The Voice Rising From the Earth Up to this point, the voice of God descended from heaven, from this point on, the Divine voice emerges from the earth. At Sinai, the Jewish people stood at the bottom of the mountain and heard the words of the ten commandments descending from the top of the mountain, yet, in the land of Israel, the reverse was to take place. The Jewish people would stand atop the two mountains of Gerizimi and Ebal, listening to the words of the Torah spoken to them by the Levites, who stood in the valley between the mountains. At the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, we read: And it will be, when the Lord, your God, will bring you to the land to which you come, to possess it, that you shall place the blessing upon Mount Gerizim, and the curse upon Mount Ebal. Later in Deuteronomy, where the Torah elaborates on the ceremony, Rashi elaborates: As it is found in Tractate Sotah (32a): Six tribes ascended to the top of Mount Gerizim and [the other] six to the top of Mount Ebal; the Kohanim, the Levites and the [holy] ark stood below in the middle. The Levites turned their faces towards Mount Gerizim and began with the blessing: “Blessed be the man who does not make a graven or molten image…,” and these [the tribes on Mount Gerizim] and these [the tribes on Mount Ebal] answered “Amen!”. At Sinai, the words of the Torah were spoken from above, superimposed by the Divine will. The land of Israel, however, represents the internalization of the Torah's values to the extent that the Torah emerges from the earth. Entering the land of Israel begins a new era, where the created reality can be refined to the point where creation itself beckons and calls us to appreciate the value of the Torah. The theme of this entire portion is the refinement of creation, which depicts at great length the spiritual heights that the Jewish people would experience in Jerusalem. There, in Jerusalem, the celebration is not exclusively spiritual, but rather it includes celebrating with food and drink: And there you shall eat before the Lord, your G-d, and you shall rejoice in all your endeavors you and your households, as the Lord, your G-d, has blessed you. (Deuteronomy 12:5-7) In Israel, physical pleasure is not in conflict with spiritual connection. Instead, we discover the harmony between body and soul, where the eating and celebrating lead to an increase in the awe of G-d: And you shall eat before the Lord, your God, in the place He chooses to establish His Name therein, the tithes of your grain, your wine, and your oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and of your sheep, so that you may learn to fear the Lord, your God, all the days. (Deuteronomy 14:23)