A Word of Torah
D'var Torah: Settling
Dr. Joshua Kulp, Rosh Yeshiva & Conservative Yeshiva Faculty
Most of the book of Devarim consists of Moses's speeches to Israel full of history, law, promises and warnings. But ask someone what the first thing Moses tells the people of Israel, and my guess is that they will be stumped. The first five verses of D'varim situate the book, and the the first thing Moses says is found in verse 6. He says "רב לכם שבת בהר הזה," which translates literally as "Much to you dwelling at this mountain." But the ambiguity of the phrase "Much to you" there are several ways we can read the verse.
Sifre Deuteronomy, a midrashic composition on the book of Deuteronomy reads, "'Much to you dwelling at this mountain': Much reward has accrued to you by dwelling at this mountain [Mt. Horev - seen here as another name for Mt. Sinai]. Upon it you accepted the Torah upon yourselves, I appointed for you seventy elders, officers of thousands, officers of hundreds, officers of fifties, and officers of tens, I made for you the mishkan and its vessels - You benefited greatly by your dwelling in this mountain!" For the Sifre, "much" refers to their transformation into a nation, with the Laws and moral system found in the Torah; a political and judicial system devoid of the tyranny of a single leader; and the establishment and construction of the mishkan, a centralized place and mode of worship.
But Midrash Tannaim, another composition on Deuteronomy, goes a different way. After quoting a teaching similar to the Sifre, it reads, "Much to you dwelling at this mountain': It is very bad for you, your dwelling on this mountain." Dwelling - staying - at the mountain is "very bad." With all that they gained there, and the closeness to God they felt, it would be tempting to stay forever. But staying in place, no matter how good that place is, leads to stagnation and to complacency.
The p'shat (plain) reading of the verse, as found in most translations, is "You have dwelt at this mountain long enough" (an odd way to begin one of the longer speeches in history!) Yes, in the place where God was revealed there is a feeling of unparalleled closeness. And yes, in the place where laws, beliefs, rituals, and prohibitions were given, they were transformed. But the mountain is in the midst of an uninhabitable wilderness, a place owned by no nation, and ultimately this is not what God wants from Israel. As Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Berlin, known at the Netziv, writes, "God was troubled by their delay, even though it was at this chosen and elevated mountain, for God wanted to bring them quickly into the land of Israel." According to this reading, which could also be called the Zionist reading, Israel was destined to bring God's message to the world not as a wandering people, but as one settled in its own land - bringing the Torah to bear on the real challenges of building and living an individual and collective life. The mountain was good, great even, but it was time to move on.
Being in a good place is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, there is the sacred sense of appreciation, of הכרת הטוב. On the other, there is the loss of the new experience, the thrill that comes from facing the unknown, and the growth that results from facing new challenges.
I write these words on my 48th birthday, having spent almost half of my years studying, teaching and administrating at the same institution, the Conservative Yeshiva. No heavenly voice or human boss has come to me and said, "Enough Josh, you've been sitting at your desk in the corner of that room for too long." But it is a challenge for me, and I think for many at my stage in life, to answer the question: Is this the mountain where I have "dwelled long enough" or is this the "promised land" where I am supposed to enjoy the security and build my legacy?
