Welcome back to Mythic Torah, my regular article investigating monsters, heroes and gods in the weekly Torah reading. This week's reading is Behar, the 9th reading of the book of Leviticus, that includes instructions for buying and selling land, as well as the rules for the Shemitah and Jubilee years.
I've always liked high places.
As a child, spending a lot of time at West London Synagogue, where my mother was the rabbi for many years, I would search out windows with broad ledges to sit on, so I could look down at the world from several storeys up. It was a man-made structure, but I loved feeling like I could see everything, and especially that I could see others without being seen myself.
I love the mountains of Switzerland - both standing at the top and feeling like I can touch the heavens, and standing at the bottom, feeling dwarfed by the mighty peaks all around me. When surrounded by such awesome heights it puts your life and your own problems into perspective, as you realise just how small and short your life is. A mountain feels to me like a place to touch eternity.
This week's torah reading of Behar opens with setting the scene for the instructions that follow:
1] The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying:
א. וַיְדַבֵּר יְהֹוָה אֶל משֶׁה בְּהַר סִינַי לֵאמֹר:
While we think of the Mount Sinai experience being based in Parashat Yitro (that includes the 10 commandments) and Ki Tissa (that includes the Golden Calf), but in fact not only does the whole section of the tabernacle at the end of the Book of Exodus take place at Sinai, so too does the entire book of Leviticus. It's only after Leviticus that the Israelites are finally ready to move away from Sinai and begin their journey to the Promised Land.
But what is the significance of the mountain itself? What is so special about mountains?
Apart from Mount Sinai, we have Mount Zion in Jerusalem, site of the Temple, the house of God; then there is Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal upon which the Israelites have to recite blessings and curses before entering the land; Mount Ararat is the final resting place of the Ark in the Noah story; Mount Carmel is the site of the confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal.
Then there are the High Places, the Bamot, that so dominate the books of Kings as each successive ruler either builds, takes down or does not take down these sites that are forbidden by Deuteronomic religion but apparently quite widespread throughout Israel (and more on these later). While these High Places were probably once viewed as legitimate places to worship and sacrifice to God, for the author of Kings they are an abomination, drawing the people away from the only legitimate sacrificial site in Jerusalem.
Other Mythologies
Probably the most famous sacred mountain has to be Mount Olympus, fabled home of the Greek pantheon, and a real place in Greece. From its lofty peak the twelve Olympian gods were said to watch over the mortal world, having established their palace there after the defeat of the Titans.
Closer to the Bible is Mount Tzaphon to the north of Israel, that in Canaanite mythology was said to be the site of Baal's palace, built after he defeated Yam. Isaiah even mentions Mount Tzafon in one of his prophecies, as he describes a fallen star swearing to ascend to heaven and "sit enthroned on the mount of assembly on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon" (Isaiah 14:13). Even in Israel, Mount Tzaphon was known as a place of divine power.
Why Mountains?
The religious experience that mountains inspire seems to relate to the aesthetic idea of the sublime, an experience of something vast and awe-inspiring, such that in the face of it you feel almost insignificant. Like staring out at the vast ocean (itself the imagined home of many monsters) gazing up at the mountain peaks high above your heads makes you feel small and under the gaze of something far larger and more ancient than yourself.
By contrast, standing on top of a mountain can make you feel closer to the divine realm. Not only are the clouds nearer, but the perspective you gain can make the rest of the world look tiny. I can see why ancient Israel built their altars on mountain tops, as it must have felt like a place that was closer to heaven.
The Power of Nature
Living in New York City, the closest thing that I usually come to the religious experience of mountains is going to the top of a skyscraper.
And while I love city living, I do think I undervalue the experience of being in the natural world, drawing inspiration from trees, lakes and mountains.
Man-made objects are impressive, but they don't draw your mind to heaven in the way that the natural world can do, as I find myself thinking more about the power and ingenuity of humanity than the sublime beauty of the world.
Standing at the mountain of Sinai, the Israelites experienced a huge range of religious moments. Not just the revelation of the ten commandments, but a wealth of other laws and practices, and even the construction of the Tabernacle, as God's movable home.
What revelations will you gain when you stand at the foot of the mountain?
Closer to the Bible is Mount Tzaphon to the north of Israel, that in Canaanite mythology was said to be the site of Baal's palace, built after he defeated Yam. Isaiah even mentions Mount Tzafon in one of his prophecies, as he describes a fallen star swearing to ascend to heaven and "sit enthroned on the mount of assembly on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon" (Isaiah 14:13). Even in Israel, Mount Tzaphon was known as a place of divine power.
Why Mountains?
The religious experience that mountains inspire seems to relate to the aesthetic idea of the sublime, an experience of something vast and awe-inspiring, such that in the face of it you feel almost insignificant. Like staring out at the vast ocean (itself the imagined home of many monsters) gazing up at the mountain peaks high above your heads makes you feel small and under the gaze of something far larger and more ancient than yourself.
By contrast, standing on top of a mountain can make you feel closer to the divine realm. Not only are the clouds nearer, but the perspective you gain can make the rest of the world look tiny. I can see why ancient Israel built their altars on mountain tops, as it must have felt like a place that was closer to heaven.
Living in New York City, the closest thing that I usually come to the religious experience of mountains is going to the top of a skyscraper.
And while I love city living, I do think I undervalue the experience of being in the natural world, drawing inspiration from trees, lakes and mountains.
Man-made objects are impressive, but they don't draw your mind to heaven in the way that the natural world can do, as I find myself thinking more about the power and ingenuity of humanity than the sublime beauty of the world.
Standing at the mountain of Sinai, the Israelites experienced a huge range of religious moments. Not just the revelation of the ten commandments, but a wealth of other laws and practices, and even the construction of the Tabernacle, as God's movable home.
What revelations will you gain when you stand at the foot of the mountain?
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