To the righteous [the inclination towards evil] will seem like a mountain....'
Talmud, Sukkah 52a'On the mountain, GOD is seen.'Genesis 22:14
'You have been around this mountain too long; turn to what is hidden for you.'
(reading tzafonah, 'northwards', as tzafunah, 'hidden')
* * *
Ovadyah ben Tzefanyah was a soldier in the army of the King of Israel. He was a loyal soldier, though perhaps not the most conscientious. He loved his King and was very proud of the fact that his ancestors on both sides had also served the King, though in different regiments, and this spurred him on to occasional periods of intense devotion to duty. But between such periods, he would perform his duties only grudgingly, or perhaps not at all. He was aware that his lax attitude between his periods of devotion was the reason why he had not risen through the ranks to a higher position than he had, but he was not bitter about that. 'It's just the way I am,' he said. 'What can I do?'One day, Ovadyah was ordered to secure a certain strategic mountain against the King's enemies. (Actually, his superior officer had called it a hill, but to Ovadyah it seemed like a mountain--when he tried to climb it.) His assignment was to attain the summit and to defend it against all comers. 'A simple straight-forward enough task', he thought, 'though not without its dangers. Perhaps this isn't a very important mountain', he reasoned, 'or they would have sent more men, and not left it just to me.' But, it was now his mountain, his responsibility, and he promised to do his best.
But up close, the mountain turned out to be much steeper than it had seemed from a distance, and Ovadyah found that he often slipped down further in a few seconds than he managed to climb in a few hours. And each time he slipped he tore his uniform or his skin. Soon, his neat uniform, with its shiny buttons and crisp creases was a mess, and his legs and arms were bleeding. And as he climbed, he could see out of the corner of his eye that the King's enemies were getting into position for the attack.
After several hours of difficult and slow progress in the full heat of the day, Ovadyah was halfway up the mountain, and in a state. O, he was certain, that the real heroes, like the young King David, would have persevered, would have climbed relentlessly until they had attained the summit, but he was not a real hero. He was only Ovadyah ben Tzefanyah, not King David. He would have to stop, and rest, and clean his wounds. Of course, it was war, but a man has to look after himself, after Number One, doesn't he? The King's enemies were dug in now. They weren't going anywhere. They would wait. He could, he would fight them later, really he would!
So, instead of fighting, or even standing guard over his mountain, Ovadyah slipped into a cave. Though it was dark, his eyes soon adjusted and he began to look around the cave. It gave him much pleasure. It was cool, of course, because it was out of the sun. Deep within it, he found a pool of cool water with which to quench his thirst and wash his wounds. He opened up his pack and began to eat the food he had brought with him, and when he was full, his mind began to wander into daydreams, and soon, he was dozing, sleeping, oblivious to the war, and to his duty.
In his dream, Ovadyah was surrounded by the most beautiful young women he had ever seen, all intent on providing him with all his physical needs and desires. There was plenty of good food and the most wonderful wines, and he was the centre of attention. In his dream, he thought he was in heaven! And the world and the war didn't exist.
Suddenly, he awoke with a start. In his sleep, he had rolled over onto a sharp rock in the cave, and it had jabbed him in the side. He looked around him. He moved away from the offending rock, and lay down in another spot. This was such a pleasant place to be in the heat of the day, with a war going on, that he decided to stay longer, and settled down to doze once again.
But then he heard the sound of distant trumpets echoing softly through the cave. Slowly, still half-asleep, he began to recognise the tune they were playing. It was the royal anthem! 'O, no, the King is coming!', he thought to himself. 'What am I going to do? What will happen to me, if the King finds out that I haven't been fulfilling my assignment?'
He jumped up, no longer lethargic, straightened out his uniform as best he could, grabbed his sword and shield, and prepared to emerge from the cave. But the cave seemed more difficult to get out of than it had been to get in to. Somehow, the sides seemed much steeper, and Ovadyah had to scrabble up to the surface on his hands and knees, bruising and scraping them further.
And then, he was on the surface once more. At first, he was dazzled by the sun still high in the sky, but once again his eyes adjusted to the new circumstances, and as they did so, he realised that his mountain had been taken by the King's enemies while he had been asleep. And now the King and his entourage were marching down the road that led straight to his mountain. 'His majesty will be trapped!', Ovadyah exclaimed. He knew he had to do something.
The King's enemies seemed not to notice him at first, but he noticed them! He quickly hid behind a boulder, and had a good look at them. They looked like a terrible, fearsome lot. They had hard faces without a trace of kindness, and smiled without a trace of humour. They were the King's enemies, he knew, but Ovadyah thought he saw a small royal insignia on their uniforms, as if they had once been servants of the Crown like him. Then he began to recognise some of them. Men from his own regiment, but somehow different: tougher, meaner. He overheard some of them talking about the King in disparaging tones. They seemed oblivious to the sound of the King's trumpeter's playing the royal anthem, but Ovadyah heard it, and knew that it was growing louder. He had to act!
Ovadyah took up his sword and brought himself up to his full height. He shouted: 'For the King!' and began running towards his enemies (for they were now his enemies, as well as the King's). He waved his sword left and right, and at each thrust, he thought to himself 'This is for the King'. He had been expecting an armed response from his opponents, but no sooner had he crossed swords with them, than they began to flee. Some even surrendered and promised to be loyal to the King in future. Soon, the enemy was in retreat. He had conquered the mountain! The King was saved! Ovadyah rushed up to the summit to survey the road below.
Soon, the royal entourage arrived at the foot of Ovadyah's mountain, and as he looked down on what he thought was the most wondrous sight he had ever seen--the royal procession--he saw that the King himself was ascending the mountain, apparently without effort. Ovadyah was amazed! He went down on his knees before his Sovereign. He was humbled to be His Majesty's Presence, and ashamed that he had so nearly allowed the King to be captured by the enemy.
The King approached Ovadyah at the summit, and bade him rise. Then the King spoke to him, with a voice that seemed to resonate in Ovadyah's soul. 'You have done well, today, Ovadyah ben Tzefanyah. You have saved us from certain defeat. You will be rewarded.'
Ovadyah heard himself say, 'But Sire, I nearly lost. I was asleep, and the enemy overran the mountain. It was only because I heard the sound of the royal anthem that I aroused myself to fight them.'
'I know', said the King, 'I know. The battle was nearly lost. But that does not matter now. You have won, and we have won. I need people like you, people who can be trusted to fight when necessary, even when the cause seems lost. It does not matter that you nearly failed. My soldiers are not robots without feelings or thoughts of their own, but free people who give their loyalty and strength freely for a just cause. For them, failure is simply a part of their training, something they must overcome in pursuit of victory. This is what you have done, and others can learn from your example. So, from now on, you shall be a member of my personal guard of honour, and shall dwell in my inner palace and accompany me wherever I go. As long as you are with me, your presence and the story of this day shall be a lesson to all who would follow me.'
Once again, Ovadyah felt humble, and joyful, and he resolved in his heart to become a more conscientious servant of his Sovereign.
© Larry Tabick 2000
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