מה טובו אהליך יעקב…(בלק כד:ה)

When the Gaon Reb Shimon Sofer zt’’l became the Rav in Kracow, he noticed a lot of Shuls in the city, but there wasn’t Shalom – peace between one another.

Reb Shimon gathered all the townspeople and said: The Gemara says “אמר רבי אבא בר כהנא כולם חזרו לקללה”  –  (סנהדרין ק”ח) — All the brachos – blessings that Balaam blessed the Yidden with, turned into curses later on, except for מה טובו אהליך יעקב!

What’s the difference between the bracha of מה טובו אהליך יעקב and all the other brachas?

All his blessings became curses because Ballam didn’t bless wholeheartedly. His original intention was to curse the Yidden. However, the bracha of מה טובו אהליך יעקב was sincere because he wanted the Yidden to have lots of Shuls so that there would be fights amongst them.

The townspeople understood what their Rav was refering to, and from then on, they agreed to live together in peace and harmony.