Renewed Life Through Sinai
בפסוק היום הזה ראינו כי ידבר אל' את האדם וחי ועתה למה נמות
In the pasuk, "This day we have seen that Hashem speaks with a person and he yet lives" (Devarim 5:21), and immediately after they ask, "and now, why should we die?"
Bnei Yisrael declare that they witnessed Hashem speaking to a person who survived the experience, yet they immediately wonder why they should now die.
וקשה אדרבא כיון שידבר וחי א"כ מה יראו שימותו
This is difficult, for the very opposite would seem to follow: since Hashem speaks with a person and he yet lives, what then made them fear that they would die?
The Sfas Emes raises a difficulty: if surviving Hashem's speech was proof that one lives, the fear of dying seems contradictory.
גם יש לדקדק כי מה חידוש שידבר [*את] האדם וחי אדרבא לפי הפשוט צריכין לברר כי ע"י דיבור אלקים האדם מתבטל מחיותו והיכן ראו זאת עד עתה
There is also room to scrutinize: what novelty is there in saying that Hashem speaks with a person and he yet lives? On the contrary, according to the plain understanding one would need to establish that through the speech of Hashem a person is nullified out of his very life-force, so where had they seen this until now,
He sharpens the question: it is no chiddush that Hashem's speech leaves a person alive, since the natural assumption is that a person would be nullified by it — so where had they previously seen the alternative?
שיהי' להם חידוש כי ידבר וחי
that it should be a novelty to them that He speaks and yet one lives?
The point is that for survival to be a novelty, they would first need to have expected death from Hashem's speech.
ויש לבאר הפסוק באופן אחר כי הרבה פנים לתורה
The pasuk may be explained in another way, for the Torah has many facets.
He introduces a fresh approach, noting that Torah carries many layers of meaning.
כי בכל דיבור מעשרת הדברות ניתוסף חיות חדש בבנ"י
For with each utterance of the Aseres HaDibros a new life-force was added into Bnei Yisrael.
Each of the Ten Utterances at Sinai infused Bnei Yisrael with a fresh measure of life-force.
ויש ללמוד ק"ו דכתי' ויפח באפיו כו' ויהי כו' לנפש חי' ממשהו רוח אלקים
One may learn this through a kal vachomer: it is written, "and He blew into his nostrils... and man became a living soul" (Bereishis 2:7) — from a mere breath of the spirit of Hashem.
He builds a kal vachomer from the creation of Adam, who became a living being from just a breath of Hashem's spirit.
מכש"כ כשדיבר הש"י הדברות לבנ"י בוודאי נעשו ברי' חדשה בכל דיבור ודיבור
All the more so when Hashem spoke the Dibros to Bnei Yisrael — surely they were made a new creation with each and every utterance.
If a mere breath gave life, then full utterances from Hashem certainly transformed Bnei Yisrael into new creations each time.
לכן הגידו חז"ל בכל דיבור יצאת נשמתן של ישראל כי כשנעשון ברי' חדשה מתבטל מדרגה הקודמת
Therefore Chazal taught that with each utterance the neshamah of Bnei Yisrael departed, for when they were made a new creation, the previous level was nullified.
Chazal's statement that their souls departed at each utterance reflects that becoming a new creation requires the nullification of the prior level.
כמו שצריכין למות קודם תחית המתים שלעתיד
This is comparable to how one must first die before the techiyas hameisim of the future.
Just as the dead must die before being revived at techiyas hameisim, so too each ascent required a kind of death of the former state.
וז"ש ידבר אלקים כו' וחי שנתוסף בהם חיות בכל דיבור יותר ויותר
And this is the meaning of "Hashem speaks... and he yet lives" — that a life-force was added within them with each utterance, more and more.
The pasuk thus means that with each utterance their life-force was repeatedly increased.
ונתעלו הרבה מדרגות זו אחר זו שהיו מוכנים להיות ממש כמלאכי השרת
And they ascended many levels, one after another, so that they were prepared to become literally like the malachei hashareis,
Through these successive ascents they were nearly elevated to the rank of ministering angels.
וכמדרגת מרע"ה איש אלקים בביטול כל הגשמיות
and like the level of Moshe Rabbeinu, the man of Hashem, in the nullification of all physicality.
They were rising toward the level of Moshe Rabbeinu, who had nullified all his physicality.
ולא יכלו בנ"י לקבל כ"כ
But Bnei Yisrael were unable to receive so much.
However, Bnei Yisrael could not sustain such an exalted, continuous elevation.
לכן אמרו קרב אתה
Therefore they said, "You draw near" (Devarim 5:24).
