Life Through Hashems Word
בפסוק והיו הדברים האלה פרש"י מספרי מהו האהבה מתוך הדברים האלה
On the pasuk "And these words shall be" (Devarim 6:6), Rashi, citing the Sifrei, explains that the love of Hashem comes about from these very words.
Rashi teaches that ahavas Hashem is generated through immersing oneself in the words of Torah themselves.
כי בקבלת התורה קיבלו בנ"י זאת האהבה כדכ' נפשי יצאה בדברו
For at the receiving of the Torah, Bnei Yisrael acquired this love, as it is written, "My soul departed when He spoke" (Shir HaShirim 5:6).
Bnei Yisrael first attained this love at Har Sinai, where the experience was so intense that their souls left them.
והטעם כי ראו בעין מאמר אנכי ה' אלקיך וכפי התבררות בלב ועין האדם כי כל חיותו מאת הש"י בכל רגע לא יכבה האהבה כמשפט כל עלול להיות נמשך אחר עילה שלו
And the reason is that they saw with their very eyes the declaration "I am Hashem your God" (Shemos 20:2); and to the extent that it becomes clarified in a person's heart and eyes that his entire life-force comes from Hashem at every moment, the love will never be extinguished, just as it is the way of every effect to be drawn after its cause.
Because they directly perceived that Hashem is the source of their existence at every instant, that love became permanent — just as an effect is naturally bound to its cause.
וז"ש היום הזה ראינו כו' ידבר אלקים כו' האדם וחי
And this is the meaning of "This day we have seen... that Hashem speaks... with man, and he yet lives" (Devarim 5:21).
The pasuk testifies that they witnessed how a person can hear Hashem speak and still continue to live.
הרמז כי ראו במתן תורה כי כל חיות האדם מהנהגת דבר ה' כי מאמר ויפח באפיו כו' ויהי האדם לנפש חי' הוא קיים לעד ודיבורו ית' מחי' האדם
The hint is that at the giving of the Torah they saw that all of a person's life-force comes from the governance of the word of Hashem, for the verse "And He breathed into his nostrils... and man became a living soul" (Bereishis 2:7) endures forever, and His speech enlivens man.
What they grasped at Sinai was that the original breath of life Hashem breathed into Adam is ongoing, and His speech is what sustains a person every moment.
אך הטבע מסתיר ומחשיך מלהכיר האמת
But nature conceals and darkens, preventing one from recognizing this truth.
The natural order hides this reality, obscuring the awareness that Hashem is the constant source of life.
ובקבלת התורה האיר עיניהם וראו כי ידבר האלקים [*את] האדם ועי"ז וחי
And at the receiving of the Torah their eyes were illuminated, and they saw that Hashem speaks with man, and through this "he yet lives."
Kabbalas haTorah lifted that veil, letting them see that Hashem speaks to man and that this very speech keeps him alive.
וכח קבלת התורה הוא נמסר בכתב
And the power of the receiving of the Torah was handed down in writing.
This perception attained at Sinai was preserved and transmitted through the written Torah.
וכל המייגע בדברי תורה לעולם יכול להכיר זה החיות
And whoever toils in the words of Torah is forever able to recognize this life-force.
Anyone who labors in Torah can, in every generation, perceive that same life-force.
וז"ש בספרי מתוך הדברים האלה אתה מכיר מי שאמר והי' העולם ורואה כי כל חיותו מאתו ית"ש ומתמלא אהבה בלב ונפש
And this is what the Sifrei says: "from these words" you come to recognize the One who spoke and the world came into being, and you see that all your life-force comes from Hashem, and you become filled with love in heart and soul.
The Sifrei teaches that through Torah a person recognizes the Creator as the source of his life and is thereby filled with love for Hashem.
ומכח התורה יכולין לעורר לעולם האהבה שע"ז כ' מים רבים לא יוכלו לכבות כו' כמ"ש כה דברי כאש
And through the power of the Torah one can forever awaken this love, concerning which it is written, "Many waters cannot extinguish..." (Shir HaShirim 8:7), as it is written, "Is not My word like fire?" (Yirmiyahu 23:29).
