Nombres 7:89

When Moshe would enter. When two passages conflict, a third decides between them. One passage says: “God spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting” — this was outside the paroches partition. And one passage says: “I will speak to you from above the cover [of the Ark].” This [passage] comes and decides between them. Moshe came to the Tent of Meeting. There he heard the Voice coming from above the cover. Between the two cherubs. The Voice emanated from heaven to the space between the two cherubs, and from there to the Tent of Meeting.

He would hear the Voice. Perhaps the Voice was low (of a lesser degree)? The Torah therefore writes אֶת הַקּוֹל, “the Voice” — the Voice spoken to him at Sinai. But when it reached the doorway, it ceased, and did not go out of the tent.

Being spoken. As being spoken unto Itself. It is respectful to the One above to speak thusly. He was speaking to Himself, and Moshe was listening in.

He spoke to him. This excludes Aharon from the communications.

And when Mosheh entered into the tabernacle of ordinance to speak with Him, he heard the voice of the Spirit who spake with him descending from the heaven of heavens upon the Mercy Seat which was upon the Ark of the Testimony between the two Cherubim, and from thence was the Oracle {Word; Dibbera} speaking with him.

He would hear the Voice. Moshe alone would hear the Voice, and someone who was in the Tent of Meeting outside the Curtain would not hear it. Hashem increased the sensitivity of Moshe’s ears, just as He opened the eyes of Elisha’s attendant (Melachim II 6:17).

Being spoken. This was always the way Hashem spoke to him.

ובבא משה אל אהל מועד לדבר אתו וישמע את הקול, even though in physical terms the Tabernacle was insignificant compared to the magnificent structure Solomon had built, in terms of spiritual achievement the Tabernacle far outranked Solomon’s Temple, which in turn outranked the second Temple. During the entire period of the second Temple (420 years) not a single prophet had been able to enter the Temple and there to hear the voice of G’d at any given moment. If at this point Moses was able to do this it proved that G’d had approved the consecration and had drawn near Moses as the shepherd of the Jewish people. In spite of all this spiritual grandeur of the Tabernacle in the desert and the clear manifestation of G’d’s presence over it or in it, even this was a far cry from the presence of G’d in the Israelite camp during the period of the revelation at Mount Sinai, and the 40 days before the sin of the golden calf. Once Moses entered the Tabernacle he was able to hear the voice of G’d, something he had been able to hear all the time before the sin of the golden calf, and without the benefit of the Tabernacle and the hallowed ground it stood on.

מדבר, read “mi-dabber,” talking to Himself. [According to Moreh Nevuchim 1,68 and in accordance with Aristotele’s concept of G’d, there is no division between subject and predicate in the sphere of understanding something, defining it, actively or passively when we speak of G’d, as is the case when we speak of His creatures. A creature, by definition is subjective vis-à-vis itself, G’d is never subjective, always objective. Having said this you will understand that the translation of G’d “speaking to Himself,” i.e. being both at the receiving end and at the initiating end at the same time is not a contradiction in terms.” Ed.] Proverbs 16,4 כל פעל ה' למענהו, reveals that in the final analysis, all that G’d does has an intelligent purpose known to Him and approved by Him, so much so that the fact that He has seen fit to do it automatically means that it is beneficial for His universe and those in it. We need to keep this in mind whenever we read a line such as וידבר ה'. It is as if the Torah reminded us that the One described as מדבר