There seems to be a disparity between the Torah’s description of Moshe Rabbeinu’s oratory to the heaven and the way he addressed the earth. He says: Haazinu, “Give ear,” pay attention, as if he was speaking directly to heaven. Also, he uses the word, adabeirah, “I will speak,” which is a stronger, more direct form of communication. In contrast, Moshe tells the earth v’sishma, “and hear,” listen in as I convey imrei fi, “the words of my mouth.” It is almost as if Moshe is talking directly to heaven, and he is requesting earth to listen in on the conversation. How are we to understand this?
In his Ben Ish Chai, Horav Yosef Chaim Mi’Bagdad, zl, explains that Mussar, rebuke, given directly to the offender, often falls on deaf ears. The guilty party does not want to hear that he did something wrong. He is not interested in listening to a litany of complaints against him. Thus, one who wants to give effective rebuke should direct it to someone who is innocent, in such a manner that the guilty party is privy to “listening in.” When the true offender overhears a conversation, which really was supposed to be directed to him, he will begin to think. After all, it was not a personal attack. Therefore, he will take the message at face value, and listen/pay attention to the implications which concern him. Hopefully, this will cause him to change his less-than laudatory habits.
Shomayim, heaven, is a metaphor for tzaddikim, the righteous, whose lives are “Himmeldik,” Heavenly. Their focus on spiritual pursuit removes them from the realm of the physical dimension. Eretz, earth, are those people who are unable to extricate themselves from the physical/material realm, their earthliness. Moshe spoke to the tzaddikim with the hope that the average person, whose earthliness caused him to sin, would take the hint and listen to his words. Moshe spoke harsh words to the sky, because he wanted the earth to listen and get the message.
