יהושע, פרק ח׳, פסוק ל״ג

The renewal of the covenant in the Land of Israel unfolds exactly as Moses originally commanded, taking the form of a highly structured and striking public ceremony. The entire nation gathers to accept the obligations of the covenant and hear the blessings and curses. This assembly includes absolutely everyone, from the convert to the native-born citizen, meaning a full Jew from birth [מצודת ציון]. The people are arranged in a precise geographic and human formation. At the very center rests the Ark of the Covenant, surrounded by the priests, who are in turn encircled by the Levites. Flanking this central core, the tribes of Israel are divided into two halves, with one half facing Mount Gerizim and the other facing Mount Ebal. The people do not stand on the mountain peaks themselves, but rather along the slopes and at the base of the mountains [רד״ק, אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Regarding the exact location of these mountains, there is a difference of opinion among the sages. While one perspective identifies them as the well-known Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal situated near Shechem, another tradition suggests the ceremony takes place near the Jordan River and Gilgal, where the people construct two artificial hills and name them after the original mountains [רד״ק]. The division of the nation places six tribes on one side and six on the other. However, this raises a practical question: if the tribe of Levi is counted among the six tribes stationed on Mount Gerizim, how can the Levites also stand below around the Ark? The accepted resolution is that only the tribal elders and those fit for holy service remain below with the Ark, while the rest of the tribe, including women, children, and the elderly, stand on the mountain [רד״ק, אברבנאל]. Furthermore, the two halves of the nation are not perfectly equal in size. The group standing on Mount Ebal has a smaller population than the group on Mount Gerizim, primarily because the exceptionally large tribe of Joseph is stationed on Gerizim [רד״ק]. Alternatively, the distinct separation points to the specific half of the nation already assigned by the Torah to stand at Mount Ebal [מלבי״ם].

The primary purpose of this gathering is to bless the Israelites first. According to the primary approach among commentators, the Levites standing below are the ones who read the declarations. Although the Torah explicitly records only the curses, the Levites introduce a corresponding blessing before each one. They turn their faces toward Mount Gerizim and call out a blessing, such as praising the one who does not make an idol, to which the entire nation answers "Amen." They then turn toward Mount Ebal and declare the matching curse, continuing this pattern for every statement [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת דוד, אברבנאל]. A different approach suggests that the Levites below read only the curses. In this view, the six tribes on Mount Gerizim recite the blessings, and the six tribes on Mount Ebal recite the curses. The emphasis on blessing the people first means that the tribes themselves initiate the ceremony with blessings, contrasting with the Levites who begin with curses [מלבי״ם]. To solidify the event, Joshua goes beyond the specific declarations read by the Levites. He personally reads the lengthy sections of blessings and curses from the Book of Deuteronomy, ensuring the covenant is fully established and strengthened in the hearts of the people [אברבנאל].