(ה) מַה־טֹּ֥בוּ אֹהָלֶ֖יךָ יַעֲקֹ֑ב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶ֖יךָ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ו) כִּנְחָלִ֣ים נִטָּ֔יוּ כְּגַנֹּ֖ת עֲלֵ֣י נָהָ֑ר כַּאֲהָלִים֙ נָטַ֣ע יהוה כַּאֲרָזִ֖ים עֲלֵי־מָֽיִם׃ (ז) יִֽזַּל־מַ֙יִם֙ מִדָּ֣לְיָ֔ו וְזַרְע֖וֹ בְּמַ֣יִם רַבִּ֑ים וְיָרֹ֤ם מֵֽאֲגַג֙ מַלְכּ֔וֹ וְתִנַּשֵּׂ֖א מַלְכֻתֽוֹ׃ (ח) אֵ֚ל מוֹצִיא֣וֹ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם כְּתוֹעֲפֹ֥ת רְאֵ֖ם ל֑וֹ יֹאכַ֞ל גּוֹיִ֣ם צָרָ֗יו וְעַצְמֹתֵיהֶ֛ם יְגָרֵ֖ם וְחִצָּ֥יו יִמְחָֽץ׃ (ט) כָּרַ֨ע שָׁכַ֧ב כַּאֲרִ֛י וּכְלָבִ֖יא מִ֣י יְקִימֶ֑נּוּ מְבָרְכֶ֣יךָ בָר֔וּךְ וְאֹרְרֶ֖יךָ אָרֽוּר׃
(5) How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel! (6) Like palm-groves that stretch out, Like gardens beside a river, Like aloes planted by יהוה, Like cedars beside the water; (7) Their boughs drip with moisture, Their roots have abundant water. Their ruler shall rise above Agag, Their sovereignty shall be exalted. (8) God who freed them from Egypt Is for them like the horns of the wild ox. They shall devour enemy nations, Crush their bones, And smash their arrows. (9) They crouch, they lie down like a lion, Like a lioness; who dares rouse them? Blessed are they who bless you, Accursed they who curse you!
Why has this verse become so popular in our liturgy? Is there anything that seems odd about this verse?
"טובו" can be understood to be "fair" in the sense that it is "perfection in all respects--beauty and charm, simplicity and purity." - Nehama Leibowitz, Studies in Bemidbar
"The physical image of Israel is the reflection of its spiritual being." - Plaut, 2006
(כו) וְאַֽחֲרֵי־כֵ֞ן יָצָ֣א אָחִ֗יו וְיָד֤וֹ אֹחֶ֙זֶת֙ בַּעֲקֵ֣ב עֵשָׂ֔ו וַיִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ יַעֲקֹ֑ב וְיִצְחָ֛ק בֶּן־שִׁשִּׁ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה בְּלֶ֥דֶת אֹתָֽם׃
(26) And after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when Rebecca bore them.
What do we then know about Jacob? Is this good or bad?
Sforno on Numbers 24:5:2
The very name יעקב... contains such a dual meaning. On the one hand it appears to have a negative connotation, but it also symbolizes עקב a heel, something at the tail end of matters, meaning after everything else has already disappeared the עקב still remains, endures.
(כט) וַיֹּ֗אמֶר לֹ֤א יַעֲקֹב֙ יֵאָמֵ֥ר עוֹד֙ שִׁמְךָ֔ כִּ֖י אִם־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל כִּֽי־שָׂרִ֧יתָ עִם־אֱלֹהִ֛ים וְעִם־אֲנָשִׁ֖ים וַתּוּכָֽל׃
(29) And he said: ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.’
(א) לא יקרא שמך עוד יעקב. לבדו כי גם ישראל
(1) Your name shall no longer be called Jacob. alone, because you will also be called Israel.
As we have seen, Jacob and Yisrael are one person, but have very different traits. Jacob is a follower and coming on the heel of Esau. Yisrael is a leader. A leader is someone who engages actively with challenges and struggles. While a leader can be anywhere, in the words of Mah Tovu, Yisrael is in dwellings, a more permanent place. It shows how a leader is invested in their community -- when there is a connection and something at stake. Jacob, however, lives in tents, a moving shelter, temporary, fleeting.
It might seem odd at first glance that Mah Tovu repeats itself, but when we take a step back, we can see that each one of us lives this every day. We may not be perfect, but we are perfect in the balance that lives in each of us. We are "fair" in that we have to strike a balance between Jacob and Yisrael constantly. We are only one person, as is he, but we embody those aspects too. And both of them are good. "Every family, every community, and the entire world benefit from both Jacobs and Yisraels.... That realization is the blessing that Balaam bestowed upon us." No matter who we are in what moment, it is good.