Hearing the Voice Beyond Speech

גבורי כח עושי דברו לשמוע בקול דברו.

“Mighty in strength, doers of His word, to listen to the voice of His word.”

The Sefat Emet explains that Israel is called “mighty” because they act upon God’s command in order to merit hearing the deeper divine voice.

שהקדימו נעשה לנשמע.

For they placed ‘we will do’ before ‘we will hear.’

This refers to Israel’s declaration at Sinai, prioritizing action as the gateway to hearing.

אם כי בוודאי יש לבטוח ולהאמין כי לא יצוה הש"י רק אשר יהי' בכחם.

Although one must surely trust and believe that the Holy One commands only what is within their capacity.

God does not demand the impossible; His commandments align with human ability.

אך כי קבלו על עצמם לזכות לשמוע ע"י המעשה.

But they accepted upon themselves to merit hearing through the act itself.

Israel’s commitment was to use action as the path to spiritual understanding.

וזה הקדמת נעשה לנשמע.

And this is the meaning of placing ‘we will do’ before ‘we will hear.’

Action precedes comprehension because action opens the channels of hearing.

וזהו עושי דברו.

And this is the meaning of “doers of His word.”

Through doing, one connects to the divine word embedded in every deed.

כי הנה בכל מעשה יש כח דבר ה'.

For behold, in every action there is the power of God’s word.

The Sefat Emet teaches that all creation is infused with divine speech.

כמ"ש בדבר ה' שמים נעשו כו' כל צבאם.

As it is written: “By the word of God the heavens were made… and all their hosts.”

A verse affirming that divine speech underlies all existence.

וכשעושין המעשים כראוי זוכין לשמוע הקול שהוא למעלה מהדיבור.

And when actions are performed properly, one merits hearing the voice that is above speech.

Proper action elevates a person to perceive the inner divine voice, beyond articulated words.

כמ"ש בזוה"ק.

As stated in the Zohar.

The Zohar speaks of a supernal voice preceding all articulated speech.

ומובן גם לכל אדם כי הקול בפנימיות מהדיבור.

And it is clear to everyone that the voice is more inward than speech.

Speech expresses outwardly what the inner voice contains.

שמתחלק לפרטי דברים.

Which becomes divided into particular words.

The voice is unified, but speech breaks it into many details.

והנה בנ"י זכו במעשיהם וקבלת מלכותו.

And Israel merited, through their deeds and acceptance of His kingship.

Their actions and surrender to God opened them to higher perception.

לשמוע קול הש"י.

To hear the voice of the Holy One.

This refers to the inner divine voice granted at Sinai.

וזה ג"כ זכור ושמור בדיבור אחד.

And this, too, is “Remember” and “Guard” spoken in one utterance.

The unity of the commandments reflects the unity of divine voice and speech.

ומי שישנו בשמירה ישנו בזכירה.

And whoever is included in guarding is included in remembering.

Guarding the mitzvot grants access to the higher level of remembering.

כי שמירה צריך בבחי' דיבור הנ"ל שנעלם תוך מעשה בראשית.

For guarding is needed in the realm of the aforementioned speech that is hidden within Creation.

One must guard the divine word concealed within worldly actions.

וכפי השמירה זוכין לזכירה הוא מקום שא"צ שמירה כנ"ל.

And according to the measure of guarding, one merits remembering, which is a place that needs no guarding.

Through proper guarding of divine speech in action, one rises to the state of pure remembrance, beyond concealment.

The Sefat Emet teaches that Israel’s “we will do” opened the path to hearing the inner divine voice. Every action contains divine speech, and through proper deeds one ascends from speech to voice, from guarding to remembering.