August 31, 2007 - KEE TAVO: REACHING THE PEAK - (17th of Elul, 5767)

In Jewish life and throughout Jewish history, mountains have always played a significant role. Perhaps it is because they really are closer to heaven than the rest of the earth, and perhaps because we have always maintained a notion that God somehow had a dwelling in the sky, the high places were revered and exalted. You remember, for example, that when the peoples of the earth wanted to challenge God, they sought to build a mountain themselves, the Tower of Babel. God, contemptuously confounded their languages and defeated the project, but the point of reaching into the heights is not, tonight, lost on us.

Later on, our ancestors used the high places in the land of Israel as holy sites, places to build their altars and offer sacrifices to the Lord. In fact, one of the hurdles that the priests of Solomon's Temple had to overcome was the outlawing of these high places. In order to centralize and formalize the sacrificial system, they needed everyone to bring their offerings to Jerusalem, to the Har HaBayit, the mountain of the House of God.

Moses, in this week's Torah portion, utilized two mountains that stood at the entrance of the Promised Land. As soon as the people were to have crossed the Jordon, they were to ascend mountains that faced each other. From the top of the verdant one, Mt Gerizim, Israelites from certain specific tribes were to shout blessings for upholding God's laws, and from the top of the barren one, Mt Ebal, others were to shout out the curses for neglecting them. In this way did Moses use high places to create a kind of living theater to reinforce the importance of God's commandments to the peoples' well being.

Mountains are many things to us. They symbolize security in that, from their summits, we can reconnoiter the surrounding lands immediately and safely. In more ancient history, those who controlled the pinnacles, building their fortresses and castles thereon, declared not only their unassailability but also their power and wealth. In Medieval Europe, for instance, the king and the nobles built their homes on hill tops, and when opposing forces came, their servants and peasantry all pulled into their castle–fortresses in order to defend their possessions.

Mountains are often seen as places of refuge and retreat. Not infrequently do we hear of summer camps and retreat centers which take advantage of the cooler, more temperate locations that mountains provide, their winds, snow-melt-caused-runoffs and, in some instances, forceful, breath taking water falls-their vistas and other aesthetic pleasures. It is not without an inherent understanding of the spirituality that mountains afford us and represent that the psalmist proclaimed, Esah enai el he-hareem, mei-ayn yavo esri…I lift my eyes unto the mountains, from whence comes my help? For, in their lofty majestic-ness God was thought to have lived; and if the Almighty's abode wasn't in the heights, God, being distant from the supplicant, might have been thought to be 'up there and atop there' when the Eternal didn't seem so close here!

All this by way of saying that back a few days ago, I took a group to climb one of Colorado's 14ners. And you can ask me why I would do something like this. My answer isn't a simple one. There are actually many reasons. The reason why Ziva and I moved to Colorado is, indeed, due to the Rocky Mountains–––their allure and grandeur. There is something which I can't quite describe or pin down about being able to turn my gaze to the west and rest on that range of peaks. It does something wonderful to my soul. In fact, so important are these natural wonders to me that I insisted on a view from whatever property we might buy. No view? No sale!

Of course, one of the obvious reasons for taking four post–Bar Mitzvah students up Quandary was to create a bond with them and to show them that their rabbi was a regular, if not older man who was still capable of keeping up with them. Now, was that for them? Or was that reason strictly for me…to prove what I just said to myself? Regardless and quite seriously, climbing a 14ner requires quite a bit of logistical planning, preparation in what to bring, and mental toughening in reaching an internal resolve not to quit, but to keep going until one summits.

If you've never climbed one of Colorado's 14ners, it may be hard for you to truly understand what an undertaking this is. Part of the challenge of the climb is to see if you have what it takes....and it usually takes from two to three hours, if not more, of constant climbing in order to summit. The thing about Quandary is that although it is labeled a ‘1,s’ the easiest of all 14ners to climb, it is still daunting and difficult. I shall not soon forget arriving at about 13,200 feet, my insides churning due to the change in altitude, my breathing labored because of the dearth of oxygen, and still looking up to that last 800 feet that seemed to climb straight up into a very, very distant, far away heaven.

To the degree that climbing a mountain can be used as a metaphor for life, Quandary or any tall peak is instructive. For, if you look only at the peak as you climb, you might as well quit. You can't climb a mountain that is in your mind or in your eye in one fell swoop. What you have to do, and this is a life lesson, is to take your ascent in chunks or sections. You move at that height to a next, self determined goal point; then you stop and catch your breath. Then you move to the next stopping goal point and repeat the process. If you try to go too fast, your body will retard you…that is, unless you are in terrific shape and are well practiced at this. But, if you go too slowly, you'll not summit in time to be off the peak by 11 a.m., the time when those on the tops of these mountains are vulnerable to lightning strikes.

Two of our group bounded up this mountain. They were in great shape from their football training. The rest of us trudged up the last, grueling 800 feet, one stopping and resting point at a time. Perhaps, just perhaps, when and if things ever get challenging for any of us who made this climb, we'll remember the lesson to take things a bit at a time and not try to conquer life in one fell-swoop. In chunks, in small portions, all things may be approachable and do-able… I don't really know why I've climbed a 14ner the last 4 summers, but I suspect it has something to do with the encouragement that Kee Tavo tells the one bringing a sacrifice: enjoy these special moments in life and the effort it took to get there. Again, to use Quandary as a life lesson and as a metaphor for life itself, it wasn't just reaching the summit that was so satisfying–––beautiful and awe inspiring as being on the summit of any peak might be––– as it was just to make the climb–––up and down… to have made the journey. .

Then again, to actually reach the top of a 14ner is exhilarating and satisfying like few other experiences I have had in my life. I grew up climbing Mt Pinnacle near Hendersonville, North Carolina, and was always thrilled to be at –its– peak, taking in the 3 or 4 state view it afforded. But there is something more special about doing this at this age and in Colorado; and the joy of fulfillment in being able to stand on the crest of something so hard to arrive at is indescribable. I can think of no better place to say Shehechiyanu–blessing the One who has given us life…because, to reach the peak is to feel very close to one's life force. It is to celebrate accomplishment in a way that we seldom are able to in this life, for we have striven to reach the heights and have, at last and with God's help, arrived.