Friday, October 16, 2020

hearing but not seeing

The famous pasuk by by mattan Torah (Shmos 20:14) tells us that Klal Yisrael was "ro'im es ha'kolos," they not only heard the dvar Hashem but they were able to see the sound.  Rashi comments: רואים את הקולות – רואין את הנשמע, שאי איפשר לראות במקום אחר.

Similarly, when Yosef revealed himself to his brothers, he tells them (45:12) "v'hiney eineichem ro'os...ki pi ha'midabeir aleichem."  Rashi splits the phrase in two: "eineichem ro'os" that I am mahul, and "ki pi ha'midbeir," that I am speaking lashon kodesh.  That pshat involves reading a lot of words between the lines.  The Tiferes Shlomo writes that the words of a tzadik like Yosef are like the words of mattan Torah.  "Eineichem ro'os" is like "ro'im es ha'kolos" -- you can not only hear, but you can see the dvar Hashem when it is spoken properly.  

In our parsha, Adam sins and then hides.  Hashem calls out to him, "Ayeka?" to which Adam responds, "Es kolcha shamati ba'gan va'ira ki eirom anochi." (3:10)  "I heard your voice," Adam tells Hashem -- because of his sin, he no longer is "ro'im es ha'kolos, he is no longer seeing, not just hearing, the dvar Hashem.

Chassidishe torah, right?  But then I saw the GR"A in Aderes Aliyahu:   וז״ש את קולך שמעתי בגן – ולא פנים אל פנים כבראשונה

"Es kolcha shamati ba'gan."  Where else other than "ba'gan" would he have heard Hashem's voice?  That's where Adam was, that was the whole geography of his existence.

Tiferes Shlomo writes that the gan here alludes to the 53 parshioyos of Torah.  After the sin, when the direct connection to the dvar Hashem was lost, Hashem's voice can still be heard in Torah.  From that, "va'ira ki eirom anochi," a person can come back to yiras shamayim.  

1 comment:

  1. "Adam...is no longer seeing...the dvar Hashem"


    but rather jeers of derision, derision and confusion, through strangely opened eyes (3:7)...

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