So they asked Moshe Rabbeinu to draw near and receive the rest on their behalf.
והלא הי' עומד שם
And was Moshe Rabbeinu not already standing there?
The Sfas Emes notes the puzzle: Moshe Rabbeinu was already standing there, so what did "draw near" add?
רק שבכל עת היו צריכין לעלות מדרגה אחר מדרגה ולא היו [*יכולים] כ"כ לעלות
Rather, at every moment they needed to ascend level after level, and they were not able to ascend so much.
The answer is that each moment demanded a further ascent, and Bnei Yisrael could not keep climbing as he could.
[לכן אמר ה' שובו לכם כו' ואתה פה עמוד עמדי
Therefore Hashem said, "Return to your tents... but as for you, stand here with Me" (Devarim 5:27-28). If so, it is implied that before this they had been prepared to become forever set apart, like the level of Moshe Rabbeinu. And one may explain what is written, "And you shall guard yourselves very carefully, for you saw no form" (Devarim 4:15),
Because Moshe Rabbeinu could remain permanently elevated and set apart, Hashem told the people to return home while Moshe stayed with Him; this also explains the warning to guard themselves carefully since they saw no form.
א"כ משמע כי קודם זה היו מוכנים להיות נפרשין לעולם כמדרגת מרע"ה] וי"ל מ"ש ונשמרתם מאוד לנפשותיכם כי לא ראיתם כל תמונה
If so, this implies that beforehand they had been prepared to become separated [from physicality] forever, like the level of Moshe Rabbeinu. And one may explain the verse, “And you shall guard yourselves very well, for you saw no form” (Devarim 4:15).
Moshe infers that before they drew back, Bnei Yisrael had been on the verge of a permanent separation from all physicality like his own; he ties this to the warning to guard one’s nefesh, “for you saw no form.”
כי במרע"ה נאמר ותמונת ה' יביט
for regarding Moshe Rabbeinu it is said, "and the form of Hashem he beholds" (Bamidbar 12:8).
By contrast, regarding Moshe Rabbeinu the Torah says that he beholds the very form of Hashem.
ע"י שהי' נבדל לגמרי מכל הגשמיות לכן זכה להביט
It was through his being entirely separated from all physicality that he merited to behold.
His ability to behold flowed from his complete separation from all physicality.
כי בוודאי א"א להשיג תמונת ה' בעוד יש שייכות של תמונה גשמיות רק כשנתבטל הגשמיות לכן הוכיח הש"י את אהרן ומרים ותמונת ה' יביט ומדוע לא יראתם כו'
For it is surely impossible to attain the form of Hashem while any connection to physical form yet remains; only when the physicality has been nullified. This is why Hashem rebuked Aharon and Miriam: "and the form of Hashem he beholds, so why did you not fear..." (Bamidbar 12:8).
One cannot grasp the form of Hashem while still tied to physical form; only total nullification allows it, which is why Hashem rebuked Aharon and Miriam for not fearing to speak against Moshe.
וז"ש מרע"ה שע"י שלא עלו למדרגה זאת כמוהו ואמרו קרב אתה כו' ולא ראיתם כל תמונה א"כ אין נפשותם נבדלין מכל הגשמיות וצריכין מאוד שמירה
And this is what Moshe Rabbeinu meant: that since they did not ascend to this level as he did, but said, "You draw near...," and "you saw no form" — if so, their souls are not separated from all physicality, and they are in great need of guarding.
Moshe Rabbeinu's message is that because the people remained connected to physicality and asked him to draw near in their place, their souls require great guarding.
כי אם היו במדרגת מרע"ה הוא כולו טוב כידוע וא"צ שמירה ודו"ק:
For had they been on the level of Moshe Rabbeinu, who is entirely good as is known, they would not need guarding; understand this well.
Moshe Rabbeinu himself, being wholly good and fully separated from physicality, needed no such guarding.
Summary: The Sfas Emes addresses the puzzle in Parshas Vaeschanan of why Bnei Yisrael feared death after declaring that they had seen Hashem speak with a person who yet lives. He explains that each of the Aseres HaDibros infused them with new life-force, making them a new creation with every utterance — and just as becoming a new creation entails the nullification of the previous level, their neshamos departed each time, paralleling the death that precedes techiyas hameisim. Through these successive ascents they neared the level of malachei hashareis and of Moshe Rabbeinu, who had wholly nullified his physicality, but they could not endure such continuous elevation and so asked Moshe to draw near in their place. Because Moshe Rabbeinu alone was entirely separated from physicality, he merited to behold the very form of Hashem, while Bnei Yisrael, still bound to the physical, were warned to guard their souls carefully precisely because they saw no form.