Ma Tovu Oholeche

I was zoche the last week to participate in the simcha of a dear friend, the choson of Montreal and the kala of San Diego.I stayed over a day to visit a child in LA and return with a number of pleasant reflections.

The chazal teach us that the 'chein of hair al yoshvehe'(the favour - the beauty of the city lies on it's settlers).When Bilaam saw the yidden ' shochern lishvatav'(dwelling each to its' tribe), he sang out 'Ma tovu ohaleche yaakov , mishkenoseche yisrael' (How good are your tents , Jacob , your holy places, Israel).It's almost an automatic, a 'forced' response, an eternal song coming forth of itself. HaShem wanted this song from the debased goyish prophet , the song of emulation."Tamos nafshi mos yeshorim' (May my soul die the death of the straight).The world comes to its tikun recognizing that their blessings come through us.

When Yidden gather together , in their diversity ,they are the true 'dwellers ' of earth, bringing the shechina down to be here with us. I saw this , certainly , at the chasana in San Diego, and then again ,of couse somewhat differently ,and  in a more low-key manner, in a very short sampling of Yiddish life in LA. As a returning Montrealer, a fortress of Torah and Yiddishkeit,the inner feeling I have is that we here , capture the old -world shtetl, in those historic interludes which actually seemed  'good' , where Yidden lived together with kovod haadam , ahavas Yisrael , and ahavas haTorah.

And yet, I also had a feeling almost diametrically the opposite.

Wherever you go today , so much is after all, the same, roads ,buildings, people , and boruch haShem , Torah ' lives and sings.'The world is so rapidly growing into one.So , why are we still all over the place? Maybe ,it's time for us  to be going home? The Maharal says that the 'Geulah (Redemption ) is implied in the Golus (Exile).That's why they are spelled almost the same, the difference being an 'aleph ' and 'hey.'The 'hey ' are the 4 extensions drawn eternally together by the 'aleph', our inner unity, the 'alufo shel olam ', the 'Ribono shel Olam.' I noticed in downtown SD  a courthouse named after someone whose  last name ,was quite Jewish (but not the first). For how much longer should we be building up the goyish lands ? Perhaps, t's time to realize 'Hen am lvodod yshochen', ( a nation which dwells apart).

Maybe that's why we are so proud that the founder of www.buyapieceofisrael.com

is a former Montrealer, and plan , b'ezer haShem , this month to complete our first purchase.