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Hebrew Bible Study

Midrash for Ezekiel 44:5

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֵלַ֜י יְהֹוָ֗ה בֶּן־אָדָ֡ם שִׂ֣ים לִבְּךָ֩ וּרְאֵ֨ה בְעֵינֶ֜יךָ וּבְאָזְנֶ֣יךָ שְּׁמָ֗ע אֵ֣ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֤ר אֲנִי֙ מְדַבֵּ֣ר אֹתָ֔ךְ לְכָל־חֻקּ֥וֹת בֵּית־יְהוָ֖ה וּלְכָל־תורתו [תּֽוֹרֹתָ֑יו] וְשַׂמְתָּ֤ לִבְּךָ֙ לִמְב֣וֹא הַבַּ֔יִת בְּכֹ֖ל מוֹצָאֵ֥י הַמִּקְדָּֽשׁ׃

And the LORD said unto me: ‘Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.

Sifrei Devarim

(Devarim 32:46) "And he said to them: Put your hearts, etc.": We are hereby taught that one's eyes and heart and ears must be attuned to words of Torah. And thus is it written (Ezekiel 44:5) "And the L-rd said to me: Son of man, set your heart and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I am saying to you about all the laws of the Temple … and set your heart to the entrance of the Temple and to all the exits of the sanctuary." Now does this not follow a fortiori? If re the Temple, which can be seen by the eyes and measured by the hand, one must "attune" his eyes and his heart and his ears — how much more so re words of Torah, which are like mountains hanging on a hair!
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