Torah has the power to reawaken this love in every era, a love so strong that no waters can extinguish it, for Hashem's word is like fire.
ודברי תורה הם ניחומים לעולם לבנ"י כמ"ש במד' נחמו נחמו עמי בתורה דכ' אנכי אנכי מנחמכם
And the words of Torah are eternal consolations for Bnei Yisrael, as the Midrash says on "Console, console My people" (Yeshayahu 40:1) — through the Torah, regarding which it is written, "I, I am He who consoles you" (Yeshayahu 51:12).
Torah serves as the lasting consolation for Bnei Yisrael, which is the comfort the navi promises with "Nachamu nachamu."
פי' בתורה שבכתב ושע"פ דכתיב פנים בפנים דיבר
The explanation is: through the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, as it is written, "Face to face He spoke" (Devarim 5:4).
This consolation comes through both the Written and Oral Torah, which Hashem gave "face to face."
וכ' במד' יש שהרב רוצה ללמוד ואין התלמיד רוצה ויש תלמיד רוצה ואין הרב ברם הכא פנים בפנים כו'
And the Midrash writes: there are times when the teacher wishes to teach and the student does not wish, and there are times when the student wishes and the teacher does not; but here, "face to face..."
The Midrash notes that usually teacher and student are not equally willing, but at Sinai there was a perfect "face to face" meeting.
פי' שגם זה הי' בכח מתן תורה שנתקרבו לבות בנ"י וקיבלו רשימה מדברי אלקים חיים
The explanation is that this too was through the power of the giving of the Torah, that the hearts of Bnei Yisrael were drawn close and they received an impression from the words of the living God.
This closeness too was a product of Mattan Torah, which drew the hearts of Bnei Yisrael near and imprinted upon them the words of the living God.
כמאמר ה' האמרת וה' האמירך
As the verse states, "You have proclaimed Hashem... and Hashem has proclaimed you" (Devarim 26:17-18).
This mutual bond is expressed in the pasuk where Bnei Yisrael proclaim Hashem and Hashem proclaims them.
וע"ז כ' מי גוי גדול כו' אלקים קרובים אליו
And concerning this it is written, "For what great nation is there... that has God close to it" (Devarim 4:7).
Because of this unique closeness, the Torah declares that no other nation has Hashem so near to it.
שאין קול שום ברי' נשמע בשמים רק קול ישראל
For the voice of no other creation is heard in the heavens, only the voice of Yisrael.
Only the voice of Yisrael reaches and is heard in the heavens.
ומי ג"ג אשר לו חקים כו'
And "what great nation is there that has statutes..." (Devarim 4:8).
The Torah further extols Yisrael as the nation possessing Hashem's statutes.
שאין שום ברי' יכולה לשמוע ולקבל קול דבר ה' רק בני ישראל וזה נחמתנו בגלות כמו שכתוב לולי תורתך שעשועי כו':
For no other creation is able to hear and receive the voice of the word of Hashem, only Bnei Yisrael; and this is our consolation in galus, as it is written, "Had not Your Torah been my delight..." (Tehillim 119:92).
Only Bnei Yisrael can hear and receive the voice of Hashem's word, and this remains our consolation throughout galus, as Dovid HaMelech declares that the Torah was his delight.
Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that the love of Hashem demanded by the Torah is born from immersion in the words of Torah themselves, just as Bnei Yisrael attained that love at Har Sinai when they perceived that Hashem is the source of their very life-force at every moment. The natural order obscures this truth, but Kabbalas haTorah illuminated their eyes to see that Hashem's speech is what continuously enlivens man, and this perception was sealed into the Written and Oral Torah so that whoever toils in Torah can reawaken that love in every generation. Because of this bond, Hashem and Bnei Yisrael drew close "face to face," each proclaiming the other, so that no other nation has Hashem as near to it. Only the voice of Yisrael ascends to the heavens, and only Bnei Yisrael can receive the voice of His word. This closeness through Torah is precisely our consolation in galus, the comfort of "Nachamu nachamu."