God’s speech represents one of the most profound mysteries in Jewish thought. If you’ve ever wondered how the Almighty communicates with the world, today’s article will lift the veil on this fascinating concept of Divine speech and discover how it fundamentally differs from human speech.
Human Speech vs Divine Speech
Imagine what happens when we speak. Our words leave us and become something separate. You say a phrase—it travels through the air, reaches the listener’s ears, and lives its own life. Your word has detached from you.
But with God’s speech, things work completely differently!
“The Divine nature is not like human nature”
Unlike us, the Almighty’s speech never separates from Him. This is a fundamental difference that cannot be overstated. Why does this happen? Because “there is nothing besides Him, and no place is devoid of Him.”
Imagine: absolutely all space, every point in the universe is filled with God. In such a situation, His words simply cannot become something separate from Him!
Why Do We Call It “Speech” Then?
If God’s speech doesn’t separate from the Almighty, why do we use the term “speech” in relation to God at all?
The answer is both simple and profound. We use the concept of “speech” as a metaphor, a comparison. What is the essence of this comparison?
When a person speaks, they reveal what was hidden in their thoughts. Similarly, when we talk about “God’s speech,” we mean the process by which hidden Divine energy transitions to a state of revelation—for creating worlds and filling them with life.
It is precisely this aspect of revelation that is common between human and Divine speech.
The Ten Utterances and the Words of the Prophets
When the Torah says: “And God said: let there be light,” “Let the earth bring forth…” — these are the Ten Utterances by which the world was created. They represent the revelation of Divine light for the act of creation.
But God’s speech is not limited to these alone. The entire text of the Torah, the books of the prophets, and the Scriptures are also manifestations of Divine speech, what the prophets perceived in their visions.
Unity with the Source: An Amazing Comparison
Have you ever thought about what happens to thoughts and words before you express them? Where do they exist? In what state?
Before a person utters a word or even formulates a thought, they exist in their mind and heart in potential form. At this moment, they are completely united with their source.
Here’s an amazing comparison: God’s speech and thought are always united with Him just as our unspoken words are united with us before we express them!
But there’s an important difference: for humans, this unity lasts only until the moment of expression, while for God, it’s eternal. Even after Divine speech transitions “into action” during the creation of worlds, it remains in absolute unity with God.
Why Do We Perceive the World as Something Separate from God?
If everything is one with God, why do we perceive the world and ourselves as something separate from Him? Why don’t we constantly feel this unity?
This is where the concepts of “tzimtzum” (contraction) and “hester panim” (concealment of the Face) come into play. Divine light passes through numerous “filters” and “contractions” so that we can perceive it without dissolving in its intensity.
Imagine sunlight passing through multiple dense filters. In the end, we see only a faint glow, not the blinding radiance of the original. Similarly, Divine life force is so “dimmed” for us that it seems like something separate from its source.
However, for God Himself…
All these “filters” and “contractions” exist only from our perspective. For the Almighty Himself, no “tzimtzumim” create separation:
“Even darkness will not darken for You…”
For Him, there is no difference between light and darkness, between revelation and concealment. Why? Because these “filters” themselves are not separate from Him!
This can be compared to a turtle, whose shell is not something external but part of itself. Similarly, all the “garments” and “concealments” of God’s speech are also Divinity; they are not separate from God.
An Amazing Conclusion
So, we arrive at an astonishing conclusion: from God’s perspective, all creation is like absolute nothingness. It exists only due to the concealment of the true intensity of Divine light. And since this concealment doesn’t exist for God Himself, the entire creation has no separate independent existence in His eyes.
Let’s recall the story about the Maggid of Kozhnitz. Before his death, he told his son: “I no longer have a body at all.” The son grabbed his hand: “Father, I can feel your body!” To which the sage replied: “You feel the body because you’re touching it…”
This story perfectly illustrates the main idea: what seems real and separate to us actually has no independent existence. We perceive the world as real only because our perception is limited.
This article is based on Chapter 21 of the book “Likutei Amarim — Tanya” by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, one of the greatest Hasidic thinkers and the founder of the Chabad movement.
Afterword: This text has not been approved by any sage, Torah scholar, or rabbi and is merely a simplified adaptation of the sacred text for general understanding. For comprehension of true wisdom and a deeper understanding of the original text, you should refer to the sources.
