The Advantages of Listening

Gemara: Two Torah scholars who listen to each other in discussion of Halacha, Hashem hears their voices, as it says: "She who sits in gardens, friends listen to your voice, let me hear" (Shir Hashirim 8:13). If they do not listen, they cause the Divine Presence to abandon Israel, as it says: "Escape, by beloved…" (ibid. 14).



Ein Ayah: Hashem reveals his world leadership through listening to the approaches of the mind. Although a person has a certain, even unchangeable, way of thinking he still must listen to another’s approach and realize that it also has credence. Then his counterpart’s approach will make his way of thinking more fruitful. This is normal when intellectual approaches interact.

Divine listening is connected to internal emotion, which is sensitive to Hashem’s holy, pure "whispers." This is actualized when one prepares himself morally by having the thoughts of others resonate positively in him, even though they are very different from his own.

Similarly, the divine light which allows leadership to succeed emerges from the listening of a potential leader to his friend. Whether he accepts or rejects the idea, the process still has a good effect on everyone’s special logic, making him fit for leadership. This is in line with the divine order, which covers both the spiritual and physical realms of life, according to all its different details. The approach to leadership of one who properly weighed all available reasonable approaches is aligned with the divine approach. This is not true when one wants to give exclusivity to his personal way of thinking; individual spiritual approaches do not fit divine plans, which fit the minds of each person in the nation. These emerge in their own way from the divine light in its midst. Therefore, one who ignores others’ thinking causes the Divine Presence to abandon Israel.