Mount Hermon (Arabic: الشيخ حرمون or جبل ALA-LC: Jabal al-Shaykh / جبل("Mountain of the Sheikh") or Jabal Haramun; Hebrew: הר חרמון, Har Hermon, "Mount Hermon") is a mountain cluster constituting the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the border between Syria and Lebanon[1] and, at 2,814 m (9,232 ft) above sea level, is the highest point in Syria.[2] On the top, in the United Nations buffer zone between Syrian- and Israeli-occupied territories, is the highest permanently manned UN position in the world, known as "Hermon Hotel".[3] The southern slopes of Mount Hermon extend to the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights, where the Mount Hermon ski resort is located.[4] A peak in this area rising to 2,236 m (7,336 ft) is the highest elevation in Israeli-controlled territory.

GeographyMount Hermon is actually a cluster of mountains with three distinct summits, each about the same height. The Anti-Lebanon range, of which the Hermon range constitutes the southernmost part, extends for approximately 150 km (93 mi) in a northeast-southwest direction, running parallel to the Lebanon range on the west. The Hermon range covers an area of about 700 km2 (270 sq mi) of which about 70 km2 (27 sq mi) are under Israeli control. Most of the portion of Mount Hermon within the Israeli-controlled area constitutes the Hermon nature reserve. The entire relatively narrow range, with the Lebanon-Syria boundary along its spine, extends from 25km northeast of Mt. Hermon to 45km southwest of it.

The mountain forms one of the greatest geographic resources of the area. Because of its height it captures a great deal of precipitation in a very dry area of the world. The Jurassic limestone is broken by faults and solution channels to form a karst topography. Mount Hermon has seasonal winter and spring snow falls, which cover all three of its peaks for most of the year. Melt water from the snow-covered mountain's western and southern bases seeps into the rock channels and pores, feeding springs at the base of the mountain, which form streams and rivers. These merge to become the Jordan River. Additionally, the runoff facilitates fertile plant life below the snow line, where vineyards and pine, oak, and poplar trees are abundant.

The springs, and the mountain itself, are much contested by the nations of the area for the use of the water. Mount Hermon is also called the "snowy mountain," the "gray-haired mountain", and the "mountain of snow". It is also called "the eyes of the nation" in Israel because its elevation makes it Israel's primary strategic early warning system.

In Psalm 42, which leads the Psalms of the northern kingdom, the Psalmist remembers God from the land of Jordan and the Hermonites. In Song of Songs 4:8, Hermon is an instance of an exotic locale, and the Song of Ascents as well as Psalm 133:3 make specific reference to the abundant dew formation upon Mount Hermon.[12]

^ Clifford, Richard J. (1 November 2003). Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms 73-150. Abingdon Press. pp. 263–264. ISBN 978-1-4267-6009-9. “Hermon” is an instance of an exotic locale, as in Song 4:8, where it occurs with several other place names. Mount Hermon was famous for its heavy dew. Though the Mediterranean climate of Palestine had no rainfall from May or June to September, it had dew. Dew was important in the summer and a supplement to rain. Zion was therefore a place of fertility which even in the

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rainless season has an abundance of dew, like that of mighty Hermon to the north. So plentiful is it that it “runs down [NRSV: “falls on”] the mountains of Zion” (Ps 133:3).

A Critical Commentary on the Songs of the Return

Author: Daniel Gurden Stevens

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

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Midrasha Shiur - 2 Shevat 5777: “Brothers Dwelling Together”

תהלים פרק קלג )א( שיר המעלות לדוד הנה מה־טוב ומה־נעים שבת אחים

גם־יחד: )ב( כשמן הטוב על־הראש ירד על־הזקן זקן־אהרן שירד

על־פי מדותיו: )ג( כטל־חרמון שירד על־הררי ציון כי שם צוה ידוד

ים עד־העולם: את־הברכה חי

Tehilim Ch. 1331 A Song of Ascents; of David. Behold, how good and how

pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!2 It is like the precious oil upon the head ,

coming down upon the beard; even Aaron's beard ,that cometh down upon the collar of his garments;

3 Like the dew of Hermon, that cometh down upon the mountains of Zion ;

for there the LORD commanded the blessing even life forever.

Rashi

כשישב הקדוש ברוךשיר וגו' - הנה מה טוב ומה נעים שבת אחים גם יחד, א() הוא בבית הבחירה עם ישראל הקרויין אחים ורעים ויהיה גם הוא יחד

עמהם

When the Holy One Blessed be He dwells in the Bet HaBechira (“His Chosen House/the Bet Hamikdash”) with Israel, who are

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called brothers and friends, and He will also be together along with them.)

