Likkutei Sichos Vol. 2 – Ha'azinu – Spiritual and Physical Success
The current weekly Torah portion begins with the words: "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth." The reason Moshe Rabbeinu addressed the heavens and the earth is because they are subservient to the Jewish people. When the Jewish people do what the Almighty desires, then the heavens and the earth fulfill the desires of the Jewish people.
May the Almighty grant that now, during this time of making good resolutions for the future, the good resolution should suffice, and consequently, the heavens and the earth will do everything that the Jewish people desire with their G‑dly soul. And when the Almighty gives the Jewish people material blessings, then the Jewish people will demonstrate what they can achieve.
This means that they will transform the material into the spiritual, and this should be done with expansiveness and joy.
2. The phrase "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth" is also found in the words of the prophet Isaiah, but in reverse order: "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth."
The commentators explain that "hearing" is from afar, while "giving ear" is from close by. Moshe Rabbeinu was closer to the heavens than to the earth, therefore he said, "Give ear, O heavens, and let the earth hear." Isaiah, who was closer to the earth, said, "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth."
3. Moshe Rabbeinu was a soul of Atzilus, meaning that even while he was here below, he was on the level of Atzilus. As explained in the Rambam regarding the superiority of Moshe's prophecy over that of other prophets, all other prophets needed to divest themselves of physicality during their prophecy because their physical body disturbed the prophecy (which is a revelation from Atzilus). However, Moshe did not need to divest himself of physicality because his physical body not only did not disturb G‑dliness, but even more so, it was a vessel for G‑dliness, as the Shechinah spoke from his throat.
This is also the reason for the distinction between all prophets and Moshe Rabbeinu, that all prophets prophesied with "ko" — in Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, while Moshe prophesied with "zeh" — in Atzilus.
Therefore, when Moshe Rabbeinu spoke about the heavens (Atzilus), he said "Give ear," a term of closeness. And when he spoke about the earth, which is generally Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, and specifically the world of Asiyah, he said "and let the earth hear," a term of distance.
However, Isaiah, whose prophecy was generally like that of other prophets — although he saw the chariot, it was no more than the chariot of Beriah — said regarding the heavens (Atzilus) "Hear," a term of distance, and regarding the earth "give ear," a term of closeness.
4. According to this, it is not understood: Why did Moshe Rabbeinu need to speak about Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, and Isaiah the prophet about Atzilus? For a soul of Atzilus, everything it sees is Atzilus, because Atzilus is not somewhere else; Atzilus is present below, as explained in Likkutei Torah, that spirituality is not confined to a place. Therefore, Moshe Rabbeinu should have only spoken about Atzilus. Similarly, Isaiah, who saw the chariot of Beriah, why did he speak about the heavens?
The explanation is as follows: Just as in the revealed aspect of Torah, the reason for the opposite expressions used by Moshe and Isaiah is explained because the heavens and the earth are two witnesses, and just as with testimony, the witnesses must be aligned, so that both witnesses say the same thing. Therefore, Moshe and Isaiah used opposite expressions so that together, in both testimonies — the heavens and the earth — both expressions, "give ear" and "hear," would be present.
Similarly, in spirituality, there must be an alignment between Atzilus and Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah (their testimony must be aligned); Atzilus should be drawn into Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, and Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah should ascend into Atzilus. Therefore, Moshe spoke also about Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah to draw Atzilus into them, and Isaiah spoke also about Atzilus to elevate Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah into Atzilus. For Moshe's role is to draw down from above to below, which is why Moshe brought the Torah down below. And Isaiah the prophet's role is to elevate from below to above, for a prophet was a rebuker, and the purpose of rebuke is to effect an ascent in the creations from below to above. Therefore, both spoke about both matters to effect the integration of above with below.
5. The lesson from this in service is: The heavens represent those who dwell in tents, and the earth represents those engaged in business. There must be an integration of both aspects. Those who dwell in tents must know that "one who says he has only Torah, even Torah he does not have," but there must also be the fulfillment of mitzvos, for the study must be with the intention to do, as it is said, "Great is study, for it leads to action."
And those engaged in business, whose primary service is in the fulfillment of mitzvos, must know that they must have fixed times for Torah study every day, at the very least.