34. Besha’a Shehikdimu Yisroel 5736 This Ma’amar is very organized and clear. The theme is the precedence of Na’aseh to Nishma, as it manifests in numerous aspects. 1) You cannot do Mitzvos unless you know what they are (‘hear them’ first), however there can be an attitudinal precedence to that also. to resolve to accept whatever you will hear. Then the ‘hearing’ is on an entirely different level. 2) Na’aseh- Bittul to ‘Ba’al HaRatzon’ which is much higher than Bittul to the ‘Ratzon’ alone. 3) From Hashem’s end it is the idea of accepting His Kingship (קבלו מלכותי ואחר כך…) before accepting His specific instructions (…אגזור עליכם גזירות). 4) These two ideas exist n davening (which comes before Torah) also. It’s the two Parshiyos of Kriyas Shema, which speak to accepting Him and then accepting His Mitzvos. 5) These two ideas also exist in Mitzvos. There are משפטים and חוקים, and there’s the reasonable approach, where חוקים are done like משפטים. On this level one needs to be warned not to question God and His Mitzvos, because the mind is so inclined (to question). But then there’s the supra-reasonable approach, where we star with חוקים and experience the תענוג העבד הוא תענוג האדון עצמו; which then spills over into doing the משפטים- מצוות שכליות with the pleasure of Kabbalas Ol which is a much higher level of pleasure (תענוג). On this level you needn’t even warn someone not to question, because there is delight in the acceptance. 6) On the basis of all this the Rebbe explains why in והי’ אם שמוע there’s a warning השמרו לכם פן; it is similar to the waring about חוקים when one approaches Mitzvos reasonably. In the first Parsha of Kriyas Shema there is no such warning as there is no need for a warning when one starts with חויקם and does them with תענוג associated with Kabbalas Ol. 7) And after all this Bittul, it all comes out in the actions of Mitzvos that are (done) altogether differently when they follow the עונג of Kabbalas Ol. 8) In Avoda as a whole, this is Ratzoi VaShov: A. At Mattan Torah (פרחה נשמתן ואח”כ החזירן הקב”ה) B. In Mitzvos (מ”ע ומל”ת הן רצו”ש) C. In Torah (שפתותיו נוטפות מר ואח”כ פתח לבי בתורתיך) D. In Tefilla (תפילה בכלל העלאה, וי”ב אמצעיות- שוב) E. Torah and Tefilla (together) are also a Ratzoi VaShov. 9) The phenomena of Shove in (all these aspects of Yiddishkeit) dispels the Malachim’s argument that the Torah should be given in heaven to them (because they have NO Shov).