Question: According to Rashi, where is the emphasis on unity in the opening pasuk of this brief perek?

Where in the pasuk does Rashi derive this from?

How does the imagery of the oil in the next pasuk fit into this approach?

כשמן הטוב - שנמשח בו אהרן הכהן:ב)(

Like the good oil – with which Aharon the Cohen (Gadol) was annointed

שיורד - מראשו אל זקנו אל פי ראש הכתונת שלו שהזקן שוכב ע"פ הכתונת כן נעים טל חרמון שגבוה על הררי ציון והטל יורד מחרמון להררי ציון כשם ששמן

כשם ששמן הטוב כן טלכך הר ציון לתפאר' ולכבוד לישראל המשחה לגדולה חרמון כזה כן זה כמו והיה כעם ככהן (ישעיה כ"ד(

Drips down – from his head to his beard to the opening of his robe (because the beard rests on the robe) so too, is the dew of the Hermon (highest of all of Israel’s mountains) and the dew descends from the Hermon to the mountains of Zion/Jerusalem. Just as the oil of anointing indicates greatness, so, too, Mt. Zion is the splendor and honor of Israel…

Metzudat David - מה מאוד טוב ומה מאוד נעים הדבר כאשרהנה מה טוב א)(

ישבו על אדמתם כל בית ישראל הנקראים אחים לגודל:האחוה שביניהם

How very good and how very pleasant is it when the entire house of Israel (who are called ‘brothers’ because of the brotherhood between them) dwells together on its landגם יחד - ויהיו גם יחד במלכות אחת ולא יחצו לשתי ממלכות עוד:

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Together: And they are also together in one kingdom and will no longer be divided into two kingdomsWhat two levels of togetherness does Metzudat David believe Tehilim is referencing here?How does Metzudat David derive that from the pasuk itself? Let’s compare this understanding of the pasuk to that of Rashi

כמו שמן המשחה עם כי היה נתון על הראש לבדשיורד - …ור"ל מ"מ באה השמן ממנו על מקומות מחולפות על כי המה דבוקות

זו בזו כן אם כל בית ישראל אחת וראש אחד להם תתחלק אזהשפע לכולם באמצעות המלך המקבל השפע בראשונה:

This means to say that just like the anointing oil, despite the fact that it was placed only on the head (of the Cohen Gadol) nevertheless, the oil dripped down on other portions (of the Cohen) because they are connected to one another. If so, the entire House of Israel is one, and has one ‘head’, and then the bounty will be divided to all of them, by way of the King, who is the one initially receiving that bounty.What “bounty” does the king receive? What is the Jewish conception of a king that facilitates the provision of this bounty?

כמו הטל היורד מהר חר ון על הררי ציוןכטל חרמון - ב)(:הנמוכים ממנו כן באה השפע באמצעות המלך ליתר העם

Just like the dew that descends from Mt. Hermon on the mountains of Zion, that are lower in elevation from it, so, too, the bounty comes through the agency of the king to the rest of the nation

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בציון צוה ה' את הברכה והחיים עד העולם ר"ל בציון באהכי שם - שפע ותחל ראשונה על המלך המולך בה וממנו יושפע על בני העם

ולכן טוב הדבר שיהיו לאחדים:Because there – in Zion – Hashem commanded the beracha and the life for eternity. This means to say that the bounty comes in Zion and initially sets in on the King who rules there, and from him it impacts on the members of the nation – therefore it is “good” for them to be united

According to this approach, Mt. Zion is understood as having two dimensions:

- It represents the nation, receiving the שפע from the the bounty from the King/מלך

- It is the metaphysical focus point of the bounty itself

Malbim שיר זה הוסד על ב' האחים הידועים, שהםשיר המעלות, א)(

, אשריששכר וזבולון שהתחברו יחד עד שהיו כגוף ונפש שמח זבולון בצאתךהאחד הולך מהלך השלמות לחברו, כמ"ש

שיששכר עסק בתורה והשלים את הנפש, וזבולוןויששכר באהליך עסק בפרקמטיא לשלמות הגוף והקנינים, ובצירוף שניהם יחד נשלם הטוב והנעימות, הטוב האמתי מעניני עוה"ב, והנעימות בחיים הזמנים, וז"ש הנה מה טוב ומה נעים, וזה בא ע"י שבת אחים גם יחד, שמלבד שבתם בשלום היו יחד כגוף אחד, עתה

יבאר הדבר:

This song is based on the two “known” brothers – Yisaachar and Zevulun, who joined together to the point of being one body and soul – in which one completes his fellow, as it says “Rejoice Zevulun in your going out and Yisaachar in your tent”; that Yisaachar engages in Torah study and completes/perfects the

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soul, and Zevulun engages in business to complete/perfect the body and material acquisitions –of and the two of them together goodness and pleasantness are achieved – the true goodness of matters pertaining to the World to Come, and the pleasantness of temporal existence, and that’s what the verse means when it says, “how good and how pleasant” – and this comes through “the brothers dwelling together” – because aside from them dwelling peacefully, they were literally like one body….How does Malbim’s understand of the brothers differ from that of Rashi and Metzudat David?What nuance in the verses is the cue to this new understanding?

