Draw near and hear, etc. and you shall speak to us. What was their thinking? If it was possible for Moses to hear the voice of God without dying, then it would also be possible for them. And if it was impossible for them, it would also be impossible for Moses. And the language you [feminine form] needs explanation, for what Rashi explained “You have weakened my strength like a woman,” is not sufficient, because God said, They have done well in what they have spoken. Furthermore, why did he say, Draw near you [masculine form] and hear, using the masculine form, and then it is written that which He will say, meaning soft speech, and afterward it is written and you [feminine form] shall speak, which is hard speech. The explanation for all this is that as long as the power of the material is weakened, the power of the intellect will grow, and the wisdom of the elders proves this. Therefore, Moses was able to hear the voice of God and was not affected by it because his material strength had already been weakened like a woman through separating from his wife and other forms of abstinence that he practiced, as our Sages said (Yoma 4:) The cloud covered him for six days (Exodus 24:16) to purge the food and drink in his bowels, according to the view that the cloud covered Moses. And all this weakening of the material strength causes the strengthening of the intellect that is not affected by the voice, for everything is only affected by its opposite. And he was able to receive God’s voice even as hard speech, therefore they said, Draw near you [masculine] and hear all that He will say, for the soft speech of the Divine Presence you can receive even if your material strength was as strong as a male and not weakened like a female. However, and you [feminine] shall speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you. For you can receive even hard speech because your material strength has already been weakened like a woman, for the face of Moses was like the shining sun illuminating from all sides, so too was his material refined, and regarding this it was well said, They have done well in what they have spoken. And according to Rashi’s interpretation, the explanation will be that Moses was distressed that they did not serve out of love, for every lover clings to his beloved and one who fears distances himself from him. And Moses was distressed about what they said, Draw near you and hear, for the distance indicates fear. And after this, Moses’s strength was weakened because of distress, therefore it says and you [feminine] shall speak. And God said, They have done well in what they have spoken, as a compromise, for according to their stiff-neckedness, it is a novelty to Me even this that they held onto the attribute of fear, and even out of fear, I am concerned that they will not maintain it for many days, who would grant that this heart of theirs be theirs to fear Me, etc. all the days, etc. And there are those who interpret these verses humorously, that Israel said since there is no benefit in death except to remove from us the material which is a separating screen between him and his God so that man can see the face of the Divine Presence, for man shall not see Me and live, and now we see that God speaks to man and he lives. So now, why should we die? To suffer the pain of death in vain, for this great fire will consume us — that is, the pain of death. Nevertheless, if we continue to receive some perfection beyond what we will have in life regarding hearing the voice of God, then we will die — we accept upon ourselves the pain of death.