Climbing The Mountain

לזכות רפואת נחמיה דב הכהן בן חי שרה בתוך שח"י

The 24th perek of tehillim requires one to pay close attention because therein is explicated the purpose and focus of our existence. That is why we say it on Rosh Hashana night with great kavana. It is also the שיר של יום on Yom Rishon [which English speakers call "Sunday" in honor of the sun god:)] when it all began....

Let us take one pasuk [for now]: מי יעלה בהר השם ומי יקום במקום קדשו - Who can ascend the mountain of Hashem and who can stand in His holy place.

Man is comprised of 2 components. He has a neshama that was taken from Hashem's Throne of Glory and he is also the dust of the earth. Therefore he is in constant flux. Either he is going up and connecting to his source which is Hashem and receiving life ואתם הדבקים בה' אלהיכם חיים כלכם היום - ONLY one who is connected to Hashem is truly alive. Everyone else just appears to be alive but it is an optical illusion. The other option is that he is immersed in his more animalistic, "dust of the earth" element. However [as the baalei mussar were quick to point out] there is no middle ground. That is man's existential reality, for better or for worse.

It doesn't say that we ascend על הר השם - on top of the mountain but בהר which means that we constantly ascend the mountain, higher and higher. The is no limit to our capacity to ascend and it never ends. One can never proclaim "I arrived at the top".

ומי יקום במקום קדשו - Who can stand in His holy place. The tip of the mountain is very sharp and narrow so there is a danger that one may fall. That being the case, one may never stop climbing higher and higher with the knowledge that he has not yet reached the top.

To be honest this is what gives life its excitement and spice. The knowledge that every day we have the capacity to grow and expand is a very life affirming message which can give one the strength to withstand the difficulties of life.

מי מרום י"ג עמ' קכח