Mountains and Valleys
Sotah 33 and 37

Before we delve into the geographic puzzles of Gittin, a few last words on Sotah. In the seventh chapter we have a comprehensive discussion of the blessings and curses given on Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal. This is in the context of what must be recited in Hebrew and what can be said in any language.

The mishnah explains the procedure for giving the blessings and curses and expounds on the verse in Devarim 11 that explains how to get to the mountains:

ארץ הכנעני הישב בערבהמול הגלגל אצל אלוני מרה הלא המה בעבר הירדן אחרי דרך מבוא השמש

Both are on the other side of the Jordan, beyond the west road that is in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the Arabah – near Gilgal, by the terebinths of Moreh.
(JPS trans.)

There are many details in that verse, not all of them fitting together. The Gemara discusses whether מבוא השמש  means east or west, connects the story to Abraham who goes to Elon Moreh and brings in the Samaritans who insert the words “near Shechem” into their Bibles. But one of the more puzzling details is מול גלגל , opposite (or near) the Gilgal. The Gerizim and Ebal that we know of flank the city of Shechem:

 and certainly cannot be described as near Gilgal which is close to the Jordan. Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov offers a midrashic explanation but Tosafot quotes an intriguing explanation in the Yerushalmi:

There were two mounds (גבשושית) that were called Gerizim and Ebal.

By stating that there was an alternate Gerizim and Ebal, besides the well known one, the Yerushalmi not only solves the problem of near Gilgal but also explains the logistical issue of how Bnei Yisrael could possibly have gotten from the Jordan to near Shechem in one day.

In a fascinating example of traditions moving from Jews to Christians, the mosaic map of Israel in the Madaba church in Jordan adopts this explanation and shows two sets of mountains, one near the Jordan and one near Shechem:

The other element of the Gerizim and Ebal story that I want to discuss here is the topography of the site near Shechem. On daf 37 there is a debate over whether the Cohanim and Leviim stood on the slopes of the mountains or down in the valley between them. Satellite pictures of the area show that there is what amounts to a natural amphitheater between the two mountains. This phenomenon was already noticed by Father J.W. McGarvey in 1879. Here is an excerpt from his diary:

Our route took us back through the valley, and we resolved that while passing between the two mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, in the still morning air, we would try the experiment of reading the blessings and curses. It will be remembered by the reader that, in compliance with directions given before the death of Moses, Joshua assembled all the people on these two mountains, stationing six tribes on one, and six opposite to them on the other, and he stood between and read to them all the blessings and curses of the law (See Deut 27-28, Josh 8:30-35). It has been urged by some skeptics that it was impossible for Joshua to read so as to be heard by the whole multitude of Israel. It is a sufficient answer to this to show that while Joshua read, the Levites were directed to repeat the words “with a loud voice” (Deut 27:14), and that it was an easy matter to station them at such points that their repetitions, like those of officers along the line of a marching army, could carry the words to the utmost limits of the multitude. But it is interesting to know that the spot chosen by God for this reading is a vast natural amphitheatre, in which the human voice can be heard to a surprising distance. About half-way between Shechem and the mouth of the valley in which it stands there is a deep, semicircular recess in the face of Mount Ebal, and a corresponding one precisely opposite to it in Mount Gerizim. No man with his eyes open can ride along the valley without being struck with this singular formation. As soon as I saw it I recognized it as the place of Joshua's reading. It has been asserted repeatedly by travelers that, although two men stationed on the opposite slopes of these two mountains are a mile apart, they can read so as to be heard by each other. We preferred to try the experiment in stricter accordance with Joshua's example; so I took a position, Bible in hand, in the middle of the valley, while Brother Taylor and Frank, to represent six tribes, climbed halfway up the slope of Mount Gerizim; and Brother Earl, to represent the other six tribes, took a similar position on Mount Ebal. I read, and they were to pronounce the amen after each curse or blessing. Brother Taylor heard me distinctly, and I could hear his response. But Brother Earl, though he could hear my voice, could not distinguish the words. This was owing to the fact that some terrace-walls on the side of the mountain prevented him from ascending high enough, and the trees between me and him interrupted the passage of the sound. The experiment makes it perfectly obvious that if Joshua had a strong voice,--which I have not,--he could have been heard by his audience without the assistance of the Levites. As to the space included in the two amphitheatres, I think it ample to accommodate the six hundred thousand men with their families, though of this I cannot be certain. If more space was required, the aid of the Levites was indispensable.”  (http://blog.bibleplaces.com/2008/12/acoustics-of-mounts-gerizim-and-ebal.html)

And here is an image from Google Earth showing the anphitheater:

May we all merit blessings!