Parashat Mishpatim – We will do and we will listen

This weeks Torah portion continues with the account of the revelation at Sinai, and contains the famous statement by the Jewish people, “Na-asai v’Nishma” – “We will do and we will listen”.

This phrase is often offered as an indication of how great the way that we accepted the Torah was. We didn’t say that we’ll listen to what G-d has to say, and then decide if we will do it. We said “I unconditionally accept your law. Now tell us what it is.” We had total trust in G-d that he would give us a law that is good.

At least that’s how it’s always been explained to me.

Rabbi Kahn disagrees. He argues that we each know many friends whom, if we would call them up and say we need a favour, they would say “No problem, you name it I’ll do it.” They would agree before you tell that what the favour is. Now these are very special friends and should be recognized, but is it really that amazing a thing that it should be picked out of the text and held up as a sign of out commitment for 3500 years?

The key to understanding this phrase is to look at its tense. Most people think that it’s in the future tense “We will always do, and we will always listen”. But in fact, it’s in the present tense. It’s saying that “We will constantly, and every moment, do that which you command us, and we will constantly, at every moment, learn your Torah.”

That’s what’s so amazing about this phrase. Our forefathers didn’t just accept the law for that day, or year, or for their lifetime. They accepted it upon all future generations. They accepted upon the entire Jewish people, for all time, to do all the mitzvoth and constantly study them.

It’s through that study that we are able to hear G-d’s voice just as clearly as our ancestors heard at Sinai.