Mouth And Heart
בפסוק לא נפלאת הוא כו'
On the verse, "For this matter is not too wondrous from you" (Devarim 30:11), and so forth.
The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk in Parshas Nitzavim that declares the Torah is not beyond a person's reach.
חשיב ד' בחי' ושני מקומות המיוחדים לתקן אלה הד' בחינות בפיך ובלבבך
He reckons four levels, and two places that are designated to set right these four levels: "in your mouth and in your heart" (Devarim 30:14).
He identifies four distinct levels in the verse, and points out that the Torah names two places where these four are repaired and made our own: the mouth and the heart.
ומול זה תש"י ד' פרשיות וכן בשל ראש וכ' למען תהי' תורת ה' בפיך
Corresponding to this are the four parshiyos in the tefillin shel yad, and likewise in the tefillin shel rosh, as it is written, "so that the Torah of Hashem may be in your mouth" (Shemos 13:9).
These two places correspond to the tefillin worn on the arm and head, which carry four parshiyos, fulfilling the verse that the Torah of Hashem be in your mouth.
והוא בכח יצ"מ
And this comes through the power of Yetzias Mitzrayim.
The ability to draw the Torah into mouth and heart flows from the power released through the Exodus from Mitzrayim.
לכן ל"נ היא ממך שהוציאך ה' ממצרים
Therefore, "it is not too wondrous from you" — for Hashem took you out of Mitzrayim.
This is why the Torah is not too wondrous to attain — because Hashem already redeemed us from Mitzrayim, opening these channels for us.
והד' לשונות של גאולה הוציאו פיהם ולבבם של בנ"י להיות קרוב אליך בפיך ובלבבך
And the four expressions of geulah drew forth the mouth and the heart of Bnei Yisrael, so that the matter should be "close to you, in your mouth and in your heart" (Devarim 30:14).
The four leshonos of geulah in the Torah opened up the mouth and heart of Bnei Yisrael, bringing the Torah close to us in both places.
וכן בש"ק ע"י זכור ושמור זכירה בפה שמירה בלב
And likewise on Shabbos Kodesh, through "Zachor" and "Shamor" — remembering with the mouth, guarding in the heart.
Shabbos accomplishes the same thing through its twin commands of Zachor and Shamor, which correspond respectively to remembering with the mouth and guarding within the heart.
והם בחי' תורה ותפלה
And these are the levels of Torah and tefillah.
Mouth and heart thus map onto the two great avodos of Torah, spoken and learned, and tefillah, felt within.
והם הב' דלתות שנא' עליהם לשקוד על דלתותי
And these are the two doors regarding which it is said, "to keep watch at My doors" (Mishlei 8:34).
These two, mouth and heart, are the two doors that a person must stand watch at, as Shlomo HaMelech describes in Mishlei.
כל דלת פותח ד' הסתרות שחושב הכתוב לא נפלאת ולא רחוקה לא בשמים ולא מעבר לים:
Each door opens the four concealments that the verse reckons: "it is not too wondrous," "nor far off," "not in the heavens," and "not across the sea" (Devarim 30:11-13).
Each of these two doors unlocks the four concealments the pasuk lists, so that the Torah is neither too wondrous, nor far, nor in heaven, nor across the sea.
Summary: The Sfas Emes explains the verse in Nitzavim that the Torah is "not too wondrous" and within our reach by identifying four levels in the pasuk and two places designated to set them right: the mouth and the heart. These correspond to the four parshiyos of the tefillin shel yad and shel rosh, and the power to draw the Torah into our mouth and heart flows from Yetzias Mitzrayim, whose four expressions of geulah opened these channels for Bnei Yisrael. Shabbos Kodesh achieves the same through Zachor and Shamor — remembering with the mouth and guarding in the heart — which align with the avodos of Torah and tefillah. These two, mouth and heart, are the two doors at which one must keep watch, and each door unlocks the four concealments the verse reckons, so that the Torah is neither too wondrous, nor far, nor in the heavens, nor across the sea.