By: Naomi Ohana (11th Grade)
In this week’s Parsha, Parshat Mishpatim, Bnei Yisrael makes the penultimate statement of their forty-year journey in the desert. In Perek Yud-Daled Pasuk Zayin, Moshe reads the words, "Na'aseh V'nishma" - "We will do and we will listen."
In Shabbat 88a, the Jewish people received three rewards for reciting these special words. The first is that 600,000 angels crowned every Jew with two crowns: one crown for the word Na'aseh and another for the word Nishma. The second was in response to the statement overall, and it was that Hashem called the Jewish people "My firstborn child." Lastly, the Jewish people's utterance of these words caused a Heavenly voice to proclaim, "Who revealed this secret of the angels to My children?" We learn from this statement that action before listening is an attribute of angels, as it is written in Psalms 103:20, "Angels do G-d's word and listen to His voice."
These three rewards that were given to the Jewish people- two Heavenly crowns, being designated as G-d's firstborn child, and being compared to angels- are extremely holy. It is our responsibility to continue to uphold the holiness our ancestors possessed by acting faithfully towards Hashem.
Shabbat Shalom!