The prayer begins with Numbers 24:5, where Balaam, sent to curse the Israelites, is instead overcome with awe at God and the Israelites' houses of worship. Its first line of praise is a quote of Balaam's blessing and is thus the only prayer commonly used in Jewish 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 (Psalms 5:8; 26:8; 95:6; and 69:14). In this vein is the prayer recited by Jews upon entering the synagogue; in the Western Ashkenzic rite, it is usually sung before beginning Maariv on Festivals, especially the second night of Yom Tov.
How lovely are your tents, O Jacob; your encampments, O Israel! As for me, through Your abundant grace, I enter your house to worship with awe in Your sacred place. O Lord, I love the House where you dwell, and the place where your glory tabernacles. I shall prostrate myself and bow; I shall kneel before the Lord my Maker. To You, Eternal One, goes my prayer: may this be a time of your favor. In Your abundant love, O God, answer me with the Truth of Your salvation.
Musical settingsedit
In modern times various composers have developed musical settings for Ma Tovu including:
Recordings of tunes to Ma Tovu on the Zemirot Database
Recordings of Ma Tovu spoken in different speeds
March 07, 2024
tovu, hebrew, good, goodly, prayer, judaism, expressing, reverence, synagogues, other, places, worship, prayer, begins, with, numbers, where, balaam, sent, curse, israelites, instead, overcome, with, israelites, houses, worship, first, line, praise, quote, bal. Ma Tovu Hebrew for O How Good or How Goodly is a prayer in Judaism expressing reverence and awe for synagogues and other places of worship The prayer begins with Numbers 24 5 where Balaam sent to curse the Israelites is instead overcome with awe at God and the Israelites houses of worship Its first line of praise is a quote of Balaam s blessing and is thus the only prayer commonly used in Jewish 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 Psalms 5 8 26 8 95 6 and 69 14 In this vein is the prayer recited by Jews upon entering the synagogue in the Western Ashkenzic rite it is usually sung before beginning Maariv on Festivals especially the second night of Yom Tov Contents 1 Text 2 Musical settings 3 References 4 External linksText editHebrewמ ה ט בו א ה ל יך י ע ק ב מ ש כ נ ת יך י ש ר א ל ואני ברב חסדך אבוא ביתך אשתחווה אל היכל קדשך ביראתך ה אהבתי מעון ביתך ומקום משכן כבודך ואני אשתחווה ואכרעה אברכה לפני ה עשי ואני תפילתי לך ה את רצון אלוקים ברב חסדך ענני באמת ישעך Romanization Ma tovu ohalekha Ya akov mishk notekha Yisra el Va ani b rov hasd kha avo veytekha eshtahaveh el heikhal kodsh kha b yir atekha Adonai ahavti m on beitekha um kom mishkan k vodekha Va ani eshtakhaveh ve ekhra ah avar kha lifnei Adonai osi Va ani t filati l kha Adonai et ratzon Elohim b rov hasdekha aneini be emet yish ekha English translation How lovely are your tents O Jacob your encampments O Israel As for me through Your abundant grace I enter your house to worship with awe in Your sacred place O Lord I love the House where you dwell and the place where your glory tabernacles I shall prostrate myself and bow I shall kneel before the Lord my Maker To You Eternal One goes my prayer may this be a time of your favor In Your abundant love O God answer me with the Truth of Your salvation Musical settings editIn modern times various composers have developed musical settings for Ma Tovu including Samuel Adler 1 Robert Strassburg 1993 2 Moshav Band 3 References edit Samuel Adler Works Ma Tovu on samuelhadler com Strassburg Robert WorldCat Retrieved 10 November 2022 Ma Tovu 2018 External links editRecordings of tunes to Ma Tovu on the Zemirot Database Recordings of Ma Tovu spoken in different speeds Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ma Tovu amp oldid 1150756153, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
