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The Synagogue Is
Vital In Our Lives
RABBI MORTON F. YOLKUT SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
I
he biblical character
Balaam is the key
player in this week's
sedrah. The world fa-
mous prophet of the gentiles
is hired by the king of Moab
to curse the Jewish people but
ends up blessing them time
and again. It is interesting to
note that, to this day, the first
prayer we utter upon entering
the synagogue contains the
words of the evil Balaam, the
ancient forerunner of the
modern intellectual anti-
Semite: "How goodly are your
tents 0 Jacob, your dwellings
0 Israel." (Numbers 24:5)
What was it that Balaam
saw in the camp of ancient
Israel to inspire him to utter
such a beautiful blessing?
What was so special about the
"tents" and "dwelling places"
of Israel in the wilderness?
Many answers to this ques-
tion are presented in the
Talmud and Midrash. Some
say Balaam was impressed
with the special architecture
which was designed to repre-
sent both ethical as well as
esthetic values. That is the
message of Rabbi Yochanan
who states: "Balaam observ-
ed that the entrances of their
tents were designed in such a
way that they did not face one
another." Thus each person's
well-deserved privacy was en-
sured and one could not med-
dle in his neighbor's affairs.
This absolute and unprece-
dented concern for individual
privacy gained the respect of
the ancient prophet.
Another interpretation of
Balaam's most famous pro-
phecy, (TB Sanhedrin 105a)
says: that "tents" refers to
houses of study (batei
midrash) and "dwelling
places" to houses of worship
(batei knesset). Such spiritual
homes were so ubiquitous in
the Israelite camp that
Balaam was forced to pro-
claim: "How goodly are your
tents, 0 Jacob, your dwelling
places, 0 Israel." The rabbis
thus find in the words of
Balaam the two institutions
which were destined to play a
pivotal role in the formation
and survival of Judaism: the
beit midrash (house of study)
and the belt knesset (house of
prayer).
The pre-eminent place that
the synagogue and school
hold in Jewish life, especially
in the Diaspora, is one of the
Morton Yolkut is rabbi of
Congregation B'nai David.
most fascinating subjects of
Jewish history. The belt
knesset and beit midrash were
always far more than places of
worship and education. The
synagogue was the meeting
place for the Jew in all mat-
ters affecting his Judaism.
The charitable activities, the
acts of chesed (kindness) of
the community were directed
from the synagogue, as was
mediation in all legal
disputes. The school was more
than a place of elementary
education; it was a place
where the Jew obtained an
entire philosophy of life and
beyond that, where he gained
an appreciation of Torah as an
all-encompassing way of life.
Wherever the Jew went for
the past 1900 years, the
Shabbat Balak:
Numbers
22:2-25:9.
Micah 5:6-6:8.
synagogue and belt midrash
went with him and sustained
him from attacks from
without as it fortified his
spirit within.
The fact remains that in
contemporary America, de-
spite decreasing membership,
the synagogue still represents
a vital force in Jewish life. It
still attracts the largest
numbers of Jews for any one
purpose. It still remains the
place where our spiritual
lives are nourished and in-
spired. Indeed, the Jew who
maintains his daily or week-
ly contact with the synagogue
maintains his contact with
Judaism, while the once-a-
year worshipper often re-
mains a once-a-year Jew.
The American synagogue
today has evolved into a com-
munal house of devotion and
learning. In many ways it is
the address of the Jewish peo-
ple. It will only remain so if
we make every effort to blend
the historic rules of the
"rent" and the "dwelling
place."
When these twin motifs be-
come one, we will recapture
the central role the syna-
gogue occupied in Jewish life
in the past. Then we, too, can
proclaim in the words of this
week's portion, Mah Tovu!
"How goodly arer your tents
0 Jacob, your dwelling places
0 Israel." El