The Need for the Second Crown

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah

“Naaseh Venishma — We shall do [the mitzvos] and we shall listen [and obey them]” (Shmos 24:7). With these words the Jewish People accepted upon themselves the yoke of Torah and mitzvos. The Gemara (Shabbos 88a) states that in the merit of putting Naaseh before Nishma, 600,000 angels came and tied two crowns on the head of every Jew — one for Naaseh and the other for Nishma.

What is so special about putting Naaseh before Nishma? The simple understanding is that the Jews reached such a level of devotion to Hashem that without even knowing what He would ask of them, they declared their willingness to do it. However, this explains only the crown given for putting Naaseh first. Had the nation declared Nishma Venaaseh, it would have indicated that they first wanted to hear about the mitzvos and only then do them. Naaseh demonstrated their devotion to Hashem, but why should Nishma deserve a crown as well? At some point they surely would have to hear about what Hashem wanted them to do.

Rav Moshe Shwab explains that Nishma meant more than simply learning what they were required to do. Nishma meant “we will obey, even when obeying requires going beyond our natural abilities.” It means: “I will learn Torah, even if my intelligence seems insufficient,” or “I will keep mitzvos, even if it seems to demand more strength or means than I have.” I will begin, and Hashem will give me the ability to compete the task.

The Beis Halevi (citing the Zohar 1:77a) explains Naaseh Venishma differently. Naaseh means doing the mitzvos, but included in this is the study of all the halachos needed for the sake of doing. Nishma means Torah learning for the sake of learning. Had the nation said Nishma venaaseh, it would have meant learning only for the sake of doing. The nation’s declaring Naaseh first turned Nishma into a completely different sort of Torah study. Therefore, there are two distinct crowns.

Meaning, if one sets out to master every possible mitzvah he will need to do, devotes years studying all four sections of the Shulchan Aruch, and finally masters even the most minute details of every mitzvah, there is another motivation he must develop — learning for its own sake.

Why is learning for its own sake so important that it gets its own crown? The Nefesh Hachaim (4:10) states that Torah study for its own sake is clinging to Hashem (deveikus). Torah is “the will and speech of Hashem” (Zohar Yisro 90b), and saying over Hashem’s ideas and making His speech our own is the greatest form of deveikus.

Rav Refael Shmuelevitz recalled once how his father, Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, cried tears of joy once upon entering a beis medrash. When asked why he was crying, Rav Chaim answered: “Look at all these young boys! What are they doing? They are devoting their time and energy to know Hashem’s will. They are connecting themselves to Him!”

Nefesh Hachaim (4:29) adds that by learning Torah, one brings down an exceptional kedusha to himself. Even though mitzvos also have some kedusha, this kedusha only helps a person at the time that he is doing the mitzvah, and it is incomparable to the kedusha of the Torah itself.

How can we understand this kedusha? Rav Wolbe says that when a person applies himself in Torah study, he can feel within himself a longing to cling to Hashem. Many bachurim can attest to this. When they came to yeshiva, they did not feel much enthusiasm about Torah and mitzvos, but after a year or two of learning, they realized that they had developed a desire to serve Hashem. This is an expression of the kedusha of the Torah. We don’t understand how it works, but we see that it does.

Avos D’Rebbe Nassan20a states that “whoever puts words of Torah on his heart annuls the negative thoughts that can cause a person to sin.” The kedusha of Torah study has the power to undo all the negative attributes such as jealousy and lust within a person.

Once, the Beis Halevi saw one of his grandchildren suffer a fall, and it put him into a state of shock. He was so frightened and shaken by the incident that he developed a wart on his neck that became swollen with blood. His doctor determined that he would need to have this wart surgically removed and sent him to a hospital in Warsaw.

Before the operation, the Beis Halevi refused to accept anesthesia (either out of concern for the kashrus of the drug or that it would cause him to forget his learning). He then began thinking intently about a sugya, and finished the operation without anesthesia.

The gentile surgeon was so impressed by this that he declared: “Rabbi, I see from you that there is a G-d. Only from clinging to Him could you have withstood so much pain.”

Six days later, the Beis Halevi recovered from the operation. The surgeon again exclaimed: “Rabbi, how could you recover so quickly! Only young people recover in 6 days, whereas people your age require a month! This is because older people invariably sink into such negative traits as jealousy and lusts, and this thickens their blood. A young person has not had the time to develop such thick blood. You are so holy that your blood is as fluid as a baby’s!”

May we be zoche to cling to Hashem and His Torah!