Sanctifying Speech Through Torah

במדרש תורה מרפא הלשון מקודם כתיב לא איש דברים אנכי משזכה לתורה אלה הדברים כו'

In the Midrash on the verse "the healing of the tongue is a tree of life" (Mishlei 15:4): earlier it is written, "I am not a man of words" (Shemos 4:10), yet once he merited the Torah it says, "These are the words" (Devarim 1:1).

The Midrash links two verses: Moshe first called himself "not a man of words," yet Sefer Devarim opens "These are the words." His relationship to speech transformed once he merited the Torah.

כי מ"ש מרע"ה לא איש דברים אנכי כו'

For when Moshe Rabbeinu said, "I am not a man of words,"

The Sfas Emes begins to probe what Moshe meant when he protested that he was not a man of words.

הגם כי בוודא ידע את עצמו כי הוא מובחר שבישראל

even though he surely knew himself to be the choicest of all Bnei Yisrael,

This was not false modesty; Moshe genuinely recognized that he was the greatest of Bnei Yisrael.

אך אדרבא הוא הדבר לאשר מרע"ה כלל הדעת של כל בנ"י לכן כ"ז שלא היו בנ"י מתוקנים לא הי' איש דברים כי דיבורו כולל כללות הדיבור של בנ"י

on the contrary, this is the very reason: since Moshe Rabbeinu encompassed the da'as of all Bnei Yisrael, therefore as long as Bnei Yisrael were not yet set right, he was not a "man of words," for his speech embraced the entire collective speech of Bnei Yisrael.

Precisely because Moshe contained within himself the collective da'as of all Bnei Yisrael, his power of speech depended on their spiritual state; while they were not yet set right, his speech, which embodied theirs, could not flow.

ושמעתי מפה קדוש אמו"ז ז"ל פי' כבד פה וכבד לשון כי לא הי' יכול להוציא תעלומות ופנימיות רצונו מכח אל הפועל כו'

And I heard from the holy mouth of my grandfather, my teacher, of blessed memory, the explanation of "heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue" (Shemos 4:10): that he was unable to bring forth the hidden depths and the innermost part of his will from potential into actuality.

The Sfas Emes brings his grandfather's teaching that Moshe's "heaviness of mouth" meant he could not yet actualize the hidden depths of his inner will.

פי' ג"כ בעבור כי לא היו בנ"י מוכנים עדיין להיות נמשכין אחר רצון מרע"ה והנהגתו אותם

It also means that it was because Bnei Yisrael were not yet prepared to be drawn after the will of Moshe Rabbeinu and his leadership of them.

Another layer: the impediment was that Bnei Yisrael themselves were not yet ready to be led by and drawn after Moshe's will.

אמנם כאן כתיב דיבר משה כו' ככל אשר צוה כו' אותו אליהם שהי' יכול לדבר עמהם כרצונו

However, here it is written, "Moshe spoke... according to all that Hashem commanded him to them" (Devarim 1:3), for now he was able to speak with them as he wished.

By Sefer Devarim the situation had changed; now Moshe could speak freely to them exactly as he wished.

והי' זה סימן כי הם מוכנים לבוא לא"י לכן נגמר אז הנהגת מרע"ה ונמשכו בנ"י אחריו כמ"ש לבסוף ולא נתן כו' לכם לב כו' עד היום הזה

And this was a sign that they were ready to enter Eretz Yisrael; therefore the leadership of Moshe Rabbeinu was then completed, and Bnei Yisrael were drawn after him, as it is written at the end, "Hashem did not give you a heart [to know]... until this very day" (Devarim 29:3).

Moshe's newfound ability to speak openly signaled that the nation was ready for Eretz Yisrael, his leadership was complete, and they had finally attained the heart of understanding spoken of in the Torah.

וזה הוא ג"כ הענין שכ' במד' ספרים נכתבין בכל לשון כו'

And this too is the matter of what is written in the Midrash, that the Torah scrolls may be written in any language.

The same principle explains the halacha that Torah scrolls may be written in any of the seventy languages.

כי בוודאי כל שבעים לשונות צריכין להיות בטלים לבנ"י

For surely all seventy languages must be nullified before Bnei Yisrael.

All seventy languages of the nations must ultimately become nullified and subordinate to Bnei Yisrael.

ואמת שיש לכל אומה ולשון התנגדות מיוחדת לבנ"י

And it is true that every nation and tongue has a particular opposition to Bnei Yisrael.

