שמעתי בשם ר"י בעש"ט זצוק"ל בגמרא (סנהדרין דק"ה) מברכותיו של אותו רשע נראה מה שהיה בלבו לקלל, והקשה מה נראה שהיה בלבו לקלל, ותירץ כי מה שנאמר בברכותיו מה טובו אוהליך יעקב משכנותיך ישראל, ואיתא בגמרא (פסחים פ"ח לא כאברהם שקראו הר ולא כיצחק שקראו שדה אלא כיעקב שקראו בית, והפירוש לא כאברהם שקראו הר שנאמר (הר תחרב) [הר ציון ששמם] (איכה ה׳:י״ח) ולא כיצחק שקראו שדה שנאמר (מיכה ג׳:י״ב) שדה תחרש, אבל לעתיד במהרה בימינו יבנה בזכות יעקב שקראו בית, והקשה מפני מה לא נבנה בתחלה בזכות יעקב ולא תחרב, ותירץ כי איתא במדרש (איכה רבתי פ"ד סי' י"ד) שפך חמתו על עצים ואבנים, ואם היה נבנה זכות יעקב ח"ו לא היה נשאר שריד ואיתא במדרש (רבתי פ' פקודי) מפני מה נקרא משכן שנתמשכן שני פעמים, פירוש שלקחו המשכן משכון בעבור ישראל, וזהו פירוש הגמרא מברכותיו וכו', כי כך אמר בלעם מה טובו אוהליך יעקב היינו המשכן שנקרא אוהליך יהיה בזכות יעקב, ועל ידי זה משכנותיך ישראל, פירוש, שאם כן היה המשכון ישראל בעצמם והבן: (בסוף ס' אור האמת, ואמרי צדיקים).
How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel! (Numbers 24:5) From the blessings of that wicked man, you can learn what he wanted to curse. Sanhedrin 98b That is, from the blessing: “How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel.” For the Gemara says: “Not like Abraham, who called [the place of the Temple] a mountain, nor like Isaac, who called it a field, but like Jacob, who called it a house.”1Pesachim 88a: “Not like Abraham, of whom it is written ‘mountain,’ as it says: ‘As it is said today, in the mount where G‑d is seen’ (Genesis 22:14). Nor like Isaac, of whom it is written ‘field,’ as it says: ‘And Isaac went out to meditate in the field’ (ibid. 24:63). But like Jacob, who called it ‘house,’ as it says: ‘And he called that place “the house of G‑d” (Beit E-l).’” However, the Baal Shem Tov will assign two alternative verses from Scripture to Abraham and Isaac, both of which speak of the Temple’s destruction. Only the Third Temple, built in the merit of Jacob, will last forever. As the verse says: “For My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7). That is, not like Abraham who called it a mountain, as it says: “the mountain of Zion, which is desolate” (Lamentations 5:18), nor like Isaac, who called it a field: “Zion is a plowed field” (Micah 3:12), for in the future, the Temple will be rebuild in the merit of Jacob, who called it a house. But then, why wasn’t the Temple originally built in the merit of Jacob, so that it would not be destroyed? The answer is found in the Midrash: “He poured out his wrath on wood and stone.”2Eicha Rabbosai 4:14. That is, rather than G‑d directing his anger toward the Jewish People, He poured it on the Holy Temple. Instead of destruction, we were sentenced to exile. Had the Temple been built in the merit of Jacob, nothing would have remained of the Jewish people,3Because the Temple would have been perfect and indestructible, G‑d would have taken out His anger on the nation itself. as the Midrash says: “Why was [the Tabernacle] called Mishkan? Because it was twice used as collateral (‘mashkan’).”4Shemos Rabbah 51:3. The Mishkan, like the First and Second Temples, was also destroyed or captured due to the nation’s sins. It was a type of collateral; for when the people sinned, it was taken instead of them. That is, the Mishkan was taken as collateral for the sake of Israel. Now we can understand the curse in Balaam’s blessing: “How goodly are your tents, Jacob.” He wanted the Tabernacle, called “your tents,”5The Mishkan was also called the Ohel Mo’ed, the Tent of Meeting. to [already] be built in the merit of Jacob. Then, “your mishkenosecha” – Your collateral – would be “Israel” itself.6I.e. they would be destroyed. Ohr Ha’Emes, and Imrei Tzaddikim
