ק֣וֹל יְ֭הוָה שֹׁבֵ֣ר אֲרָזִ֑ים וַיְשַׁבֵּ֥ר יְ֝הוָ֗ה אֶת־אַרְזֵ֥י הַלְּבָנֽוֹן׃
Suara Yang Mahakekal mematahkan pohon-pohon aras; Yang Mahakekal meremukkan pohon-pohon aras Libanon.
Rashi
מאהל מועד FROM THE APPOINTED TENT — This teaches us that the Voice broke off and did not issue beyond the appointed tent. One might think that this was so because the Voice was a very low one! Scripture, however, states, (Numbers 7:89) “[when he entered the tent he heard] the Voice”. What does it mean by the Voice? It was the Voice that is so minutely described in Psalms, (29:4, 5) “The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars. But if this be so (that it was a very powerful voice), why does Scripture state, “[and the Lord spoke to him] from the appointed tent” (מאהל מועד and does not state באהל מועד)? Because it intends to tell us that the Voice broke off and that it was heard only in the tent). A similar case we have in Ezekiel that a powerful sound uttered within the Temple was not heard outside: (Ezekiel 10:5) “And the sound of the cherubims’ wings was heard up to the outer court”. One might think then that the sound was a very low one! Scripture, however, continues “as the Voice of the Almighty God when He speaketh”! If this was so why, then, does Scripture state, “[it was heard] up to the outer court only”? Because when it (the sound) reached there it broke off (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Chapter 2 10-11).
Rabbeinu Bahya
We find a similar concept expressed in writings explaining aggadic material. We are told there that when the Shechinah will once again take up residence in the Holy of Holies, the inner Sanctum of the third Temple, people will acknowledge this event by reciting ברוך כבוד י-ה-ו-ה ממקומו. In the Sefer Habahir (item 131) this is explained in the following way: “what precisely is this כבוד ה'? We may understand all this in the form of a parable. A king had a beautiful lady in his chamber, a lady that all his soldiers amused themselves with. The king and that lady’s children would pay daily visits to the palace blessing their father the king profusely and asking: “where is our mother?” The king replied: ‘you cannot see her just now.” The children then said: “may she be blessed wherever she is.” Thus far the Sefer Habahir.
This “כבוד” is known generally as שכינה, and you know already that it is perceived as extending to all “extremities, endings,” i.e. all six directions [in terms of our terrestrial world, i.e. the six directions in which we shake the Lulav, Ed.] This emanation כבוד itself ranks seventh [from the bottom up in the ten emanations, Ed.] so that it “presides,” i.e. provides spiritual input for the six “lower” emanations. Basically, this is what occurred at Mount Sinai when the Israelites heard the Ten Commandments as if emanating out of the fire. This is also what the sages (Shemot Rabbah 28,4) had in mind when they said “the Torah was given with seven קולות, “voices.” The word קול or קולות occurs seven times in our paragraph. [The word קול or קולות occurs six times, the seventh time being the words וידבר אלו-הים “G’d spoke,” something obviously involving קול, “voice.” — compare 19,15, 19,16, 19,19,(twice) 20,16. (twice)]. When you look at the second version of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5,19 you will again find that the word קול or קולות occurs seven times. I will refer to this in detail when we discuss those verses.
On this occasion Moses attained an understanding of seven different קולות, which in kabbalistic terms are called seven emanations, and to which our sages referred as שבעה קולות, “seven voices,” whereas in the language of our prophets these are called שבעה עינים, “seven facets.” This is the mystical dimension of Zecharyah 3,9 על אבן אחת שבעה עינים. The word עינים is related in meaning to גוונים, “varieties.” Only Moses understood the name and the full meaning of it. The people at large only heard the voice of G’d as a single קול. This is what Moses referred to when he wrote Deut 5,19: את הדברים האלה דבר ה' אל כל קהלכם ...קול גדול ולא יסף, “these words the Lord spoke to your entire congregation.. .a great voice without addition,” The verse makes it plain that the congregation only heard a single voice, nothing additional. This was because their limited powers of perception did not allow them to distinguish nuances within that voice. You also find that David mentions seven קולות Psalms 29,3 (1); 29,4(2+3); 29,5 (4); 29,6 (5); 29,7 (6); 29,8 (7). The sequence there is understood in a descending order, i.e. from חסד-גבורה-תפארת-נצה-הוד-יסוד-מלכות.
