Elul 8 5781

 Elul 8, 5781/August 16, 2021

Rabbi Neal Katz

In Numbers 24:5, we read: Ma Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov, Mishkenotecha Yisrael - “How lovely are your tents, Jacob - your dwelling places, Israel.”

The text is a curse-turned-blessing and Jews recite this blessing every day in the morning service. These six simple Hebrew words offer a powerful lesson during Elul.

We notice that the biblical patriarch Jacob is associated with “tents,” and his later identity, “Israel,” is associated with “dwelling places.” Follow the growth. 

Tents are flimsy, portable, open, and vulnerable to the weather.  We contrast this with the next stitch which says, “dwelling places.”  A dwelling place is a house, a home, permanent, built upon a strong foundation, and in our dwelling places, we are not vulnerable to the elements.  

Jacob is a character that is beset by many flaws and trickery during his life. Jacob is likened to these “tents,” - weak, flimsy, deceitful, portable, and vulnerable to retribution from those he deceived.

 

But he becomes Israel - a stronger, more resolute character – making peace with his family, buying land, and renewing the covenant. While not always perfect, Israel resembles a more stable, permanent, stronger person. Israel resembles a “dwelling place.”

 

We all move – from tents to dwelling places.  We start out as Jacob and strive to become Israel.  From youth to old age, from confusion to understanding, and from immaturity to maturity. In this season of Elul, let us hear the words of Mah Tovu as a call to become better versions of ourselves.