I wanted to share a beautiful idea from Rav Hirsch regarding the brochos which Bilam gives to Am Yisrael.  In his third attempt to have Bilam curse Am Yisrael, Balak brought Bilam to Pe’or.  Rashi (23,28) quotes Chazal, and Rav Hirsch elaborates, that Balak thought that maybe in Pe’or he could find Am Yisrael’s weakness. Rav Hirsch exlpains that Pe’or symbolized the following

a cult which turns the most animal side of human functions towards the gods and says to man: Why do you dream of decency and modesty and a higher calling, ...you are no better and designed for a higher calling than an animal! 

This is the question which Balak was posing. Rav Hirsch continues,

How does Am Yisrael stand with regards to decency and modesty and to sexual purity of morals in which the strength and flourishing of all nations have their root?

This is why Balak chose Pe’or, because he thought he could find Am Yisrael’s weakness there. Maybe they were lacking in basic morality.

The Torah writes (24,2) that Bilam saw Am Yisrael was encamped according to its tribes, “li’shvatav”. Again, Rashi quotes Chazal and Rav Hirsch elaborates, that here we find the answer to Balak’s question.  Rav Hirsch writes that Balak asked how does Am Yisrael stand regarding decency and sexual morality?  The answer is that the camp which Bilam saw before him, the “ohalei yakov”, the “li’shvatav” that he visualized with each child knowing his father, that is the yardstick by which sexual morality could be judged.  In an immoral nation, a child can not be sure who his father is. Am Yisrael passed the test; they were a morally upright nation.[i] 

This, according to Rav Hirsch, is the context of the main bracha which Bilam now gives to Am Yisrael- the famous posuk of “ma tovu ohalecha yakov mishkenosecha yisrael”.  Rav Hirsch writes

’ma tovu’ how “good”, not how “beautiful.”  How good, how greatly do your homes correspond to the moral ideal and the true well being of the nation? 

This is the essence of the bracha.  Bilam was saying to Am Yisrael, your houses are ‘good’- they are moral, they are spiritual.  This is the bracha which Bilam gave to Am Yisrael.  It is much more important to have a spiritually good home than to have a physically beautiful home.

Rav Hirsch continues to explain as follows, the posuk says “o’ha’lecha yakov” and “mishkinosecha yisrael”.  We know that Yakov is the name which generally describes Am Yisrael when Am Yisrael is in a weaker state, while Yisrael generally describes Am Yisrael when it is in a stronger state.  Rav Hirsch says that “o’ha’lecha” refers to temporary tents of the wandering Jacob and “mishkenosecha” refers to the stately mansions of Israel.  The idea is as follows. It does not matter whether the Jews are living in temporary tents or in stately mansions.  The challenge is to be good, and be moral, and be spiritual! Whether a Jew will live in a more expensive (mishkan style) or less expensive (ohel style) home is up to Hashem.  That is not the challenge that is facing us.  The challenge we face and the bracha for which we are striving to be worthy is not how beautiful our homes are, but rather how good our homes are. 

This is such an important message from Rav Hirsch. The challenge of every Jew is to build a good, moral, and spiritual home- one that is worthy of the bracha which Hashem put in the mouth of Bilam.  Not “ma yafu o’ha’lecha yakov” how beautiful are your homes Yakov, but rather, “ma tovu o’ha’lecha yakov”. 

[i] Rashi (posuk 5) points out that the way Am Yisroel positioned their tents also reflected modesty and moral sensitivity.