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The Second Mountain
SPIRIT
A WORD OF TORAH
W
hat do you do when
you have achieved
it all, when you
have risen to whatever career
heights fate or providence has
in store for you? What do you
do as age lengthens its shadow,
the sun sinks, and the body
is no longer as resilient or the
mind as sharp as it once was?
That has become a major
problem as life expectancy
has increased in most parts
of the world. There has been
nothing quite like it in history.
In America, in 1900, average
life expectancy was around 41
years, in Europe 42.5. Today
in Britain, for men it is 79, for
women 83. Much of that has
to do with a huge reduction
in infant mortality. None the
less, the sheer pace in the rise
in longevity — every decade
since 1900, life expectancy has
risen by about three years —
remains remarkable. What will
keep you young in spirit even
if the body does not always
keep pace?
The biblical case study is
Moses, of whom we are told
that even at the end of his life,
“his eye was undimmed and
his natural energy unabated.”
At the opening of today’s
parsha he says, “I am now
120 years old. I can no longer
come and go, and the Lord has
told me, ‘You shall not cross
this Jordan.’”
Rashi points out that
the “I can no longer”
does not mean that he
lacked the strength. It
means that he no longer
had permission. The
moment had come when
he had to hand on the
role of leader to his
successor and disciple, Joshua.
He himself stayed full of vigor,
as the passion of his speeches
in the book of Devarim,
delivered in the last month of
his life, testify.
To understand what Moses
epitomizes at the end of
his life, two closely related
concepts are helpful. The
first is Erik Erikson’s idea of
generativity, the seventh of
his eight life stages. Relatively
late in life, he argues, many
people’s perspective changes.
They begin thinking about
legacy, about what will outlive
them. Their focus often shifts
from self to others. They
may devote more time to
family or community or care
or voluntary work. Some
mentor young people who are
following in their career path.
They make commitments to
others. They ask themselves,
how can I contribute to the
world? What trace will I leave
on those who will live on after
me? What, in the world,
is better because of me?
The second and
related idea is David
Brook’s concept of
the second mountain.
Speaking to people over
70, he found that early
in their lives they had
identified the mountain they
were going to climb. They
had specific aspirations about
family and career. They had a
vision of the self they wanted
to become. By age 70, some
had achieved it and were
happy. Others had achieved
it only to find it not entirely
satisfying. Yet others had been
knocked off the mountain by
misfortune.
THERE IS ALWAYS MORE
TO STRIVE FOR
At a certain age, though, many
identified a second mountain
they wanted to climb. This
mountain was not about
achieving but about giving.
It was less about external
accomplishment (success,
fame) than about internal
accomplishment. It was
spiritual, moral; it was about
devoting yourself to a cause or
giving back to the community.
It is often, he says, a yearning
for righteousness, an inner
voice that says, “I want to do
something really good with
my life.” This second peak,
associated with later life, may
well prove more significant to
our sense of self-worth than
the ego-driven ascent of the
first mountain.
The case of Moses sets all
this in dramatic perspective.
What do you do if you have
already achieved what no
human being had ever done
before or would ever do in
the future? Moses had spoken
to God face to face. He had
become His faithful servant.
He had led his people from
slavery to freedom, put up
with their complaints, endured
their rebellions and prayed
for — and achieved — their
forgiveness in the eyes of God.
He had been the agent
through which God had
performed His miracles and
delivered His word. What else
is left to do after such a life?
His closest friends and
allies, his sister Miriam and
brother Aaron, had already
died. He knew that the decree
had been sealed that he would
not cross the Jordan and lead
the people on the last stage of
Rabbi Lord
Jonathan
Sacks