By Teresa Konopka
SAN DIEGO — When reading tales of our ancestors in the Torah, it can seem more like fiction than fact. The characters are distant peoples from faraway lands whose personal lives we can only speculate about. As the same parshas are read year after year, it is easy to be desensitized to — or worse, disregard as myth — the superhuman feats we hear. This is where current events step in and help us connect to people like Moses.
From the Torah, we read that Moses was eighty years old when he confronted Pharaoh (Exodus 7:7). So, logically speaking, Moses was also in his 80s when he summited Mount Sinai, which is 7,500 feet tall. According to the Torah, Moses didn’t just go partially up the mountain but rather to the very top (Exodus 19:20). Climbing a mountain in old age is one feat, but doing it before the invention of belays and climbing tools is another marvel altogether.
“With my God I can scale any wall” (Psalms 18:29).
Debuting in 2021, “The Alpinist” documentary chronicled the life of Marc-Andre Leclerc. This young man specialized in the art of soloing, which is a mountaineering term for climbing without any human or mechanical assistance. The breathtaking clips in the film show Marc-Andre climbing up mountains thousands of feet tall alone with not so much as a rope. Even more astounding are the climbs where the rocks are near vertical at slopes of over 80 degrees. While words cannot do the film justice, viewers come to understand the immense spiritual pull that the mountains have and the profound impact that climbing has on one’s soul.
From a young age Marc-Andre loved nature and climbing. Despite his life being tragically cut short at age 25 due to an avalanche accident, his life and spirit make one wonder if such feelings were echoed in Moses. Who is to say that Moses didn’t love climbing as a youth? Who is to say that he did not summit pyramids and sphinxes in his teens? Furthermore, given the intense athletic standards would-be pharaohs had to prove via the Sed-Festival, it is more than likely that Moses regularly worked out and was in excellent physical fitness. The Sed-Festival was an ancient Egyptian proving grounds that tested Pharaohs’ strength and running speed. Those who performed poorly either lost their rights to the throne or were killed. Given Moses’ close nature to the Egyptian throne via his adopted mother (see Exodus 2), it is no stretch of the imagination to envision him constantly training his body for reasons of politics (best case) or survival (worst case).
While it is easy to envision young athletes summiting incredible mountains, it is harder still to picture a senior climbing Mount Sinai. Nevertheless, we must not forget that such things are possible. In July 2019, Anne Lorimor summited all 19,000 feet of Mount Kilimanjaro at 89 years old. Further back in 2013, Yuichiro Miura summited all 29,000 ft of Mount Everest at age 80. Mountaineering aside, in 2016 an 86-year-old old nun completed the Ironman competition, which involves 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, and 26.2 miles of running!
“Those who trust in HaShem will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
It’s evident that humans of all ages have incredible potential when it comes to fitness and climbing. It’s very possible that Moses was in prime physical shape all of his life and more than able to handle the summit of Mount Sinai in his later years. However, even more remarkable than climbing a mountain is doing so while fasting. As we read in the Torah, Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 whole days…without food or water (Exodus 34:28).
Most doctors would claim that while the human body can survive an extended period of time without food, it can only go about three days without water. However, modern science was slapped in the face in 2010 when a Hindu guru who claimed to have lived over seventy years without food or water was tested in a hospital setting. With constant around-the-clock supervision, Jani went 15 days without eating, drinking, releasing urine, or releasing stool. At the end of the 15 days, hospital funding ran out and Jani wanted to go back to his secluded mountains. While no one can prove his claims of going decades without food or water, this preliminary study has totally smashed the medical community’s long-held assumptions about what the human body is capable of.
“Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of HaShem” (Deuteronomy 8:3).
Speaking of superhuman abilities, Tibetan monks have been known to raise their body temperature as much as 17°F using meditation. So extreme are their abilities that these monks are able to not only dry wet sheets draped over them but actually cause them to steam in the cold Himalayan nights. Recently, Dutchman Wim Hof has gained worldwide popularity for his superhuman feats that he attributes to the same Tibetan meditation methods. Hof has ran half marathons barefoot on snow, scaled Mount Everest shirtless, and broken records for the longest time submerged in an ice bath. All this Hof has done not in his 20s but rather in his late 40s and 50s.
From ancient rabbis to Tibetan monks to Hindu gurus to Catholic nuns to Dutch athletes, it appears there is a secret that some people possess. This secret is called meditation by some and prayer by others. If non-Jews can access the feats of Moses by praying either to a foreign god or no god at all, does that make Judaism null and void? Heaven forbid! Just as a non-Jew can reap the health benefits of a kosher diet without adopting Jewish theology, a non-Jew can reap the benefits of meditation without converting. As noted in the tale of Jonah who is sent to preach righteousness to the wicked gentile city of Nineveh, G-d cares for all peoples. The same G-d who breathes life into Jews also breathes life into Gentiles.
“Then Hashem G-d formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person” (Genesis 2:7).
Scientifically, it has been observed that breathing at a rate of 5.5 breaths per minute with equal inhalation-to-exhalation ratio increases heart rate variability (HRV). Those who master HRV are better able to hack their own biofeedback loops and perform superhuman feats. Incidentally, most prayers and mantras from around the world are about 5.5 seconds long. There are whole kabbalah courses devoted to breathing meditations and some rabbis go so far as to compare the “he” in G-d’s name to the “ahh” sound one makes when breathing. Although society is gradually becoming more accepting of meditation, it still has a long way to go before it becomes fully mainstream. Perhaps one day the messiah will teach all nations the secrets of spiritual breathing that Moses and a select few have long since mastered. And as we age, maybe, just maybe, we will no longer expect to wither away in nursing homes but rather climb summits.
“I will pour out My Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions” (Joel 2:28).
“No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life. No longer will people be considered old at one hundred” (Isaiah 65:20).
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Teresa Konopka is a freelance writer based in San Diego. She may be contacted via teresa.konopka@sdjewishworld.com