והיה ביום אשר תעברו את הירדן אל הארץ ... (כז-ב)
MASHAL: In this week’s parsha, Hashem relates what shall be done on the day the Jewish Nation will enter Eretz Yisroel.
The Gemara (Sota 36a) elaborates as follows (according to the Vilna Gaon zt”l): Come and see how many miracles were performed on the day the Jews entered the Holy Land: The Jewish people crossed the Jordan river and reached all the way until Har Gerizim and Har Eival, which are more than sixty mil (about 35 miles) from the river. As they crossed through all this land, no entity was able to stand before them and anyone who tried to attack, was instantly struck. We are taught, that hornets stood on the banks of the river and threw their venom at the inhabitants of the land.
When they arrived at the two mountains, the entire ceremony of blessings and cursing described in the parsha took place. Then, they took untampered stones and built an altar on Har Eival, plastered it over and wrote the entire Torah in seventy languages on the stones. They then sacrificed burnt offerings (עולות) and peace-offerings (שלמים) with joyous celebration. When it was finished, they took the stones with them and went back to Gilgal, where they slept the night.
NIMSHAL: It is quite amazing to know that the entire landscape described in the Gemara is clearly visible until this very day! If one takes a trip to the Shomron (West Bank), next to the relatively large Yishuv called Eilon Moreh, one can see a stretch of land stretching between mountains from the Jordan river until Shechem, which are situated between Har Gerizim and Har Eival in the center of modern-day Israel. Incredibly, this is the same place Avraham Avinu trekked (in Parshas Lech Lecha), as well as Yaakov Avinu and his sons; and many others throughout Tanach!