His Kingdom They Willingly Accepted Upon Themselve

His Kingdom They Willingly Accepted Upon Themselve

הרב מרדכי גרינברג
נשיא הישיבה

G-d tells Moshe at the burning bush, "When you take the people out of Egypt, you [all] will serve G-d on this mountain." (Shemot 3:12) Parshat Bo is the fulfillment of, "When you take the people out of Egypt," and Parshat Yitro is the fulfillment of, "you [all] will serve G-d on this mountain." What is the role of Parshat Beshalach in between these two parshiyot?

Furthermore, the Beit Halevi asks in his Drashot: How could Bnei Yisrael have said, "na'aseh venishma - We will do and we will listen" (24:7), for the Rambam rules that a worker cannot obligate himself to perform a limitless task, and Bnei Yisrael did not know what their Master would command? He answers that although a worker cannot commit himself without limit, a person can sell himself as a slave, and through that he can obligate himself to unlimited work. This is because there is no direct commitment to work, but rather to the slavery itself, and only afterwards does he become obligated to work. So too, by saying, "na'aseh venishma," Bnei Yisrael accepted the Kingdom of G-d, and accepted Hashem as their Master.

It is possible, though, that the acceptance of G-d's Kingdom happened before Har Sinai, at the splitting of the Sea. The main part of Parshat Beshalach is Shirat Hayam (the Song of the Sea), who's main point is the acceptance of Malchut Hashem (Kingdom of G-d) by Bnei Yisrael, as the Shira concludes, "Hashem shall reign for all eternity!" (Shemot 15:18) This is apparent from the liturgy of Ma'ariv, "Your children beheld Your reign, as You split the sea ... and they said, `Hashem shall reign for all eternity!'" Similarly, we say in Shacharit, "With a new song, the redeemed ones praised Your Name at the seashore, all of them in unison gave thanks, acknowledged [Your] sovereignty, and said, `Hashem shall reign for all eternity!'"

In the Psalm of Friday, we say "Hashem will have reigned, He will have donned grandeur" (Tehillim 93:1), because Man was created on this day. Hashem is only considered King if there is Man to reign over. Although Hashem certainly rules over the "chayot" (Heavenly beings), he cannot be considered their King, as the Vilna Gaon comments: "malchut" (kingdom) is achieved through the will of the subjects, whereas "memshala" (dominion) can even be against the will of the subjects. Only when Man, who has free choice, was created did there exist a possibility for "malchut."

The Psalm continues, "Nachon kisacha me'az; me'olam ata - Your throne was established from of old; eternal are You." (93:2) Chazal explain that although, "eternal are You," Your Throne was established only "me'az," i.e., when Bnei Yisrael said, "Az yashir." Therefore, the Shira is the acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, which precedes the giving of the Torah, as Chazal state, "Why does the parsha of Shema precede the parsha of `Vehaya im shamo'a?' So that he first accept the yoke of G-d's Kingdom, and then accept the yoke of the Mitzvot." (Berachot 13a) They illustrate this point by the following parable: A king came to a country and his servants advised him to issue decrees to his subjects. The king responded, "Only after they accept my kingdom will I issue decrees to them."

Thus, the three parshiyot together form a cohesive unit. Parshat Bo, the freedom from the bondage of Egypt, is the first stage towards serving G-d: "They are My servants" (Vayikra 25:55) -- not servants of slaves. Parshat Beshalach is the acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, and Parshat Yitro is the acceptance of the yoke of Mitzvot.

This idea also explains another phrase in the words of the Tefilah. We say every night, "His Kingdom they accepted upon themselves willingly." Why did Chazal emphasize, "willingly"? After all, it says that Hashem lifted Har Sinai over them like a cask and threatened to kill them if they didn't accept the Torah? The answer is that the first step -- the acceptance of the Malchut -- must be done willingly. Only afterwards could G-d force Bnei Yisrael to accept the Mitzvot, as Chazal state in the parable, "Only after they accept My Kingdom [willingly], will I issue decrees [Mitzvot] on them." Chazal stressed "willingly" in the Tefilah because it is impossible to force the yoke of Malchut. Malchut must be accepted, "besimcha raba - with abundant joy," and then the Mitzvot will also be accepted as a beloved, desired yoke, even if it comes through the coercion of lifting a mountain over Bnei Yisrael.

 

 

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