Mah Tovu

pp 52-53

In the beginning, we were an outdoor people.  We encountered God in the wind on a mountaintop, and we heard God’s voice thundering above the crashing waters.

            But we have also known the Divine Presence which dwells inside, in sacred space:  within a backyard sukkah, underneath a wedding canopy, in the ancient desert tabernacle, in Jewish homes illumined by Shabbos candles, inside our mother’s womb, and in a synagogue alive with prayer.

            Of these sacred interior spaces the ancient wizard/prophet Bilaam declared “How goodly are your tents O Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel.”            (Numbers 24:5)