Listen carefully, O Heavens and I will speak. May the earth hear the words of my mouth.[2]
Did the earth get distracted? Why else instruct the Heavens to listen carefully (lit., to give ear), while the earth is just expected to somehow passively hear about the Shirah? In other words, the pasuk addresses the Heavens in the second person, but the earth in the more distant third? Additionally, the third person usage can only refer to the future, while the second person address speaks in the present, in the here and now. The natural way to address Heavens and earth would either be to speak to both of them directly, or to use the third person regarding both Heavens and earth.
Indeed, that is exactly what Yeshaya did at the beginning of his sefer:[3] “Hear, O Heavens, and listen carefully, O earth.” He uses the second person for both. Why is that not the case in our parshah?
The Maggid of Kozhnitz[4] writes: “A tzadik wishes to return his generation to the proper way. He constantly speaks words of mussar to them, but his words do not enter their hearts, which have become hearts of stone because of their many aveiros. They have, rachmana litzlan, joined with the kelipah [the “shells” of tumah that try attaching themselves to kedushah, so that their content should be suppressed. What should he do?] He should speak to the shoresh of their neshamos, which the kelipah has no control over. This is what is meant by, ‘Listen carefully, O Heavens,’ meaning the place from which all neshamos emanate, which is called ‘Heavens.’ ‘May the earth hear the words’ then follows as a matter of course.”
A rov in Ozherov as asked why he was accustomed to holding forth on deep topics in kabbalah, that so few in his audience understood. “I’m speaking to their neshamos – and they understand.”
This unlocks the content of our pasuk. Heaven and earth refer here to neshama and guf. By speaking directly to the neshamah/Heavens (i.e. second person), the guf/earth eventually gets the lesson – “hears” the beautiful song of the Torah.
- Adapted from Be’er Moshe, by the Ozherover Rebbe zt”l ↑
- Devarim 32:1 ↑
- Yeshayahu 1:2 ↑
- Avodas Yisrael, Haazinu ↑