Moses breaks his monologue to speak together with the elders of Israel, known in modern orthodox circles as the Sanhedrin, traditionally numbering 70 elders. Moses instructs the people to perform a very specific ceremony once they have crossed the Jordan on the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim. Part of this ceremony involved the construction of an altar and the establishment of pillars of stones that were then plastered and written on. What exactly was written on these monument stones is unclear. Opinions range from the entire Torah to the Decalogue. Joshua 4:9 testifies that Israel did indeed follow this practice of setting up stones as a symbolic witness of the covenant. The ceremony involved dividing the tribes between the mountains and declaring blessings from Gerizim and curses from Ebal. The altar and sacrifices are done on Mount Ebal, the mountain of the curses, and not on the mountain of blessing. In our discussions on why this might be the case, we ponder the connection between the Curse and the need for sacrifice to deal with the consequences of the Curse.

Led by Aaron Eime.

Notes for this study can be found at http://www.christchurchjerusalem.org/sermons/study-last-words-of-moses-deut/ ‎

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