Two Doorways Of Comprehension

והי' א"ש תשמעו כו'

"And it shall be, if you will surely listen..." (Devarim 11:13).

The Sfas Emes opens with the verse from the second paragraph of Shema, which begins with a doubled expression of listening.

כי כתי' לשקוד על דלתותי שיש ב' פתחים

For it is written, "to be diligent at My doors" (Mishlei 8:34) — implying that there are two doorways.

He cites the verse in Mishlei describing diligence at "My doors" in the plural, deriving from it that there are two distinct doorways of entry.

פי' בכל דבר שנפתח קצת השגה לאדם צריך אח"כ להיות פתח ב' לקבל ההשגה כראוי

The meaning is that with any matter in which a measure of comprehension is opened up for a person, there must afterward be a second doorway in order to receive that comprehension as is fitting.

When a flash of understanding is granted to a person, that is only the first opening; a second opening is needed to properly absorb and internalize that understanding.

כי הכפל הוא קיום הדבר

For the doubling is what establishes the matter and makes it endure.

The repetition or doubling is precisely what gives the matter permanence and makes it take root.

כמאמר שינה עליו הכתוב לעכב

This is in keeping with the teaching, "the verse repeated it in order to make the thing binding."

He brings the principle of Chazal that when the Torah repeats something, the repetition serves to make it binding and obligatory.

וזה ענין אמרם ז"ל לקבל עליו עמ"ש תחילה ואח"כ עול מצות כי והי' א"ש היא השמיעה אחר שמע שהיא שמיעה ראשונה

And this is the meaning of what Chazal said, that one first accepts upon himself the yoke of the kingship of Heaven and afterward the yoke of the mitzvos — for "and it shall be, if you will surely listen" refers to the second listening that comes after "Shema," which is the first listening.

Chazal taught that in Shema one first accepts the yoke of Hashem's kingship and only then the yoke of the mitzvos; the first "Shema" is the initial listening, while "v'hayah im shamoa" is the second listening that completes it.

והאמת כי כל השגה משמים היא

And the truth is that every comprehension comes from Heaven.

The fundamental truth is that every genuine comprehension a person attains is a gift bestowed from Heaven, not something he generates on his own.

וצריך אח"כ האדם לקבל ההשגה הטוב וזה הוא עבודת האדם

And afterward a person must receive that good comprehension, and this is the avodah of a person.

Once the comprehension is given from above, the person's task and avodah is to receive it and take hold of it properly.

וקבלת עמ"ש הוא ביטול לגמרי להקב"ה

And the acceptance of the yoke of the kingship of Heaven is complete bittul to the Holy One, Blessed is He.

Accepting the yoke of Hashem's kingship means total bittul, nullifying oneself entirely before the Holy One, Blessed is He.

והי' א"ש הוא המשכות ההשפעה לפרטות

"And it shall be, if you will surely listen" is the drawing down of the divine flow into particulars and details.

The second listening of "v'hayah im shamoa" is the channeling of that general divine flow down into specific, detailed expression.

ולכן הוא קבלת מצות שהם נגד אברי האדם כנ"ל:

And therefore it is the acceptance of the mitzvos, which correspond to the limbs of a person, as explained above.

For that reason it is bound up with accepting the mitzvos, which parallel the individual limbs of a person, each detail of avodah drawing the flow into a particular place.

Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on the doubled language of listening in the Shema and the verse in Mishlei about being diligent at Hashem's "doors" in the plural to teach that there are two doorways in avodas Hashem. The first is the flash of comprehension that Hashem opens for a person from Heaven, and the second is the person's own avodah of receiving and internalizing that comprehension so that it endures, for the doubling is what makes a matter binding and permanent. Accordingly, the first "Shema" is the acceptance of the yoke of the kingship of Heaven, which is complete bittul before the Holy One, Blessed is He, while "v'hayah im shamoa," the second listening, draws that flow down into particulars. This is why it leads to the acceptance of the yoke of the mitzvos, which correspond to the individual limbs of a person, channeling the general kedushah into every detail of one's avodah.