After Moses had attained understanding of these seven emanations, he turned to G’d asking to be granted understanding of the emanations which were still higher, i.e. the emanations בינה-חכמה-כתר in ascending order. This is the meaning of Exodus 33,18 הראני נא את כבודך, “please show me Your כבוד. I will deal with this in detail when we discuss that verse.
This “כבוד” is known generally as שכינה, and you know already that it is perceived as extending to all “extremities, endings,” i.e. all six directions [in terms of our terrestrial world, i.e. the six directions in which we shake the Lulav, Ed.] This emanation כבוד itself ranks seventh [from the bottom up in the ten emanations, Ed.] so that it “presides,” i.e. provides spiritual input for the six “lower” emanations. Basically, this is what occurred at Mount Sinai when the Israelites heard the Ten Commandments as if emanating out of the fire. This is also what the sages (Shemot Rabbah 28,4) had in mind when they said “the Torah was given with seven קולות, “voices.” The word קול or קולות occurs seven times in our paragraph. [The word קול or קולות occurs six times, the seventh time being the words וידבר אלו-הים “G’d spoke,” something obviously involving קול, “voice.” — compare 19,15, 19,16, 19,19,(twice) 20,16. (twice)]. When you look at the second version of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5,19 you will again find that the word קול or קולות occurs seven times. I will refer to this in detail when we discuss those verses.
On this occasion Moses attained an understanding of seven different קולות, which in kabbalistic terms are called seven emanations, and to which our sages referred as שבעה קולות, “seven voices,” whereas in the language of our prophets these are called שבעה עינים, “seven facets.” This is the mystical dimension of Zecharyah 3,9 על אבן אחת שבעה עינים. The word עינים is related in meaning to גוונים, “varieties.” Only Moses understood the name and the full meaning of it. The people at large only heard the voice of G’d as a single קול. This is what Moses referred to when he wrote Deut 5,19: את הדברים האלה דבר ה' אל כל קהלכם ...קול גדול ולא יסף, “these words the Lord spoke to your entire congregation.. .a great voice without addition,” The verse makes it plain that the congregation only heard a single voice, nothing additional. This was because their limited powers of perception did not allow them to distinguish nuances within that voice. You also find that David mentions seven קולות Psalms 29,3 (1); 29,4(2+3); 29,5 (4); 29,6 (5); 29,7 (6); 29,8 (7). The sequence there is understood in a descending order, i.e. from חסד-גבורה-תפארת-נצה-הוד-יסוד-מלכות.
After Moses had attained understanding of these seven emanations, he turned to G’d asking to be granted understanding of the emanations which were still higher, i.e. the emanations בינה-חכמה-כתר in ascending order. This is the meaning of Exodus 33,18 הראני נא את כבודך, “please show me Your כבוד. I will deal with this in detail when we discuss that verse.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וישאו בני ישראל את עיניהם...ויצעקו בני ישראל אל ה', “the Children of Israel raised their eyes....and they cried out to Hashem.” The Torah tells us that they fell back on a tried remedy, i.e. prayer, which had helped their forefathers in times of distress. We know that Avraham prayed from Genesis 19,27 where the Torah describes him as rising early in the morning “to the place, etc.” The words “to the place” are a euphemism for someone directing his prayer to G’d. We find similarly that Yitzchak was praying in Genesis 24,43 where the Torah describes him as coming from a שיחה, i.e. a prayer-session. We find that the Torah describes Yaakov as having prayed at the place where he had the dream of the ladder (Genesis 8,11). The reason the Jewish people have been compared to a worm (Isaiah 41,14 “do not fear worm Yaakov, etc.”) is that just as a worm has no strength of its own other than that of its mouth with which it is able to defeat the mighty cedars, so the strength of the Jewish people is their mouth, i.e. the power of their prayers. Prayer is something soft which has the power to break something hard. The Gentiles have been compared to cedars as we know from Ezekiel 31,3: “here Assyria used to be a cedar in Lebanon,” etc., etc. In verse 12 the prophet describes how this magnificent tree was cut down.” Psalms 29,8 also describes the forests being stripped bare (by the worms). Israel’s victories are due to prayer and Torah. We base this on Deut. 4,29: “when you will seek out the Lord your G’d from there (your state of distress) you will find Him.” We have a similar message in Psalms 20,8: “they (call) on chariots, they (call) on horses, but we call on the name of the Lord our G’d.”