Rabbi David Etengoff 
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, the Kedoshim of Har Nof and Pittsburgh, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world. 
 
The most celebrated pasuk (verse) of our parasha is “mah tovu:” “How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!” (Sefer Bamidbar 24:5, this and all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) As early as the beginning of the 15th century, its recitation was common practice within the world of Ashkenazi Jewry: “When entering the synagogue in the morning, is there anyone who does not say ‘mah tovu’ and a few other verses?” (Responsa Maharil, 150:9, Rabbi Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin, 1365-1427)  Closer to our own time, Rabbi Yechiel Michal ben Aharon Yitzhak Halevi Epstein (1829-1908) provides further support for the inclusion of mah tovu in the morning service in his classic work, Aruch HaShulchan, Orech Chaim 46:17: “The text of tefilah (the prayer) to be recited prior to Baruch She’amar is printed in the prayer books. When one initially enters the synagogue he should say, mah tovu ohalecha Ya’akov — “How goodly are your tents O Jacob…” 

How and why did our verse achieve this singular placement? This question is particularly significant, since mah tovu contains the words of the sorcerer Bilam, whose goal was to lead the Jewish people away from Hashem, in order to destroy them. Therefore, it seems counterintuitive that Bilam’s statement, regardless of its inspiring content, would become one of the oft-quoted pasukim (verses) of the Jewish people. Indeed, the Maharshal (Rabbi Shlomo Luria, 1510-1573) voiced just such an objection to its recitation: “When I come to synagogue I begin with the verse ‘But as for me, in the abundance of Thy lovingkindness...’ (Sefer Tehillim 5:8) and skip the first verse, mah tovu ohalecha Ya’akov, because Bilam first uttered it, and he said it as a curse...” (Responsa Maharshal 64) 

Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 105b, identifies the phrase, “mah tovu ohalecha Ya’akov,” with synagogues and houses of Torah study; in so doing, it helps us understand why our pasuk has captured the hearts and minds of our people over the substantive objection of the Maharshal: 

Rabbi Johanan said: From the blessings of that wicked man [Bilam] you may learn his intentions; he wished to curse them so that they [the Jewish people] should possess no synagogues or houses of study, [this is deduced from] “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob.”… Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: “All of them [the blessings] reverted to a curse, except the synagogues and houses of study, for it is written, ‘But the L-rd, your G-d, did not want to listen to Bilam, so the L-rd, your G-d, transformed the curse into a blessing for you, because the L-rd, your G-d, loves you’ (Sefer Devarim 23:6) – the curse, but not the curses [i.e. only “mah tovu ohalecha Ya’akov” was completely fulfilled as a blessing].” (Translation, The Soncino Talmud, with my underlining and explanatory emendations) 
 
The explanation of Rabbi Abba bar Kahana sheds light on exactly why mah tovu begins our daily morning synagogue experience: It is the one statement of Bilam that began as a curse, but ultimately became a total blessing, and infuses our synagogues and batei midrash (houses of study) with kedushah (holiness) until our own historical moment. Little wonder, then, that the Maharil declared, “When entering the synagogue in the morning, is there anyone who does not say ‘mah tovu’ and a few other verses?” 
 
Rashi (1040-1105), basing himself upon Talmud Bavli, Baba Batra 60a, offers a very different approach to mah tovu: “For he (Bilam) saw that the entrances [of the Jewish people’s tents] were not facing each other.” (With my emendations) On the peshat (direct) level, it appears that even Bilam, the advocate of all manner and variety of salacious behaviors, recognized the kedushah that reigned supreme amongst the Jewish people. Their desire to protect their privacy and family modesty was so intense that they even concealed their tent entrances from one another.  

The great Chasidic rebbe, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman HaLevi Epstein (1751-1823), in his work of Torah analysis, Maor Va’Shemesh, analyzes this Talmudic statement in a highly creative and original fashion.  He suggests that the phrase, “the entrances [of the Jewish people’s tents] were not facing each other,” hides more than its direct meaning reveals: 

We have an overarching rule [regarding the pursuit of authentic Torah-based religiosity]: Each tzaddik (righteous individual) must grasp [and develop] their own manner and approach toward kedushah and create their own unique opening [to the spiritual wellsprings of holiness] for himself (u’patach lo petach l’atzmo), rather than engage in a [mere] “command of the people that has been taught” [that is, someone else’s approach] (See Sefer Yeshayahu 29:13, this and the following translations and additions my own). 
 
Rav Epstein further elaborates upon this metaphorical redefinition of the phrase, “the entrances [of the Jewish people’s tents] were not facing each other:”  

This means that even though one may have seen their rebbe do something, or their friends perform certain actions and behaviors, and he at first glance thinks this is the manner in which he must proceed — this is certainly not the correct approach. Instead, each person must “open their own opening” [and find their own] gates of kedushah for themselves.  
 
At this juncture, Rav Epstein explains that this approach to spirituality will, with the Almighty’s help, enable each person to have the holy Schechinah (Divine Presence) rest upon them: 

This, then, is the meaning to the phrase, “And he (Bilam) saw that the entrances [of the Jewish people’s tents] were not facing each other:” In other words, no one “looked” to walk upon the path of kedushah that their friends had created for themselves. Instead, each person walked solely upon the path they had forged for themselves, and in this way, the spirit of Hashem would rest upon them — that is, the Schechinah rested upon them.  
 
