Mishpatim: fools rush in

(ז) וַיִּקַּח֙ סֵ֣פֶר הַבְּרִ֔ית וַיִּקְרָ֖א בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י הָעָ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה נַעֲשֶׂ֥ה וְנִשְׁמָֽע׃

Exodus 24:7

(7) Then he took the record of the covenant and read it aloud to the people. And they said, “All that יהוה has spoken we will faithfully do!”

רש"י על שמות כ״ד:ז׳:א׳

ספר הברית. מִבְּרֵאשִׁית וְעַד מַתַּן תּוֹרָה וּמִצְווֹת שֶׁנִּצְטַוּוּ בְמָרָה:

Rashi on Exodus 24:7:1

ספר הברית THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT — the book which we have said contained the part of the Torah from בראשית till the “Giving of the Torah” including the Commandments that were given to them at Marah (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 19:10:2; cf. Rashi on v. 4).

תהילים ק״ג:כ׳

(כ) בָּרְכ֥וּ יְהֹוָ֗ה מַלְאָ֫כָ֥יו גִּבֹּ֣רֵי כֹ֭חַ עֹשֵׂ֣י דְבָר֑וֹ לִ֝שְׁמֹ֗עַ בְּק֣וֹל דְּבָרֽוֹ׃

Psalms 103:20

(20) Bless the LORD, O His angels,
mighty creatures who do His bidding,
to listen to the words of G*d's voice;

שמות כ״א:ה׳-ו׳

(ה) וְאִם־אָמֹ֤ר יֹאמַר֙ הָעֶ֔בֶד אָהַ֙בְתִּי֙ אֶת־אֲדֹנִ֔י אֶת־אִשְׁתִּ֖י וְאֶת־בָּנָ֑י לֹ֥א אֵצֵ֖א חׇפְשִֽׁי׃ (ו) וְהִגִּישׁ֤וֹ אֲדֹנָיו֙ אֶל־הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים וְהִגִּישׁוֹ֙ אֶל־הַדֶּ֔לֶת א֖וֹ אֶל־הַמְּזוּזָ֑ה וְרָצַ֨ע אֲדֹנָ֤יו אֶת־אׇזְנוֹ֙ בַּמַּרְצֵ֔עַ וַעֲבָד֖וֹ לְעֹלָֽם׃ {ס}

Exodus 21:5-6

(5) But if the slave declares, “I love my master, and my wife and children: I do not wish to go free,” (6) his master shall take him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall then remain his master’s slave for life.

The Zohar states:

And if a man refuses to go forth to freedom, he impairs that place [from which freedom flows down to this world], since he leaves the yoke of the kingdom of heaven and accepts the yoke of a master. Therefore, ‘his master shall bring him ... to the door or the mezuzah-doorpost, since this place is the gateway to the higher world

ליקוטי מוהר"ן ס״ה:ה׳:ב׳

וְהַשִּׂמְחָה הוּא כְּלִי אֶל חִדּוּשִׁין דְּאוֹרַיְתָא, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (שבת פח): בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאָמְרוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמַע, יָרְדוּ שִׁשִּׁים רִבּוֹא מַלְאָכִים וְנָתְנוּ שְׁנֵי כְּתָרִים בְּרֹאשׁ כָּל אֶחָד, וּכְשֶׁחָטְאוּ וְכוּ', וְעָתִיד הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְהַחֲזִירָן לָנוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְשִׂמְחַת עוֹלָם עַל רֹאשָׁם. נִמְצָא שֶׁהַשִּׂמְחָה הִיא בְּחִינַת נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמַע, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת קַבָּלַת הַתּוֹרָה.

Likutei Moharan 65:5:2

Joy is the vessel for receiving enhanced Torah insights. As our Sages, of blessed memory, taught (Shabbat 88a): At the time that the Jewish people declared “We will do and we will hear” (Exodus 24:7), 600,000 angels descended and placed two crowns on the head of each one, and when they sinned…. But in the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will return [the crowns] to us, as it is written (Isaiah 35:10), “an eternal joy on their heads.” Thus we see that joy corresponds to “We will do and we will hear,” which relates to receiving the Torah.

מאור עינים, יתרו ג׳

וזהו שאמרו ישראל נעשה ונשמע רצה לומר נעשה העבודה ונטרח ואחר זה נבוא לעולם התענוג כדי שיהא חשוב לעבודה יצאה בת קול ואמרה מי גילה רז זה כו׳ לשון שמלאכי השרת כו׳ באמת הוא דבר גדול כי גם מלאכים הוא גם כן כך כי מתחילה צריך להתעורר בתשוקתו אל הקדושה והחיות מהבורא יתברך:

Me'or Einayim, Yitro 3

And that is [the meaning of] Israel’s saying we will do and we will listen (Ex. 24:7), which is to say we will do the Service and exert [ourselves]; and afterward we will come to the world of pleasure such that it will be considered Service. “A heavenly voice came out and said, ‘Who revealed this secret… the language the ministering angels [use] etc.” – in truth it is a great thing, for it is even so for the angels: first he must arouse his longing for the Holiness and the life-force from the Blessed Creator.

ספורנו על שמות כ״ד:ז׳:ג׳

נעשה ונשמע. נעשה לתכלית שנשמע בקולו כעבדים המשמשים את הרב שלא על דרך לקבל פרס כענין עושי דברו לשמוע בקול דברו:

Sforno on Exodus 24:7:3

נעשה ונשמע, a reference to action designed to ensure that they could obey G’d’s directives without thought of any reward that might be in store for them by doing this. We find a similar construction in Psalms 103,20 עושי דברו לשמוע בקולו, “who do His bidding, listening to the words in the Voice of G*d.”

In Exodus 24:7 the children of Israel tell Moshe: "Na-aseh (we will do) V'nishma (we will hear)

Some have said: only a fool would agree to do something and then hear the terms of what they are to do!

Rashi deals with this by placing Exodus 24:1-11 as happening before Sinai (Exodus: 20)

I have thought before that the doing opens your heart to true understanding of the power of the Mitzvah you are doing, and the connection to holiness it provides.

but perhaps it was out of love, and a desire to maintain a love, whose wedding occurred under the chuppah of Sinai. (R Shai Held:

But again: love’s aspirations are limitless, and in enacting a covenant with another, we commit to a lifetime of mutual love and care; of support and sustenance; of intimacy physical, emotional and spiritual; of nurturing in countless ways the uniquely precious image of God with whose life and dignity we are entrusted.

The heart of the Jewish wedding ceremony (Nisu’in) is the recitation of the sheva brachot, the seven blessings. In these blessings, we tell the story of the universe, from its beginning in creation to its culmination in the redemption of Jerusalem. Why not just thank God for the love between these two partners; why invoke the history of the cosmos in this moment?

Rashi says that the covenant that was read was the Book of Genesis up until BEFORE Sinai,

Activating a love that is like that of the Angels, and inspiring Commitment out of love!

Fools rush in, Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread
and so I come to you, my love, my heart above my head.
Though I see the danger there,
if there's a chance for me theniI don't care.
Fools rush in where wise men never go
but wise men never fall in love, so how are they to know?
When we met I felt my life begin.
So open up your heart and let this fool rush in.

We use cookies to give you the best experience possible on our site. Click OK to continue using Sefaria. Learn More.OKאנחנו משתמשים ב"עוגיות" כדי לתת למשתמשים את חוויית השימוש הטובה ביותר.קראו עוד בנושאלחצו כאן לאישור