ירמיהו, פרק ה׳, פסוק כ״א

The prophet delivers a sharp rebuke to the people, addressing their deep blindness and inability to recognize God's reality. His plea for them to simply listen is direct and speaks entirely for itself [רד״ק]. He describes the nation as foolish and lacking a heart, pointing to a profound absence of basic insight and understanding [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This critique highlights a complete breakdown in the human capacity to know God. A person generally relies on three distinct channels of awareness to recognize Him, yet the people have failed in every single one [מלבי״ם].

The first channel is reason and intellect. Because the people are foolish and lack an understanding heart, they are unable to draw basic logical conclusions. The second channel relies on the senses and the observation of the physical world. Although they possess eyes, they do not truly see; they look at the world around them but completely fail to notice the wonders of God's creation [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. Finally, the third channel is the acceptance of tradition. While they have ears, they do not truly hear. They fail to internalize the messages handed down to them and refuse to listen to the accounts of His wondrous deeds [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם].