In this meditation, we focus on the line from one of Balaam’s blessings, mah tovu ohelekha Yaakov, “how good are your tents, Yaakov, your dwelling places, Yisrael” (Numbers 24:5). Rashi comments that what Balaam saw in the Israelite tents that was good was that their openings were not set up to face one another, offering each other privacy and separation. We consider the benefits of living in such a respectful way with one another, what is lost when we don’t maintain our boundaries and stay in our own lane and how we might work to feel our own wholeness and that of those around us.
