{"id":30776,"date":"2025-08-08T11:24:48","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T14:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/?p=30776"},"modified":"2025-08-13T11:26:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T14:26:11","slug":"parashat-vaetchanan-a-strong-voice-that-did-not-interrupt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/en\/parashat-vaetchanan-a-strong-voice-that-did-not-interrupt\/","title":{"rendered":"Parashat Vaetchanan - A strong voice that did not interrupt"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week's Torah reading is called Va'etchanan<\/strong> \u2014 which means \u201cAnd he begged.\u201d<\/em> It begins with the beginning of Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses our leader, to enter the Land of Israel. We know he did not enter, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This parsha<\/em>, this week's reading, contains many fundamental concepts in Judaism. For instance, the Ten Commandments with all their meaning, and the Shema Yisrael \u2014 \u201cHear, O Israel\u201d<\/em> \u2014 the declaration of the unity of Gd, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is one verse that our sages offer different explanations for, and we will explore how these explanations apply to us. The verse is regarding the Ten Commandments, in Hebrew:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The voice of Gd was a very strong voice that did not interrupt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, we know that the voice of Gd was, in a sense, \u201cinterrupted.\u201d If you go to Mount Sinai, wherever that is, you're not going to hear Gd talking over there. So what does it mean that the voice of Gd was a strong voice that did not interrupt?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explanation 1 \u2014 The Power to Be Understood in 70 Languages<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One explanation our sages offer is that the voice of Gd was so powerful, so to speak, that it had the strength to be translated into 70 languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In those times there were 70 nations, each with its own language. The Torah, in its giving, had a voice with the power to be translated into all of them. That means that the strength of the voice of Gd at that particular time gives us the possibility of learning Torah in any language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, right now we are learning in English. How can we do that? The Torah is such a holy thing \u2014 the voice of Gd, the word of Gd \u2014 and yet we can study it in our own tongue because that original voice carried the strength to be expressed in any language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explanation 2 \u2014 The Source of All Prophecy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second explanation says that the voice of Gd was the source for all future prophecies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do we say it \u201cdid not interrupt\u201d? Not because everyone was talking the voice of Gd by translating the Torah into any language \u2014 that was the first explanation. This explanation says that the prophets actually prophesied through the voice of Gd at the giving of the Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that moment it was like a general voice that included all prophecies throughout all time. Then, each prophet in each stage of history drew from that voice and pronounced the particular prophecy that was theirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem is that today we do not have prophecy. The Talmud says prophecy ceased at the beginning of the Second Temple era, around 2,400 years ago. Today we have lower levels of divine inspiration, but this is not a class about prophecy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explanation 3 \u2014 A Voice Without Echo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A third explanation says that the voice of Gd at the giving of the Torah was such a strong voice that it did not have an echo \u2014 lo yafsiq<\/em>, it did not get interrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our sages ask: what's the importance of the voice of Gd not having an echo?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to tell me that the voice was so strong it could be translated into any language \u2014 that's important; we can learn Torah in English. If you want to tell me that all the prophets drew energy from that voice \u2014 that's also important: prophecy, the word of Gd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But why is it important that the voice of Gd did not have an echo?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One commentator explains that if the voice of Gd had had an echo, people might have thought there were many gods \u2014 one speaking this way, another speaking that way. But that's hard to accept, because everyone knows an echo is not a different voice. It sounds exactly the same, just a few seconds later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what does it really mean that the voice of Gd didn't have an echo?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chassidic Explanation \u2014 A Voice That Penetrated All Creation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chassidic thought explains like this: What is an echo? An echo means you say something and it bounces back because it hit a wall \u2014 something the voice could not penetrate. That's why it returns to you a few seconds later, depending on distance and strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The point here is that an echo happens when the voice does not<\/strong> penetrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why didn't the voice of Gd at the giving of the Torah have an echo? Because it penetrated every single thing in creation. That means that in every point in the universe you have, so to speak, the voice of Gd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is not a single place, thing, or person that was not penetrated by \u2014 that is not imbued within \u2014 with the word of Gd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that any single thing in life can be used in a G-dly way. That is what it means that the word of Gd did not have an echo \u2014 it didn't bounce back. The whole creation \u201cscreams\u201d from within: I am full of Gd; Gd filled me at the giving of the Torah.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is the importance of the giving of the Torah. And that gives us the strength to take anything in life and ask: How can I use this in my service to Gd?<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This week\u2019s Torah reading is called Va\u2019etchanan \u2014 which means \u201cand he begged.\u201d It begins with the begging of Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses our leader, to enter the Land of Israel. We know he did not enter, and so on. This parsha, this week\u2019s reading, contains many fundamental concepts in Judaism. For instance, the Ten Commandments… Read More \u00bbParashat Vaetchanan - A strong voice that did not interrupt<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3331],"tags":[3516,3518],"series":[],"class_list":["post-30776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vaetchanan-en","tag-voice","tag-world"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/00EnglishParasha-1.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/avatar1400.jpeg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"castbox":{"key":"castbox","url":"","label":"CastBox","class":"castbox","icon":"castbox.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/en\/feed\/podcast\/rabino-tuvia-serber","embedCode":"

Parashat Vaetchanan - A strong voice that did not interrupt<\/a><\/blockquote>