שמעתי בשם ר"י בעש"ט זצוק"ל בגמרא (סנהדרין דק"ה) מברכותיו של אותו רשע נראה מה שהיה בלבו לקלל, והקשה מה נראה שהיה בלבו לקלל, ותירץ כי מה שנאמר בברכותיו מה טובו אוהליך יעקב משכנותיך ישראל, ואיתא בגמרא (פסחים פ"ח לא כאברהם שקראו הר ולא כיצחק שקראו שדה אלא כיעקב שקראו בית, והפירוש לא כאברהם שקראו הר שנאמר (הר תחרב) [הר ציון ששמם] (איכה ה׳:י״ח) ולא כיצחק שקראו שדה שנאמר (מיכה ג׳:י״ב) שדה תחרש, אבל לעתיד במהרה בימינו יבנה בזכות יעקב שקראו בית, והקשה מפני מה לא נבנה בתחלה בזכות יעקב ולא תחרב, ותירץ כי איתא במדרש (איכה רבתי פ"ד סי' י"ד) שפך חמתו על עצים ואבנים, ואם היה נבנה זכות יעקב ח"ו לא היה נשאר שריד ואיתא במדרש (רבתי פ' פקודי) מפני מה נקרא משכן שנתמשכן שני פעמים, פירוש שלקחו המשכן משכון בעבור ישראל, וזהו פירוש הגמרא מברכותיו וכו', כי כך אמר בלעם מה טובו אוהליך יעקב היינו המשכן שנקרא אוהליך יהיה בזכות יעקב, ועל ידי זה משכנותיך ישראל, פירוש, שאם כן היה המשכון ישראל בעצמם והבן:
(בסוף ס' אור האמת, ואמרי צדיקים).
How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel! (Numbers 24:5) From the blessings of that wicked man, you can learn what he wanted to curse. Sanhedrin 98b That is, from the blessing: “How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel.” For the Gemara says: “Not like Abraham, who called [the place of the Temple] a mountain, nor like Isaac, who called it a field, but like Jacob, who called it a house.”1Pesachim 88a: “Not like Abraham, of whom it is written ‘mountain,’ as it says: ‘As it is said today, in the mount where G‑d is seen’ (Genesis 22:14). Nor like Isaac, of whom it is written ‘field,’ as it says: ‘And Isaac went out to meditate in the field’ (ibid. 24:63). But like Jacob, who called it ‘house,’ as it says: ‘And he called that place “the house of G‑d” (Beit E-l).’” However, the Baal Shem Tov will assign two alternative verses from Scripture to Abraham and Isaac, both of which speak of the Temple’s destruction. Only the Third Temple, built in the merit of Jacob, will last forever. As the verse says: “For My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7). That is, not like Abraham who called it a mountain, as it says: “the mountain of Zion, which is desolate” (Lamentations 5:18), nor like Isaac, who called it a field: “Zion is a plowed field” (Micah 3:12), for in the future, the Temple will be rebuild in the merit of Jacob, who called it a house. But then, why wasn’t the Temple originally built in the merit of Jacob, so that it would not be destroyed? The answer is found in the Midrash: “He poured out his wrath on wood and stone.”2Eicha Rabbosai 4:14. That is, rather than G‑d directing his anger toward the Jewish People, He poured it on the Holy Temple. Instead of destruction, we were sentenced to exile. Had the Temple been built in the merit of Jacob, nothing would have remained of the Jewish people,3Because the Temple would have been perfect and indestructible, G‑d would have taken out His anger on the nation itself. as the Midrash says: “Why was [the Tabernacle] called Mishkan? Because it was twice used as collateral (‘mashkan’).”4Shemos Rabbah 51:3. The Mishkan, like the First and Second Temples, was also destroyed or captured due to the nation’s sins. It was a type of collateral; for when the people sinned, it was taken instead of them. That is, the Mishkan was taken as collateral for the sake of Israel. Now we can understand the curse in Balaam’s blessing: “How goodly are your tents, Jacob.” He wanted the Tabernacle, called “your tents,”5The Mishkan was also called the Ohel Mo’ed, the Tent of Meeting. to [already] be built in the merit of Jacob. Then, “your mishkenosecha” – Your collateral – would be “Israel” itself.6I.e. they would be destroyed.
Ohr Ha’Emes, and Imrei Tzaddikim