Daily Renewal Through Mitzvos
בפסוק והי' א"ש תשמעו
On the pasuk, "And it shall be, if you will surely listen" (Devarim 11:13).
The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk that promises blessing if Bnei Yisrael will truly listen to Hashem's mitzvos.
אם שמוע בישן תשמע בחדש
"If you will listen" to the old, "you will listen" to the new.
The doubled language of listening teaches that one who absorbed the old teachings will merit to hear new ones.
דאיתא שמעה עמי ואדברה אין מעידין אלא בשומע כפי מה שאדם שומע כך משמיעין לו תמיד מחדש
For it is brought down on the pasuk "Listen, My people, and I will speak" (Tehillim 50:7) that one bears testimony only as a listener; according to how a person listens, so is he made to hear ever anew.
Hearing the Torah is itself a form of bearing witness; the measure of a person's attentiveness determines how much fresh understanding Hashem grants him anew each day.
תשמעו הוא פועל יוצא שצריך איש ישראל לשמוע ולהשמיע כמ"ש אתם עדי נאם ה'
"You shall listen" is a transitive verb, for a Yid must both listen and cause others to hear, as it is written, "You are My witnesses, says Hashem" (Yeshayah 43:10).
The verb "listen" is active and transitive: a Yid is obligated not only to take in the Torah but to transmit it, for Bnei Yisrael are Hashem's witnesses.
תשמעו אל מצותי כמ"ש חז"ל המקיים מצוה כאלו הדליק נר לעני הקב"ה
"You shall listen to My mitzvos" — as Chazal said, one who fulfills a mitzvah, it is as though he kindled a lamp for a poor man, namely the Holy One, Blessed is He.
Fulfilling a mitzvah is compared by Chazal to kindling a lamp for a poor man, and that "poor man," as it were, is the Holy One, Blessed is He.
דכ' נר מצוה ותורה אור שבעשיות המצוה מדליק אור תורה בזו המצוה
For it is written, "A mitzvah is a lamp and the Torah is light" (Mishlei 6:23), for through the performing of the mitzvah one kindles the light of the Torah within that very mitzvah.
Since a mitzvah is a lamp and the Torah is light, performing the deed of a mitzvah ignites the light of Torah hidden within it.
וז"ש תשמעו אל המצוה אשר אנכי מצוך היום
And this is the meaning of "You shall listen to the mitzvah which I command you today" (cf. Devarim 11:13).
This explains the phrase "the mitzvah which I command you today" — the word "today" points to something renewed daily.
פי' השגה חדשה שמשיג ושומע בכל יום ישמיע זאת אל המצוה והיא מלה דקיימא בעובדא וכן הוא הסדר בכל יום שמע ואח"כ והי' א"ש שהוא לשמוע ולהשמיע:
The meaning is: the fresh attainment that a person attains and hears each day — he should impart it to the mitzvah, and that is "a word that stands in deed"; and so is the order each day: first "Shema," and afterward "And it shall be, if you will surely listen," which is to listen and to cause others to hear.
Each day's fresh insight must be invested into actual mitzvah performance, a word made real through deed; thus the daily order is Shema first, then "vehayah im shamoa," listening and then transmitting.
Summary: The Sfas Emes expounds the doubled language of "if you will surely listen," teaching that one who has absorbed the old Torah merits to hear it anew, and that hearing the Torah is itself a form of bearing testimony before Hashem. Because the verb "listen" is transitive, a Yid is charged both to receive the Torah and to transmit it, for Bnei Yisrael are Hashem's witnesses. Fulfilling a mitzvah is like kindling a lamp, for "a mitzvah is a lamp and the Torah is light": the very deed of the mitzvah ignites the Torah's light concealed within it. The word "today" signals that each day brings a fresh attainment, which must be poured into actual mitzvah performance, a word that stands in deed. This is the order of every day: first Shema, to receive, and then "vehayah im shamoa," to listen and to cause others to hear.