Each nation, with its own tongue, carries a distinct spiritual opposition to Bnei Yisrael.

וכפי מה שבנ"י מתקנין אלה ההתנגדות

And to the degree that Bnei Yisrael set right this opposition,

When Bnei Yisrael rectify and overcome that opposition,

כמו כן ממשיכין הארת התורה להשבעים לשונות להיות כפופין להם

so too do they draw down the illumination of the Torah to the seventy languages, that they should be subordinate to them.

they thereby draw the light of the Torah down into those seventy languages, bringing them into submission.

וכתיב באר את התורה

And it is written, "explain the Torah" (Devarim 1:5),

The verse describing how Moshe undertook to "explain the Torah" hints at this drawing down of Torah into the languages.

בשבעים לשונות פירש להם

that he expounded it to them in seventy languages.

The explanation took place specifically in all seventy languages.

וזה הי' סימן שנכפפו האומות תחתיהם כי לכל הדברים יש שורש בתורה

And this was a sign that the nations were subjugated beneath them, for all things have their root in the Torah,

Expounding the Torah in seventy languages was itself a sign of the nations' subjugation, since everything that exists is rooted in the Torah.

כמ"ש במד' ועלהו לתרופה כו'

as it is written in the Midrash, "and its leaf for healing" (Yechezkel 47:12).

The Sfas Emes supports this from the Midrash on the verse "and its leaf for healing."

פי' כמ"ש חז"ל ע"פ ועלהו לא יבול שיחת חולין שלהם תורה הוא כו'

Its meaning is as Chazal said on the verse "and its leaf shall not wither" (Tehillim 1:3): that even the mundane conversation of talmidei chachamim is Torah.

Chazal teach that even the seemingly idle talk of talmidei chachamim, the "leaf," is in truth Torah.

פי' כי ע"י הבל פה בתורה נשאר רוח קדושה וטהרה בפה וזה מרפא כל הדיבורים

Its explanation is that through the breath of the mouth engaged in Torah, a spirit of holiness and purity remains in the mouth, and this heals all forms of speech.

Because the breath of one engaged in Torah leaves a residue of holiness and purity in his mouth, even his ordinary speech is sanctified and heals all speech.

ובוודאי הארות של השבעים לשונות בכח התפשטות כח התורה לשם

And surely the illuminations of the seventy languages, through the power of the spreading of the Torah's force into them,

Likewise, the sparks of holiness within the seventy languages come about through the Torah's power spreading into them,

הוא ענין שיחת חולין של ת"ח

is the matter of the mundane conversation of talmidei chachamim.

and this parallels the sanctified "mundane conversation" of a talmid chacham, which is really Torah.

וז"ש ועלהו לתרופה

And this is the meaning of "and its leaf for healing."

This is the deeper meaning of "and its leaf for healing": the Torah heals and elevates even what seems peripheral, including the languages of the nations.

וכפי מה שניתקנו השבעים לשונות שנכפפו האומות ת"י בנ"י

And to the degree that the seventy languages were set right, that the nations were subjugated beneath the hand of Bnei Yisrael,

As the seventy languages are rectified and the nations brought under the hand of Bnei Yisrael,

כמו כן נמשכו בנ"י אחר דבריו של מרע"ה כי הכל דבר אחד והא בהא תליא:

so too were Bnei Yisrael drawn after the words of Moshe Rabbeinu, for it is all one matter, and each is dependent upon the other.

so correspondingly Bnei Yisrael become able to be drawn after Moshe's words, for the two processes are one and interdependent.

Summary: The Sfas Emes opens with the contrast between Moshe Rabbeinu calling himself "not a man of words" and Sefer Devarim beginning "These are the words." He explains that because Moshe contained the collective da'as and speech of all Bnei Yisrael, his power of speech could flow only once they were spiritually set right and ready to be led by him; by Sefer Devarim this had been achieved, signaling their readiness for Eretz Yisrael. He then connects this to Moshe expounding the Torah in seventy languages, which reflects the subjugation of the nations and the drawing of Torah's light into their tongues, since everything has its root in Torah. Drawing on the verse "and its leaf for healing" and Chazal's teaching that even the mundane talk of talmidei chachamim is Torah, he shows that the breath of Torah sanctifies all speech. The rectification of the seventy languages and the drawing of Bnei Yisrael after Moshe's words are ultimately one interdependent process.