Mati Kirschenbaum
Eleven years ago I participated in the Festival of Jewish Culture in Kraków for the first time. My most vivid memory from that Festival is associated with the Nowy Square. I remember standing at the square with a group of friends from the Polish Jewish Youth Organization. Together we were watching a concert at the roof of the round market hall known as the “Okrąglak”. The scene on the roof was hosting Jewish artists from abroad and Polish musicians playing Jewish music, while below we were jiggling around to the beat of music.
I remember being really moved by that experience, which made me feel especially close to the Supreme One. I felt the need to express my feelings through a prayer. The words I thought would best convey my feelings towards Jewish tradition at that time came from the verse: Ma tovu ohalecha Yaakov, Mishkanotecha Yisrael – “How good are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!” This is the opening verse of the prayer with which every Jewish service begins. It comes from this week’s Torah portion – Parashat Balak. In this passage the non-Jewish prophet Balaam is asked by the Moabite King Balak to cast a curse on the Israelites who have set up camp in the Moab plains. This curse is supposed to ward off the threat posed in Balak’s view by the numerous People of Israel camping at the border of his kingdom. In exchange for doing this Balaam is supposed to receive a hefty reward. Baalam rejects Balak’s request twice, since the Eternal forbids him to undertake any actions that could harm the Israelites. Finally Balaam caves in to the persuasion of Balak’s emissaries. This angers the Eternal, who makes sure that Balaam instead of a curse recites a blessing starting with the words Ma Tovu.
Jewish tradition perceives Balaam in an unequivocally negative light. It portrays him as someone lacking any moral backbone, ready to destroy an entire nation solely in the interest of his own material gain. Moreover, it accuses him of inciting the people of Israel to commit heresy and of causing its demoralization.
Such a view of Balaam could reflect the mistrust of Jewish sages towards all those who notice the uniqueness of the God of Israel, but do not decide to convert to Judaism. I’m willing to hazard a guess that these prejudices can be traced back to the negative experiences of generations of Jewish sages who faced discrimination, exclusion and abuse from non-Jews. No wonder then that they viewed Balaam as a threat – as someone who shows interest in the People of Israel, but is not part of it, as someone whose interest in the Israelites could cause them harm. In this context we may find it surprising that the sages decided to include Ma Tovu – i.e. Balaam’s words – in the prayer whose aim is to praise Jewish houses of prayer.
In my opinion they treated these words as the greatest praise there could ever be – since these were words of admiration coming from a non-Jew, that is from someone who almost by definition must be biased against the Jewish Nation. They could not envision a world in which Jews and non-Jews alike celebrate Jewish culture together in the spirit of friendship, a world in which non-Jews would be taking care of the Jewish heritage, appreciating its contribution to their universal culture.
I am convinced that the many generations of sages, displaying a skeptical, at times even critical attitude towards Balaam and the genuineness of his blessing, would be left speechless at the sight of thousands of participants of the Festival of Jewish Culture in Kraków, Jews and non-Jews from Poland and from all across the world who came here for one reason – because they believe that Jewish culture – Jacob’s tents – are worthy of exploring.
I believe that if these sages were standing with me at the Nowy Square eleven years ago, they would have joined me in reciting Ma Tovu and Shehecheyanu – the prayer recited in times of great joy. On this Shabbat which coincides with the Festival I hope you will experience the joy of sitting in Jacob’s tents and of getting to know the dwellings of Israel – both in Kraków and elsewhere. Shabbat Shalom! Have a good (Festival) weekend!
Translated from Polish by: Marzena Szymańska-Błotnicka
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