Derech eretz as preparation for Torah

בפסוק וישב משה את דברי העם אל ה' וכ' רש"י ממכילתא וכי צריך הי' משה להשיב אלא ללמדך ד"א ממשה רבינו ע"ה כו'.

On the pasuk "And Moshe brought back the words of the people to Hashem," Rashi writes, citing the Mechilta: Did Moshe really need to bring back a reply? Rather, it comes to teach you derech eretz (proper conduct) from Moshe Rabbeinu, alav hashalom.

The Torah seems to record an unnecessary detail - that Moshe reported the people's response back to Hashem, who already knew it. The Mechilta answers that this teaches us a lesson in derech eretz from Moshe's own behavior.

ואין מובן כי הקושיא במקומה עומדת.

But this is not understood, for the original difficulty still stands in place.

The Sefas Emes objects: even granting that the verse teaches derech eretz, the puzzle remains - why was such a lesson inserted specifically here?

וביאור הענין עפ"י מאמרם ז"ל ד"א קודמת לתורה לכן הוצרך ללמדנו דרך ארץ קודם קבלת התורה.

The explanation of the matter is based on the saying of Chazal that derech eretz precedes the Torah; therefore it was necessary to teach us derech eretz before the receiving of the Torah.

Because Chazal teach that proper conduct must come before Torah, the lesson of derech eretz was placed here, right before Matan Torah, to show that it is the prerequisite.

והענין הוא כי דרך ארץ הוא הכנת האדם מכח הדעת שבו.

The idea is that derech eretz is a person's preparation through the power of the daas (understanding) within him.

Derech eretz is not merely etiquette; it is the inner refinement a person achieves through his own faculty of daas, readying himself to receive something higher.

וזה ענין תיקון המדות בימי הספירה קודם קבלת התורה וכמו שנזדככו בנ"י מיציאת מצרים עד שבאו להר סיני והקדימו נעשה לנשמע וזה אות על רוממות הדעת שהי' להם ומרע"ה רצה שיהי' מתן תורה עפ"י הקדמת אתערותא דלתתא ואז נשאר דבר של קיימא וזה הקדמת ד"א לתורה:

And this is the matter of refining one's middos (character traits) during the days of Sefirah before the receiving of the Torah - just as Bnei Yisrael purified themselves from the Exodus until they came to Har Sinai and placed "na'aseh" (we will do) before "nishma" (we will hear). This is a sign of the loftiness of daas that they had; and Moshe Rabbeinu wanted Matan Torah to come by way of an arousal from below (is'arusa dil'tata) preceding it, for then it becomes something enduring - and this is the precedence of derech eretz to Torah.

The work of refining one's middos during Sefiras Ha'Omer is exactly this preparatory derech eretz. Bnei Yisrael purified themselves until, at Sinai, they declared "we will do" before "we will hear" - proof of their elevated daas. Moshe wanted the Torah to be received only after the people first stirred themselves from below, because a gift earned through one's own arousal endures, rather than one given without effort.

Summary: Moshe's reporting the people's words back to Hashem teaches that derech eretz - refinement of one's middos through daas - must precede Torah, just as Bnei Yisrael refined themselves through the days of Sefirah and stirred themselves from below before receiving the Torah, so that what they received would be lasting.