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Why does the Midrash identify the daily Korban Tamid as the Torah (תורה)'s fundamental principle—more basic even than Shema Yisrael or loving your neighbor? The shiur argues that consistency flows from understanding life as a charge to accomplish, not a gift to enjoy. Na'aseh v'nishma means committing to transformation, not merely paying an entrance fee for pleasure.
The shiur opens with a striking Midrash cited in the Hakdamah to Ein Yaakov asking what is the klal gadol baTorah—the fundamental axiom of Torah (תורה). Various tanna'im offer candidates: Rabbi Akiva says "v'ahavta l'reiacha kamocha," Ben Azzai proposes "zeh sefer toldos Adam" (man created in God's image), Rabbi Yaakov says Shema Yisrael. But Shimon ben Pazi offers a surprising answer from Parshas Tetzaveh: "es hakeves echad ta'aseh baboker v'es hakeves hasheni ta'aseh bein ha'arbayim"—the daily Korban Tamid. Most remarkably, the Midrash rules "halacha (הלכה) k'Shimon ben Pazi." How can the Korban Tamid be more fundamental than Shema Yisrael or loving one's neighbor? Rabbi Zweig develops the Baal HaTurim's observation that the word "v'nishma" appears three times in Torah: at Sinai (na'aseh v'nishma), in Megillas Esther (v'nishma pisgam hamelech), and in this week's parsha by the me'il (v'nishma kolo). The grammatical difficulty is that two instances use niphal (passive, "it will be heard") while na'aseh v'nishma traditionally translates as active ("we will do and we will understand"). The Baal HaTurim must mean: na'aseh v'nishma means "we will do and it will be understood"—transformation will occur passively as a result of action.
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Tetzaveh - Korban Tamid, Ein Yaakov Hakdamah
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