Riddle - what's the connection between this week's parasha and Pesach?
26:4 An Aramean destroyed my father - 10.9 and he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey - from the Hagaddah
Mountains play a significant role in our history - from Avraham binding Yitzchak on Mount Moriah (later the location of the Bet Hamikdash), to Moshe going up and down Sinai and Aaron even being buried on a mountain - Har Hahar, to the many battles that took place on mountains (Debroah and Barak fighting Sisera and the Canaanites on Mount Tabor, Saul fighting the Philistines on Mount Gilboa etc).
But mountains have also been the locations of numerous spiritual missions (such as Sinai).
One such occasion is in this week's parsha:
(11) Thereupon Moses charged the people, saying: (12) After you have crossed the Jordan, the following shall stand on Mount Gerizim when the blessing for the people is spoken: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. (13) And for the curse, the following shall stand on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. (14) The Levites shall then proclaim in a loud voice to all the people of Israel:
לברך את העם [THESE SHALL STAND UP …] TO BLESS THE PEOPLE — The procedure was as is found in Treatise Sotah 32a: Six tribes ascended the top of Mount Gerizim and the other six the top of Mount Ebal, the priests, the Levites and the Ark remaining below in the midst (i.e. in the valley between). The Levites turned their faces towards Mount Gerizim and began to recite the blessing: “Blessed be the man that does not make any graven or molten image etc.”, and both these and those (the tribes on Mount Gerizim and those on Mount Ebal) answered “Amen”! Then they turned their faces towards Mount Ebal and began to recite the curse, saying: “Cursed be the man who maketh any graven [or molten image]” — and so in the case of all of them (the curses set forth here) till the last: “Cursed be he that does not uphold [all the words of this law to do them]” (cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 11:29).
What is the significance of this happening on a mountain (in addition to the previous examples)?
"Sacred mountains are central to certain religions and are the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious worlds." (Arne Naess -was a Norwegian philosopher who coined the term "deep ecology" and was an important intellectual and inspirational figure within the environmental movement of the late twentieth century)
The way we can connect to the Divine is to go up to meet him. We make "Aliyah" up a mountain, in the same way that we are called up to the Torah. Gd sees our effort and meets us there. It is therefore no accident that some of our most important historical events, in fact THE most significant events (Sinai, Mount Moriah) have taken place on a mountain.
Relate how I felt when I climbed the mountain in the Negev - why I didn't want to come down - the feelings that I had.
Climbing a mountain elevates us, both physically and spiritually. We sometimes need to make the journey and when we reach the top, it is difficult to come down, because the atmosphere is so embracing - hostile, yet removed from any eternal influences.
The Torah was given in the middle of the desert because it was the only location that ensured we could focus without being distracted - but we need to know that, at a certain point, for the mountain to have its effect, we have to come down and face the world.
After reading the events that took place at Mount Grizim and Mount Ebal, we quickly move onto the Tochacha - the blistering, horrifying and at times unbearable description of what would (and did) befall us if we didn't learn the lessons from the previous chapter. It is too easy to lose oneself in the moment, be taken in by the beautiful vista that we witness when we reach that peak - and forget about the reason behind the journey.
Let us enter the month of Tishrei with the will to soak in the atmosphere that we will encounter over the next month and try to keep that glow within us, once we leave the High Holiday season.
Wishing you and your families a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year and Please Gd, many brachot for the entire year of 5780 - Shabbat Shalom.
In a week, we will enter the holy month of Tishrei, when we will climb our spiritual mountain and experience the high drama of Rosh Hashanah, the Ten Days of Penitence and the peak - Yom Kippur. We will look at ourselves introspectively and make promises about how we can improve and change ourselves.
These promises will stay with is throughout Yom Kippur and into Sukkot. But what happens when we come through the rapturous, unforgettable experience that is Simchat Torah? What happens when we come down from that mountain as the winter nights close in and the mountain we each individually climbed, fades into the distance?
That is precisely the time when we need to remember what it felt like to reach the top and what we learned on our journey.
I would like to wish you and your families a happy, healthy and peaceful New year - with the bracha that we should all have a wonderful year to follow. May we celebrate many smachot together.
Shabbat Shalom.