Prevailing Through Hearing

ואחז"ל שמע ישראל

Chazal said regarding "Shema Yisrael":

The Sfas Emes opens by citing a teaching of Chazal on the words "Shema Yisrael."

אפי' אין בכם אלא זכות ק"ש כו'

Even if you possess nothing but the merit of Krias Shema, and so on,

He brings the statement that even the lone merit of Krias Shema can stand for a person.

וכי ק"ש מילתא זוטרתי היא

Is then Krias Shema a minor matter?

He raises the difficulty: how can Krias Shema be spoken of as though it were something small and easily attainable?

והלא הוא עיקר התורה

Is it not the very essence of the entire Torah?

After all, Krias Shema is the very heart and foundation of the entire Torah, so calling it a small thing seems puzzling.

אכן הרמז כי בנ"י הקדימו נעשה לנשמע ואותו הדור הם הנקראים אנשי המלחמה וצבאות ה'

Rather, the hint is this: Bnei Yisrael placed "naaseh" (we will do) before "nishma" (we will hear), and that generation is the one called the men of war and the legions of Hashem.

He answers that the deeper hint lies in the fact that at Har Sinai Bnei Yisrael said "naaseh" before "nishma" — doing before hearing — and in that pristine state they were Hashem's mighty legions, the men of war.

ואחר החטא שקלקלנו נעשה כל המלחמה בכח שמיעה

But after the sin, through which we caused damage, the whole battle is now waged through the power of hearing.

Once the sin damaged that level, the spiritual battle can no longer be fought primarily through "doing" but must be carried mainly through the power of "hearing," of accepting and listening.

דכתי' רוממות אל בגרונם וחרב פיפיות בידם

As it is written, "The exaltations of Hashem are in their throat, and a double-edged sword in their hand" (Tehillim 149:6).

He anchors this in the pasuk that pairs the praise of Hashem in the throat with a double-edged sword in the hand, reading it as two distinct forces.

זה ב' בחי' שמיעה ועשי'

These are the two aspects: hearing and doing.

The throat (speech and hearing) and the hand (action) correspond to the two avenues of "nishma" and "naaseh."

ועתה תלוי הכל בשמיעה:

And now everything depends upon hearing.

In our diminished state, the primary avodah and the strength to prevail now rest upon "shemiah" — hearing and accepting Hashem's word.

Summary: The Sfas Emes asks how Chazal can describe Krias Shema as a seemingly small matter when it is in truth the essence of the entire Torah. He answers by distinguishing two avenues of avodah: "naaseh" (doing) and "nishma" (hearing). At Har Sinai Bnei Yisrael merited to place doing before hearing, and that exalted generation served as Hashem's mighty legions, the men of war who prevailed through action. After the sin damaged that lofty level, however, the spiritual battle must now be waged chiefly through the power of hearing — accepting and internalizing Hashem's word — as hinted in the pasuk pairing the praise of Hashem in the throat with the sword in the hand. In our generation, therefore, everything depends upon "shemiah," the avodah of Krias Shema.