כשמן, הנה ההשפעה האלהית תרד לפעמים על המוכן לה בבליב() אמנם תרד בשפע רב כ"כ עד שישופע ממנה גםאמצעיי

, וזה במשל השמן הטוב של שמן המשחה,הבלתי מוכן לה שעקרו יורד על הראש, ששם היו מושחים בשמן משחת קדש, כי

הוא המקום המוכן לזה באשר שם משכן המוח וכלי השכל והמחשבה, שהשמן מורא על ההשגה, ובכ"ז יורד במקרה גם על

ובנמשלהזקן זקן אהרן, הגם שהזקן ארוך שיורד על פי מדותיו, זה היה בא השפעת החכמה על יששכר שהוא במשל הראש שהוא היה מוכן לקבל החכמה וקבל ממנה חלק גדול ושפע

רב עד ששמן החכמה הושפעה ממנו גם על שבט זבולון,שגם הם קבלו משפע ההוא, ושמן תורק:

Like the oil: Divine bounty sometimes sets in on someone who is prepared for it without any intermediary; however, it descends with such intensity that even those who are not prepared for it. This is what is intended in the parable of good anointing oil (in this psalm). The oil mainly falls on the head, the part of the body on which the holy oil was poured, because it is the place that is prepared/predispose to it, in that it is the seat of the intellect and the organs associated with the brain and thought, because the oil is symbolic of comprehension, and nevertheless it also

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coincidentally descends on the beard, the beard of Aharon, even though the beard is long (it even extends to the opening of the robe of Aharon!) Using this parable, the impac of wisdom set in on Yisaachar, who is compared to the head, predisposed to receive this wisdom. He was a recipient of so much wisdom to the point that the oil of wisdom also impacted the tribe of Zevulun, who also received of this bounty…What theme unites the view of Malbim and Metzudat David? In what way do the two approaches differ?

כטל חרמון, ולפעמים תגיע השפע על המוכן לה ע"י אמצעיג)( באופן שתגיע תחלה אל מקום בלתי מכוון בעצם וראשונה, כדי

שתריק על מקום הראוי, כטל חרמון שאינו מכוון לצורך הר חרמון רק שיורד על הררי ציון, כי שם צוה ה' את הברכה, שעקר הברכה יורד בשביל הר ציון והולך דרך הר חרמון, כי הטל המביא

חיים בהר חרמון אינם חיים מתמידים עד העולם, ואינם חיים אבל החיים אשר בהר ציון הם חיים נצחיים עדנצחיים,

העולם, כן שפע העושר והקנינים שהגיע אל זבולון לא הגיעו אליו רק לצורך יששכר שימצא ריוח לעסוק בתורה

והגיעו ליששכר באמצעות זבולון, ובזהולקנות על ידם חיי עד,היה זבולון דומה כהר חרמון שמקבל הטל בשביל הר ציון:

Like Mt. Hermon. And sometimes the bounty will reach the one who is predisposed to it through a medium, such that it will first reach the place that it is not ultimately focused upon, so that it will be poured onto the appropriate place. Just like the dew of the Hermon, which is not directed towards Hermon itself, but instead is destined for the mountains of Zion, because that’s where Hashem directed the blessing, because the main blessing is directed towards Mt. Zion via Mt. Hermon, because the dew that brings life to Mt. Hermon is not eternal life, but the life of Mt. Zion is eternal life; so, too, the abundance and material acquisitions that Zevulun obtained only accrued to him for the purpose of

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Yisaachar, giving him ‘space’ to engage in Torah study and to thereby acquire eternal life. The acquisitions were made by Yisaachar through the agency of Zevulun, and in this way, Zevulun was comparable to Mt. Hermon, which receives the dew on behalf of Mt. ZionAccording to Malbim, how is the dynamic of the Yisaachar and Zevulun relationship represented by the relationship between the dew of the Hermon and its ultimate destination – Mt. Zion?

From another one of our shiurim, “The Majesty of Yehuda”

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