At the end of Parshat Naso, we read about how Moshe would communicate with Hashem in the Mishkan. וַיִּשְׁמַ֨ע אֶת־הַקּ֜וֹל מִדַּבֵּ֣ר אֵלָ֗יו, “Moshe would hear the voice [of God] speaking to him” (Bamidbar 7:89). Rashi comments on the form of the verb here, מִדַּבֵּ֣ר. He explains that מִדַּבֵּ֣ר is like מִתְדַּבֵּר, the reflexive hitpael form of the verb ‘to speak’. The insight that Rashi is revealing is that when Moshe would hear God’s voice, what he was really hearing was God talking to Himself, מדבר בינו לבין עצמו. The Torah that God communicated to Moshe in the Mishkan was really God’s personal thoughts. This explanation sheds new light on how we relate to Torah. We know from our own lives that as we walk through the day, the track that runs in our minds-- our thoughts and reflections-- are most telling about who we are, what is most important to us, and what we are struggling with. Whether it is a mundane to-do list or a moment of self-reflection, our conversations with ourselves are personal. So then it is striking to imagine God’s Torah as His personal conversation with Himself or the track running through His mind of His priorities, kivyachol. What are God’s personal, intimate thoughts? Like a parent, His thoughts are always on us, His children. Today, feel the love God gives us by sharing His personal conversations with Himself with us. And ask, ‘How can our thoughts look more like God’s thoughts?’ ‘How can we shift the tracks in our minds to focus more on Torah and on our relationship God?’
