Action, speech, thought across Creation and the festivals

בפסוק וידבר אלקים כו' לאמר.

On the verse "And God spoke... saying (leimor)" (Shemos 20:1).

The Sefas Emes focuses on the language of "speaking" that introduces the Aseres Hadibros.

כי בעשרת הדברות נתן השי"ת הכח בבחי' דיבור ומילולא כמו שהי' בעשרה מאמרות הכח במעשה בראשית.

For in the Aseres Hadibros (Ten Commandments) Hashem placed the power in the aspect of speech and utterance (milula), just as in the Asarah Maamaros (ten utterances of Creation) the power was in action — Maaseh Bereishis.

Creation was brought about through divine "utterances" that produced the realm of action; the giving of the Torah introduced a new power, the power of speech itself.

וכמו שיש דיבור מעשה ומחשבה בפרט.

And just as there are speech, action, and thought (dibur, maaseh, machshavah) in the individual —

A person operates through three faculties: thought, speech, and action.

כן בכלל העולם מתחלה הי' במעשה ואח"כ בקבלת התורה בדיבור.

— so too in the world as a whole: at first it was in "action," and afterward, at Kabbalas HaTorah, in "speech."

These same three faculties play out on the cosmic scale: Creation corresponds to action, and Matan Torah elevated the world to the level of speech.

ובחי' זו מיוחדת לבנ"י וניתן להם התורה וכח עשרה מאמרות שבמעשה נתוסף ג"כ לבנ"י.

And this aspect (of speech) is unique to Bnei Yisrael, and the Torah was given to them — and the power of the ten utterances that are in "action" was also added to Bnei Yisrael.

The dimension of speech belongs uniquely to Bnei Yisrael through the Torah, and along with it they also received the creative power of the Asarah Maamaros, the world of action.

וע"ז אמרו חז"ל כח מעשיו הגיד לעמו שלא הי' צריך התורה להתחיל רק מהחודש הזה.

And concerning this Chazal said (Rashi, Bereishis 1:1): "He told His people the power of His deeds" (Tehillim 111:6) — that the Torah really needed to begin only from "This month shall be for you" (Shemos 12:2).

Rashi's famous question of why the Torah opens with Creation rather than the first mitzvah is answered: Hashem "told His people the power of His deeds" — He gave Bnei Yisrael the creative power of Maaseh Bereishis itself.

התורה ומצות שמיוחדין לבנ"י.

The Torah and mitzvos that are unique to Bnei Yisrael.

Torah and mitzvos are the special inheritance of Bnei Yisrael.

רק שזכו בנ"י לקבל גם חלק האומות לתת להם נחלת גוים.

Except that Bnei Yisrael merited to receive also the portion of the nations, to give them "the inheritance of nations" (Tehillim 111:6).

Beyond their own portion, Bnei Yisrael were granted the share of the nations — the world of action, Maaseh Bereishis, which Hashem entrusted to them.

וזה הוא בכח הגלות שסובלין בין האומות כמ"ש בפ' בהר מזה.

And this comes through the power of the galus that they endure among the nations, as explained in Parashas Behar regarding this.

It is precisely by suffering galus among the nations that Bnei Yisrael draw out and elevate the "portion of the nations," redeeming the world of action.

וזה רמז הג' מועדים.

And this is hinted at in the three festivals (Shalosh Regalim).

The triad of thought-speech-action is alluded to in the three festivals.

זמן חירותנו תיקון בחי' מעשה בראשית כמ"ש וירא ישראל כו' היד הגדולה אשר עשה כו' בשינוי הטבע כמו שנתבאר שם בס"ד.

"Zman Cheiruseinu" (Pesach, the time of our freedom) is the rectification of the aspect of Maaseh Bereishis, as it is written: "and Yisrael saw... the great hand which Hashem wrought (asah)" — through the change of nature, as explained there with God's help.

Pesach corresponds to "action": the miracles of the Exodus, which overturned the natural order, repaired and elevated the world of Maaseh Bereishis.

זמן מתן תורתנו בדבור.

"Zman Matan Toraseinu" (Shavuos, the time of the giving of our Torah) is in "speech."

Shavuos corresponds to the dimension of speech, the power introduced by the Aseres Hadibros.

שמחתנו רמז מעין תקון המחשבה שלעתיד.

"Zman Simchaseinu" (Sukkos, the time of our joy) hints at a foretaste of the rectification of "thought," which will be in the future.

Sukkos corresponds to thought — a glimpse of the future tikkun, when even machshavah will be fully rectified.

והוא בחי' נפש רוח נשמה כמ"ש במ"א מזה:

And this is the aspect of nefesh, ruach, neshamah, as written elsewhere regarding this.

The three festivals also correspond to the three levels of soul — nefesh, ruach, neshamah — paralleling action, speech, and thought.

Summary: Creation came about through the Asarah Maamaros in the realm of action, while the Aseres Hadibros at Matan Torah introduced the power of speech, the dimension unique to Bnei Yisrael. Along with the Torah, Bnei Yisrael also received the creative power of action — "the inheritance of nations" — which they draw out through enduring galus. The three faculties of action, speech, and thought map onto the Shalosh Regalim: Pesach rectifies Maaseh Bereishis (action) through miracles that overturned nature, Shavuos is the dimension of speech, and Sukkos foreshadows the future rectification of thought — corresponding to nefesh, ruach, and neshamah.