Because they trembled, meaning that they became filled with fear and awe of Hashem, therefore they stood from afar, which is the aspect of “hearing.”
In other words, hearing is a result of distance, which can either cause fear, or can be the result of fear. Because someone is afraid of something, therefore he moves away from it so that he only hears it, and cannot see it. Conversely, something that you feel distant from because you can only hear it and not see it, will cause a sense of fear towards that thing.
Because the Jewish People were afraid of Hashem, they moved away to only hear His message from afar, through Moshe Rabeinu, instead of directly from Hashem. Because a person realizes how distant he is from Hashem, and he only hears Hashem’s message but cannot see Him, this causes the person to fear Hashem.
Yearning and Returning
This is connected to the idea (Sefer Yetzirah 1:8, Tikunei Zohar 7a) “if your heart runs in yearning for Hashem, then afterwards return to reveal Hashem’s Oneness in this world through Torah and Mitzvos.”
The Mittler Rebbe explains (Maamarei Admur HaEmtzai, Bereishis, page 504 and 544): This idea of “returning” means to feel embarrassed of Hashem’s greatness to stand before Him and want His closeness. This comes from contemplation of Hashem’s greatness and contrasting that with his own relative lowliness.
This feeling of embarrassment before Hashem will motivate the person to simply fulfill Hashem’s commands out of respect for Hashem’s greatness and majesty, without excepting anything in return, like experiencing a feeling of closeness. This is like when a regular person hears about the greatness of the king but never sees him. He is filled with awe for the king and fulfills his command without expecting the king to repay him with a private invitation to his palace.
The Second Paragraph of Shema: Fear and Guarding Oneself
This is the idea of the second paragraph of the Shema, which corresponds to fear of Hashem, as it is written in that passage (Devarim 11:16): “guard yourself, in case your heart becomes tempted to rebel against Hashem...”
The second paragraph of the Shema is when we accept the principle of reward and punishment for our actions, and we commit to guard ourselves against sin. This ability to guard ourselves from sin comes from fear and awe of Hashem as our King.
Hearing from Afar and Humility
This is the meaning of what is written (Bereishis 29:33): “For Hashem has heard that I was disliked,”
The simple meaning, as explained earlier in the maamar, is that Leah was thanking Hashem for giving her a son, because now her husband will love her more. In the literal meaning, “for Hashem has heard,” and “that I was disliked.”
The Alter Rebbe is interpreting the phrase to mean “for Hashem has caused me to hear,” and “because I despise myself.” I.e., because I humble myself towards Hashem, Hashem causes me to “hear” Him and come to truly fear Him, as the Alter Rebbe will continue to explain.
Awakening from Below and Above
This is like the idea of (Tehillim 15:4): “one who is embarrassed and despised in his own eyes.”
Meaning, that through the “awakening from below,” that he considers himself despised through the attribute of “the left hand that pushes away,” through this there is drawn down an “awakening from Above,” that “Hashem will cause me to hear,” in a manner of hearing from afar, which produces fear, in order to bring into the person a higher level of fear of Hashem that is granted as a gift from Above.
In other words, the service of Hashem in a manner of ‘Shimon,’ who represents ‘hearing,’ (connected to the second paragraph of Shema), is for the person to awaken a feeling of awe and fear of Hashem. When a person contemplates on Hashem’s greatness and contrasts that with his own relative lowliness, he will feel embarrassed of Hashem’s greatness that he is in the presence of. Through a person’s effort to awaken the fear of Hashem, Hashem will grant the person a truer and higher level of fear of Him as a gift from Above. (This is similar to what was explained above regarding awakening the love of Hashem: When a person works hard to awaken a fiery love for Hashem, then Hashem will help the person through a revelation from Above.)
