer months when our domestic responsibilities are often reduced. (R’ Ozer Alport)
