יִּקַּח סֵפֶר הַבְּרִית וַיִּקְרָא בְּאׇזְנֵי הָעָם וַיֹּאמְרוּ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר ה’ נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע׃
Then he (Moshe) took the record of the covenant and read it aloud to the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do and we will hear.” (24:7)
The Talmud (Shabbat 88a) relates,”When the Jewish people declared na’aseh (we will do) before nishma (we will hear) 600,000 angels descended from Heaven and tied two crowns to each and every member of the Jewish people, one corresponding to ‘We will do’ and one corresponding to ‘We will hear’.” What was so special about putting na’aseh before nishma?
Further on the same page, the Talmud relates the following story. A heretic said to the sage, Rava,”You impulsive nation, who accorded precedence to your mouths over your ears! ….You should listen first. Then, if you are capable of fulfilling the commands, accept them. And if not, do not accept them!” Rava responded,” About us,who proceed wholeheartedly and with integrity, it is written: “The integrity of the upright will guide them” (Proverbs 11:3).”
When the Jewish people said na’aseh, we will do , that means we accept to fulfill Hashem’s will. When they said nishma, we will hear, that means we will hear what Hashem’s will is, i.e, the words of the Torah. The heretic observed that by saying,”We will do,” before saying, ”We will hear,” they impulsively agreed to fulfill Hashem’s will without even knowing what He wants from them and whether they have the ability to do it! Rava’s response was that the Jewish people had no doubt that Hashem would only ask from them what was best for them.
Now we understand the greatness of declaring na’aseh, we will do, before nishma, we will hear . We can also understand why they received a crown for saying na’aseh. But why a crown for nishma? Was there something unusual about declaring that they will learn the will of Hashem? Is there another way to know how to fulfill the first declaration of na’aseh, we will do?
Rabbi Zev Leff of Moshav Matityahu in Israel suggests the following. Our forefather Yaakov in Bereisheet 48:16 gave a blessing of וְיִדְגּוּ לָרֹב בְּקֶרֶב הָאָרֶץ׃, they shall multiply as much as fish do on the earth.The Midrash (Bereisheet Rabbah 97) adds to this analogy noting an unusual thing fish tend to do. Although fish grow in water, when one drop descends from above they swim to the top of the water and accept it with thirst like one who had never tasted water in their life. So too, the Jewish people grow in the waters of Torah but when they hear one new word of Torah they accept it with thirst as one who had never heard a word of Torah in their life! You can never get enough Torah even if you are already immersed in an ocean of it.The Torah is our source of life as it states (Devarim 30:20) כִּי הוּא חַיֶּיךָ וְאֹרֶךְ יָמֶיךָ , “for it is your life and lengthening of your days.” More Torah means more spiritual growth. More spiritual growth means more eternal life.
This is why they received a crown for declaring nishma.By saying nishma after na’aseh they were declaring that even if we have learned enough to be able to do , we will continue to hear , to learn more and more.Because no matter how much we know we can always grow and gain more life from the life-giving waters of Torah.
Shabbat Shalom!
Yitzchak