אלה יעמדו לברך את העם על הר גרזים ... ואלה יעמדו על הקללה בהר עיבל ... (כז-יב,יג)
Moshe Rabbeinu separated the Jewish Nation into two groups atop the mountains of Gerizim and Eival to hear the berachos and klalos, blessings and curses. Har Gerizim for berachos and Har Eival for the klalos.
The Chasam Sofer zt”l raises the following difficulty. There’s a Tosfos in Chulin (6a) which cites a Medrash in Parshas Vayishlach that Yaakov Avinu took the idols that his children had seized from the surrounding goyim and buried them on Har Gerizim. Har Eival, the posukim tell us, was where the Yidden built an altar, and mounted the stones upon which they had written the Torah. It would seem that Har Eival should be better suited for berachos than Har Gerizim.
There’s a fascinating observation that can help resolve this concern. Geographically, these two mountains are near each other - yet are very uniquely different. Har Gerizim is a luscious fertile green mountain while Har Eival is on the north and is bare and bleak. So it may very well be that they were chosen based on their physical characteristics.
R’ Shamshon Raphael Hirsch zt”l makes this observation, and from it derives a powerful lesson. How can it be that these two mountain ranges, so close to one another geographically, each receiving the same amount of sun, rain, and wind, develop so differently? He explains that apparently the secret of blessing or its opposite - klalos - isn’t based on external traits, but rather on the inner character of the recipient. Accordingly, we can see that although Har Gerizim contained those idols it was still able to attain beracha.
This concept can apply as well to us in this month of Elul. Even if throughout the year we might become a bit sullied with the grime of sin, we mustn’t give up. Through teshuva, real introspection and with proper guidance from our Gedolim and our predecessors, we can get close to Hashem again and be zoche to a year of beracha!