Ma Tovu

Ma Tovu (Biblical Hebrew: מַה טֹּבוּ, lit. 'How lovely') is a prayer recited by religious Jews expressing reverence to 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 at the beginning of the morning prayers when one would theoretically would have just entered the synagogue.