חסידות אויף דברים 2:3

In the Midrash Tanchuma, on the verse "These are the words…", the Israelites said to Moses: "Yesterday you said, 'I am not a man of words,' and now you speak so much?!" Rabbi Yitzchak said: "When you are heavy of mouth, review the Torah and be healed"—just as Moses learned the Torah in the wilderness. End of the quote of language of the Midrash. And we preface with the verse (Deuteronomy 2:3): "You have circled this mountain long enough; turn yourselves northward." And Rashi explained: "Circle yourselves eastward—from the south to the north—your faces to the north…" To understand the matter, we may say as follows: It is known that the secret of the Exodus from Egypt is that Da'at (knowledge/awareness) was in exile and in smallness—they did not know the complete Da’at to serve the Blessed God with delight and with great intellect, as it is written (I Chronicles 28:9), "Know the God of your father…" It is known that Da’at is a term of Yichud (union) and Taanug (pleasure), as it is written, "And Adam knew..." In the Egyptian exile, their Da’at was extremely diminished, which is the concept of "Meitzar Yam" (narrowness of the sea)—that the Da’at which flows from the Da’at of Chokhmah (wisdom) was constricted and small; they did not possess the great Da’at. And through the Exodus, where they went out of the Meitzar Yam, the Da’at became great and increased—the knowledge of God, as it says (Exodus 2:25), "And God knew"—meaning the Da’at of God was elevated. And as it says, "You grew and became great," they came into expanded intellect and great Da’at to serve the Creator with pure and luminous delight, which is the joy of mitzvah and service. As it is said: "A maidservant saw at the sea what Ezekiel did not see"—because their service, once the Da’at was increased and they left the smallness, was with joy. As it says (Psalms 100:2): "Serve God with joy." And we also find another verse that says (Psalms 2:11): "Serve God with fear." The truth is, as the Sages expounded in the Talmud: "Serve God with fear, and rejoice with trembling"—in the place of joy, there should be trembling. To understand the words of the Talmud:

And this is the meaning of: “You have circled this mountain long enough” (Deut. 2:3)—meaning: “Enough” (rav) refers to the abundance of Da’at—“it is much for you.” “Circle this mountain”—which refers to the evil inclination, as is known from what the Sages said: “To the righteous it appears like a mountain…”—for from it, judgments branch out. And this is what Rashi explained: “Circle toward the east wind”—which refers to Torah, as it is connected to the rising of the hidden light, which is Da’at. “Turn yourselves northward”—meaning: “your faces shall turn northward”, which is the hidden (tzafun) Da’at, hidden in the mouth of the King, which is speech, to elevate it to the world of delight, and thereby sweeten the evil. And it is known that when Moses said (Exodus 6:30): “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how will Pharaoh listen to me?”—it was because speech was in exile, for they did not have the unification of great Da’at in speech, as the Zohar explains. But through the Torah which Moses received, speech was rectified, and unified through Da’at, and elevated into the world of delight, as mentioned, and then the judgments were sweetened at their root. And this is what the verse says: “These are the words that Moses spoke”—he drew down the speech above, to the Da’at, which was a drawing of Da’at in greatness, and through that, all the judgments that had come upon them in those places listed in that verse—in the wilderness, in the Arabah, etc.—were sweetened. Because why does the verse recall their earlier sins? Only for this reason: that after receiving the Torah and leaving Egypt, Da’at exited Egypt and expanded. But afterward, through their sin, they caused Da’at to fall again, as it says: “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt”—meaning they returned Da’at to smallness, to narrowness, and through that, judgments came upon them. And Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him, wanted through his rebuke to elevate them from the place of judgment, and draw and raise them to great Da’at. And that is why he mentioned the places where the judgments had their effect—so that from that very place, they would now draw themselves upward to great Da’at, and through him, they would be elevated to the place of Da’at. And this is the meaning of: “These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel”—he drew speech upward, to all Israel, from the place of judgments, which are in the Arabah, across the Jordan, etc.