The Second Lech Lecha
From the term “מוֹרְיָה” we can gain a perspective on contemporary events. In Parshat Vayeira, Avrahom receives the second mitzvah of “Lech Lecha”. On the first occasion, he was told “Lecha Lecha” – to go on this journey from Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan. Now that he was in Canaan, the second Lecha Lecha comes:
“וְלֶךְ לְךָ אֶל אֶרֶץ הַמֹּרִיָּה”
“Make Aliya, ascend, go on that journey to the land of Moriah”
But why was it called מֹּרִיָּה? I’ve come across four key perushim, four great commentaries. The first is that מֹּרִיָּה comes from the root “רָאָה”, which means “to see”. And indeed, at the end of the Akedah, Avrahom declared at that spot:
“בְּהַר ה’ יֵרָאֶה”
“It is on this mountain that Hashem’s presence can be seen.”
מֹּרִיָּה is the place where the presence of Hashem in this world is more palpable than in any other place.
The second perush is that מֹּרִיָּה comes from the term “מֹר”, which is the biblical word for “Myrrh”, a spice which was used as part of the incense during our sacrificial rite in the temples which stood on Mount Moriah. So therefore, מֹּרִיָּה here represents the beauty and the majesty of our worship of Hashem.
And then the third and fourth perushim can be found in the Gemara Masechet Ta’anit תט״ז ע״א;
“הַר שֶׁיָּצְאָה מִמֶּנּוּ הוֹרָאָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל”
“A mountain from which teaching and instruction went forth to Israel.”
מֹּרִיָּה from “הוֹרָאָה”, which means teaching. This is the mountain from which instruction and inspiration for all times is given to the Jewish people, as indeed we declare,
“כִּי מִצִּיּוֹן תֵּצֵא תוֹרָה”
“From out of Zion comes forth the Torah”
And the last of the perushim in the Gemara there asks: Why is this mountain called מֹּרִיָּה?
“הַר שֶׁיָּצָא מִמֶּנּוּ מוֹרָא לְאוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם”
“This is a mountain from which fear and dread comes into the hearts of the nations of the world.”
מֹּרִיָּה from the root “יִרְאָה”, which means “fear”. And what Chazal mean by this is: since מֹּרִיָּה is the location where Jewish people connect with God, the place where our Temple stood, and where the words of Torah go forth for Jews around the world; because מֹּרִיָּה is the epicentre of Jewish life and of Jewish faith, sometimes that might make other people feel somewhat inadequate, and that perception might bring an element of fear into their hearts.
What we therefore find is that the term מֹּרִיָּה reminds us of the privilege that we, as Jewish people, have to be rooted geographically within the land of Israel, at the centre of which is Zion, and the blessing that comes for us throughout all ages from that most holy place on earth.
Shabbat shalom.