חזקוני (Yisro-20/1)
וידבר אלהים את כל הדברים האלה כביכול כאדם המסדר בלבו דברים כדי לאמרם לאחרים כך וידבר בינו לבין עצמו ואח״כ לומר לישראל. אנכי ה׳ אלהיך זש״ה אז ראה ויספרה הכינה וגם חקרה ויאמר לאדם וגו׳ למדתך תורה דרך ארץ אם תהיה בן תורה שלא תהא רוחך גסה עליך לומר דבר לפני הצבור עד שתפשוט אותו בינך לבין עצמך ב׳ או ג׳ פעמים. מעשה ברבי עקיבא שקראו החזן בבית הכנסת לקרוא בתורה ולא רצה לעלות אמרו לו תלמידיו ר׳ לא כך למדתנו כי היא חייך ואורך ימיך, ולמה מנעת לעלות אמר להם העבודה לא נמנעתי לעלות אלא לפי שלא סדרתי הפרשה ביני לבין עצמי ב׳ או ג׳ פעמים שאין אדם רשאי לומר דבר לפני הצבור עד שיפשוט אותה בינו לבין עצמו שתים או שלש פעמים.
This introduction is because the Torah wishes to show that G-d organizes His words just as human beings organize their words before expressing them to outsiders. Hence: “G-d spoke all these words:” The word וידבר here indicates that G-d said these words to Himself in a preparatory manner; subsequently, the word לאמור refers to the final draft of this address by G-d to the people.“I am the Lord your G-d;” this is what Job meant when he said: (Job 28,2728) אז ראה ויספרה, הכינה וגם הקרה ויאמר לאדם, “then He saw and gauged it; He measured it and probed it and said to man, etc.:” the Torah teaches you what good manners are, i.e. that even if you are an erudite scholar do not be arrogant enough when facing a crowd until after you have weighed carefully every word that you are going to say. You will do well to practice what you say two or three times before addressing your words to an assembly of people. It happened once to Rabbi Akiva in a synagogue (Tanchuma item 15 on our verse) that the sages called upon him to read publicly from the Torah scroll, i.e., to accept an aliyah. He declined the honor. When his students asked him why he had declined, quoting that he had taught them a verse in Deuteronomy 30,20, according to which reading from the Torah in public is one of the highest achievements in your life, so how could he refuse such a request? He answered them that indeed this was so but that he had declined to do so as he had not previously reviewed this particular portion, and it would be an insult to the congregation to presume to read to them unprepared as he had been. He should have first reviewed that text at least twice or thrice. He quoted our verse from the Torah as the source of his reluctance. If G-d had not addressed the Jewish people before having marshaled His thoughts first, how could he permit himself to do less?