Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

Many of us are familiar with "Ma Tovu." When we enter a synagogue, we recite, "How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel." These words originate in the Torah when the heathen prophet Bilam blesses the people of Israel.

The origin of identifying Jacob with a tent is found in this week's portion of Toldot. Jacob is described as a whole-hearted man, a dweller of tents. It is interesting to ask why tent is in the plural? Many ideas abound.

On the one hand, we know that the tent meant the home in the books of the Torah. Abraham and Sarah welcomed passersby in front of their tent. When Bilam blesses the people of Israel, he notices how they conduct themselves in their tents.

At wedding ceremonies, bride and groom stand under a Chuppa. The bridal canopy is a reminder of the values symbolized by the Biblical tent. The Chuppa is covered on top to teach privacy and modesty. It is open on the sides to teach hospitality and to see the needs of society that exist outside the home.

In subsequent Jewish history, the tent became a term for synagogue, which explains why it is customary to recite Ma Tovu when entering it. In many ways, the home and synagogue are the same. Both are places of welcoming others. Both are called mini replicas of the Temple. Both are places where mentschlichkeit should be the norm.

On Thursday morning, I participated in a Shacharit Bar Mitzvah where the tent meant all these ideas. Because of Covid, the celebrant family had a tent set up in ther backyard with heaters. The immediate family occupied the makeshift pews, and many others joined on Zoom. The Bar Mitzvah chanted the Parsha while donned in Tallit and Tefillin. He received his first Aliyah, and delivered a Dvar Torah. The tent was truly a home, synagogue, and a place of being welcomed.

May we emulate Jacob in the positive spirit of what it means to be whole-hearted and a dweller of tents.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Howard Morrison