"And he took the Book of the Covenant and he read it before the nation, and they said: all which HaShem has spoken we will do and we will hear" (Shemot 24:7).

Chazal expounded in many places upon the loftiness and greatness of this statement which we made - na'aseh v'nishmah. In Masechet Shabbat 88a it is written:  

"Rabbi Simai said: at the moment that Israel said na'aseh (we will do) before nishmah (we will hear), six hundred thousand malachei hasharet (ministering angels) came to every one of Israel, and they placed two crowns upon him, one for na'aseh and one for nishmah…  Rabbi Eliezer said: at the moment that Israel said na'aseh before nishmah, a Heavenly voice sounded and said to them: who revealed this secret to My sons, which the ministering angels employ? As it is written (Tehillim 103:20): 'Bless HaShem, His angels of mighty strength, who perform His word, to hear the voice of His word' – first they perform, and afterwards they hear."

And Chazal even say about the verse in Yishayahu (41:24) "'and your act is one of shouting' – Rabbi Levi said: all the good acts and consolations which HaShem will do for Am Israel are only by virtue of the proclamation which you shouted before Mount Sinai and said 'all which HaShem has spoken we will do and we will hear'!" (Vayikra Rabbah parsha 27).

But the question arises: only four verses before that, the Torah tells us that Am Israel answered: "And all the nation answered in one voice and said – all the things which HaShem has spoken we shall do." And so we saw several chapters earlier, in parshat Yitro: "And all the nation answered together and said: all that HaShem has spoken we will do (19:8)." And this requires explanation – why did they not precede 'we will do' to 'we will hear' then? What has changed between verse 3 and verse 7?

A parallel question arises: why, in fact, were Am Israel required to reiterate and accept upon themselves to perform HaShem's commands?

In order to answer these questions, we must first understand: what is so great and special about preceding na'aseh to nishmah that makes Israel deserving of such a great reward for this?

And the Maharal says (Tifferet Israel, at the beginning of ch. 29) that 'we will hear' is not a repetition of 'we will do' (meaning: we will obey HaShem's commands) but rather it means: we will understand and accept. And indeed, common human practice is that a man cannot commit himself to perform any act which he is told to do before he hears it and understands its reason.

However, the acceptance of the yoke of Torah by Am Israel is not according to common practice "since it is HaShem's decree which obligates Israel to perform His Mitzvot, and Israel were created for this – to perform HaShem's ruling which He decrees upon them, in the same manner as the angels, who were created to perform the mission of their Creator." And therefore, in contrast to common practice, Am Israel could say, truthfully and wholeheartedly, na'aseh v'nishmah, since all the purpose of their creation is to do the will of HaShem, blessed be He. And this is what Chazal mean by saying that this is the secret which the ministering angels utilize – that malachei hasharet lack free choice, and the entire purpose of their creation is to do HaShem's will, and therefore they too precede "we will do" to "we will hear" – to understanding the reasons for HaShem's doings (which are not always revealed to malachei hasharet, as is evidenced in Brachot 61b, Sotah 12b, Gittin 7a and in other places).  

And in this spirit, the Maharal wrote in Netzach Israel (ch. 13): When you regard the ascendency of Israel, know that it is not only that Israel is part of HaShem… but that Israel in and of themselves have no reality and no existence, except through Him. And do not say that even though they are part of HaShem, in any case they are a creation unto themselves. Do not say this, but they are entirely to HaShem, blessed be He, to the point that their own existence is nullified (in relation) to HaShem… as this is the matter of the preceding of na'aseh to nishmah which Israel said. As Israel is not drawn to its (own) desire at all, but only to the desire of the Cause, blessed be He…"

And this is not isolated only to the realm of Aggadah (Rabbinic literature), but it also has concrete repercussions in that which is undoubtedly the most severe field in Halacha: permitting an eishet ish (a married woman) to marry another man. As the Rambam explains: "A man, who the law regarding him is that he can be forced to divorce his wife, and he does he not want to divorce her, the Jewish Beit Din, in all places and at all times, strike him until he says 'I want' (to divorce) and writes the get, and the get is kosher… and why should this this get not be invalid, as he was coerced, whether by gentiles or by Jews? It is because we don't say (that one was) coerced (thereby making his action invalid), except in the case of one who was pressured and compelled to do a thing which he is not obligated to do according to the Torah, for example one who was beaten until he sold or gave (something). But one who was enticed by his evil inclination to refrain from doing a Mitzvah, or to do a sin, and he was beaten until he did that which he was obliged to do, or until he distanced himself from the thing which is forbidden to do – he is not being coerced by the one who is forcing him, but (to the contrary) he coerced himself with his evil thought. Therefore, the one who does not want to divorce: since he wants to belong to Israel, he desires to perform all the Mitzvot and to distance himself from the sins, and what attacked him was (in actuality) his inclination, and since he was beaten until his inclination became exhausted and he said 'I want' – he has already divorced of his will!"  

However, according to this explanation, the opening question is sharpened. If, as the Maharal says, this proclamation is not fortuitous or meaningless, but it genuinely bursts out from the inner essence of Am Israel – therefore, why did Israel answer only 'we will do' just four verses before?

We can offer this explanation: In Masechet Krittot (9a), Rabi said: "Like you – like your fathers – just like your fathers entered the covenant only through circumcision, immersion and sprinkling of blood, so too they (the converts) entered the covenant only through circumcision, immersion and sprinkling of blood. Circumcision we know, as it is written: "As all the nation coming out (of Egypt) were circumcised" (Yehoshua 5). Sprinkling of blood (upon the altar) – as is written "And he sent the young men of B'nei Israel (and they offered sacrifices - Shemot 24:5)." But from where do we know immersion? It is written: "And Moshe took the blood" (and subsequently he sprinkled it upon the nation) and there is no sprinkling without immersion beforehand."

According to this, we can give a wonderful answer to the above question: that until Israel entered the covenant [even though they certainly were at a very high level of preeminence, as explained at length in the Kuzari] they still weren't at the level that all their existence and desire was performing Hashem's will, and therefore in verse 3 they still said 'we will do.' However, after in verses 5-6 Israel 'entered the covenant' - therefore immediately afterwards, in verse 7, Am Israel bursts out with the renewed and elevated proclamation: "all which HaShem has spoken we will do and we will hear!"
 

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