Each of us has the capacity to strengthen our relationship with Hashem, so that we, too, may feel His glorious presence in our lives. He is always waiting for us to do so, for as the Torah teaches us, no matter how far from Him we may be, He has promised us: “And from there you will seek the L-rd your G-d, and you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Sefer Devarim 4:29)  Beyond a doubt, the spiritual journey is the greatest and most important one of our lives. May each of us reach out to Hashem in our own unique manner so that we, too, can declare Mah Tovu! V’chane yihi ratzon. 

Shabbat Shalom 
  
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org  
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name. 

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:rdbe718@gmail.com. 

*** My audio shiurim for Women on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd 

*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link. 
 ​

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, the Kedoshim of Har Nof and Pittsburgh, and the refuah shlaimah of Yakir Ephraim ben Rachel Devorah, Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The mitzvah of the Parah Adumah (Red Heifer) is the focal point of the beginning of our parasha:
This is the statute of the Torah that the L-rd commanded, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel and have them take for you a perfectly red unblemished cow, upon which no yoke was laid.” … It shall be an everlasting statute for the children of Israel and for the proselyte who resides in their midst. (Sefer Bamidbar 19:2 and 10, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
The goal of this commandment is to purify an individual who has become tamei (ritually impure) as a result of contact with a corpse. It is intrinsically mystifying in nature since, in the course of its fulfillment, the individual who has come into contact with a corpse becomes tahor (ritually pure), whereas the one who assists in the purification process is paradoxically rendered tamei.
 
Sefer Melachim I: 3:12 teaches us that Shlomo Hamelech (King Solomon), the wisest individual who ever lived, was blessed by Hashem with the greatest da’at (native intelligence) and most profound binah (insight into the interrelationship of things) that anyone could ever achieve: “Behold, I have done according to your word; behold, I have given you a wise and understanding heart; so that there was none like you before you, nor after you shall any arise like you.” Yet, even he was stymied by the Red Heifer’s irreconcilable contradictions and poignantly lamented: “All this I tested with wisdom; I said, ‘I will become wise,’ but it was far from me.” (Sefer Kohelet 7:23) According to a variety of Midrashim, the word “it” specifically refers to the Parah Adumah.
 
The great 19th century sage, Rabbi Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik zatzal (1820-1892), in his Torah commentary, Beit HaLevi, on Sefer Shemot, Chapter 31, presents an exposition of the Parah Adumah that helps us understand its essential meaning. He notes that the phrase, “this is the statute of the Torah that the L-rd commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and have them take for you a perfectly red unblemished cow...,’” is very unusual, since the Red Heifer is singled out as being the “statute of the Torah.” He therefore asks: “At face value, the Parah Adumah is simply one of the [613] mitzvot of the Torah. Why, therefore, is it given the unusual label of the “statute of the Torah?” His answer expresses his fundamental beliefs regarding the search for the underlying rationale of the mitzvot:
… for it is precisely from the Parah Adumah that it is revealed to man that he, in reality, does not know anything regarding [the true meaning inherent] in any mitzvah of the Torah, since, [as this verse suggests,] the entire Torah is a statute (chukah) [that defies our understanding]. (This and the following translations my own.)
 
Rav Soloveitchik proceeds to elaborate upon this statement:
 
And the explanation of this concept is the following; behold all of the mitzvot are inextricably connected to, and interwoven with, one another. Moreover, each one depends upon the other – just as we find in reference to lowly man who has 248 limbs and 365 sinews – all of whom are attached one to another, and all of whom depend upon one another. This is the case, as well, regarding the mitzvot wherein the 248 Positive Commandments and the 365 Negative Commandments are attached to one another and form one unit. [As a result,] it is impossible to comprehend even one of the mitzvot without understanding all of them. Therefore, when we encounter the Parah Adumah and we do not understand its underlying principle – it is clear that we really know nothing at all [regarding any of the mitzvot].
 
Given these thoughts, the Red Heifer emerges as a protection against man’s natural hubris and potential for intellectual arrogance:
…the Parah Adumah is, therefore, a fence and a protective measure for man who utilizes his intellect (hamitbonane b’sichlo) to examine the reasons inherent in the mitzvot. It prevents him from erring in their regard... and from bursting forth [against the mitzvot] and declaring: “I am the one who knows their rationale!” For were he to do so, he would soon err and add or subtract [from the mitzvot].
 
In Rav Soloveitchik’s view, there is only one way to demonstrate acceptance of, and loyalty to, the commandments:
One must perform all of the mitzvot, with all of their specific details, according to what we have received from our Rabbis according to the overarching rules of the Torah, and the established halacha, without any deviation whatsoever from the words of the Shulchan Aruch. This is the case since he himself recognizes that he does not comprehend the depth of these matters… (Translation and emphasis my own)
 
In sum, the Parah Adumah may be viewed as the mitzvah that provides us with a conceptual model for approaching all of the other mitzvot, as it reminds us, perhaps more than any other commandment, that Hashem is the measure of all things. With the Almighty’s help, may we be zocheh (merit) to serve Him with humility and devotion as we strive to fulfill His holy Torah. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:rdbe718@gmail.com.
 
*** My audio shiurim for Women on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.