By: Jisrael Yitzchak Rosenfeld
פרשת דברים – Parashas Devarim
The Voice of Moshe and the Awakening of the Soul – A Reflection on the Level of Sod (the Hidden Mystical Dimension)
“אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר מֹשֶׁה”
“These are the words that Moshe spoke…”
(Devarim 1:1)
The Zohar teaches that the Torah does not consist merely of stories or commandments.
Every word is a vessel containing an infinite Divine light.
The first word of our book – Devarim (“words”) – points to the creative power of speech.
Through the Divine word, the world was created, and through sanctified words, the soul is once again connected to its Source.
The Arizal explains that the Book of Devarim corresponds to the Sefirah of Malchut – the Sefirah of expression, speech, and revelation.
The first four books of the Torah are primarily the direct word of HaShem.
The fifth book is spoken through Moshe Rabbeinu.
But therein lies the secret:
The voice of Moshe is so completely united with the Divine will that his words themselves become a vessel for the Shechinah, the Divine Presence.
The Zohar states:
“אוֹרַיְיתָא וְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא וְיִשְׂרָאֵל חַד הוּא”
“The Torah, the Holy One – blessed be He – and Israel are one.”
(Zohar II, 90b)
Moshe Rabbeinu therefore does not speak from his own ego. His speech is complete bitul – total self-nullification before HaShem.
That is why his words are able to reveal Divine light.
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov teaches (Likutei Moharan I, 19) that every holy word liberates a person from the bonds of impurity.
Whoever speaks words of Torah with purity elevates the Sefirah of Malchut and reconnects it with the higher Sefirot.
Every utterance of Torah thus becomes a Yichud – a mystical unification.
Why does Parashat Devarim always begin shortly before Tisha B’Av?
Kabbalah explains that the Churban (the destruction of the Temple) did not begin primarily with the stones of the Temple, but with speech.
Lashon hara (evil speech),
arguments, and division create spiritual fractures long before physical walls collapse.
The destroyed Temple is the visible consequence of a hidden destruction within Malchut.
Therefore, Moshe begins his farewell address with words of rebuke. Not in order to hurt, but in order to repair the broken vessels.
True tochachah (rebuke) does not bring a person to despair; rather, it opens the path toward teshuvah (repentance).
Rabbi Natan of Breslov writes in Likutei Halachot that every sincere word of teshuvah gathers lost sparks of holiness.
No sincere prayer is ever lost.
Every tear rises upward and becomes part of the future construction of the Third Beit HaMikdash (Temple).
The Arizal reveals that during the days of Bein HaMetzarim, the Divine lights appear to be hidden.
Yet precisely during this time, through prayer and Torah, a person can reveal deeper lights than usual.
The darkness is merely a veil concealing a greater light.
The word אֵלֶּה (Eileh) carries profound symbolism.
According to the Zohar, Eileh refers to the revealed, visible worlds, while Mi refers to the hidden world of Binah.
When Mi and Eileh are united, the Divine Name emerges:
אלקים – Elohim
The mission of humanity is to make the hidden Divine reality visible within the revealed world.
Therefore Moshe begins with:
“Eileh HaDevarim” –
“These are the words.”
The words must reveal the hidden world within the visible world.
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov further reveals that every person carries within themselves an inner voice of Moshe – the point of truth within the soul that is never corrupted.
Even when a person has fallen deeply, this point remains intact.
Through hitbodedut – through honest and personal conversation with HaShem – this inner voice begins to be heard again.
Especially during the days before Tisha B’Av, this contains the true avodah (spiritual task):
Speak less about others and speak more with HaShem.
For wherever the holy word returns, the rebuilding of Jerusalem has already begun.
May we merit that our devarim – our words – will not remain empty sounds, but become vessels for the Shechinah.
May we gather the scattered sparks, complete the unity between Mi and Eileh, and merit to experience the day when the verse will be fulfilled:
“ציון במשפט תפדה ושביה בצדקה”
“Zion shall be redeemed through justice, and those who return to her through righteousness.”
(Isaiah 1:27)
