Ma Tovu
Ma Tovu (Biblical Hebrew: מַה טֹּבוּ, lit. 'How lovely') is a prayer recited by religious Jews expressing reverence upon entering synagogues and other places of worship in Judaism.
The prayer begins with Numbers 24:5,[1] which records Balaam, sent to curse the Israelites, as instead being overcome with awe at God and the Israelites' worship. Its first line is a quote of Balaam's blessing and is thus the only prayer commonly used in Jewish prayer services that was written by a non-Jew. The remainder of the text is derived from passages in Psalms relating to entering the house of worship and preparation for further prayer.[2][3][4][5] In this vein is the prayer recited by Jews upon entering the synagogue; in the Western Ashkenazic rite, it is usually sung before beginning Maariv on Jewish holidays, especially on the second night of yamim tovim (lit. 'good days').
Text
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Hebrew מַה טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ, יַעֲקֹב; מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ, יִשְׂרָאֵל |
Romanization Ma tovu ohalekha Ya'akov, mishk'notekha Yisra'el. |
English translation How lovely are your tents, O Jacob; your encampments, O Israel! |
Musical settings
[edit]In modern times various composers have developed musical settings for Ma Tovu including:
References
[edit]- ^ Numbers 24:5
- ^ Psalms 5:8
- ^ Psalms 26:8
- ^ Psalms 95:6
- ^ Psalms 69:14
- ^ Samuel Adler - Works Ma Tovu on samuelhadler.com
- ^ "Strassburg, Robert". WorldCat. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ Ma Tovu (2018)