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If the Jewish people willingly said naaseh v'nishma, why did Hashem (ה׳) need to coerce them by holding Mount Sinai over them? The Maharal explains that Torah (תורה) is hechrechi (axiomatic) - existence itself requires it, so acceptance couldn't be left to choice. At Purim (פורים), experiencing Divine concealment taught us that the real choice isn't Torah versus no Torah, but existence versus non-existence.
This shiur explores the profound concept of naaseh v'nishma and the apparent contradiction between our willing acceptance of Torah (תורה) at Sinai and the Gemara (גמרא)'s teaching that Hashem (ה׳) held the mountain over us like a barrel. Rabbi Yeshaya Greenberg ZT"L begins by clarifying a commonly misunderstood point from Rashi (רש"י): naaseh v'nishma was said in response to Moshe reading them Sefer HaBris (from Bereishis to Matan Torah), not as a blanket acceptance of unknown future commands. The shiur addresses Tosafos (תוספות)'s famous question: if the Jewish people already said naaseh v'nishma willingly, why did Hashem need to coerce them by holding the mountain over them? Tosafos suggests they might have reconsidered upon seeing the great fire at Sinai, but the Maharal objects that this undermines the entire merit of naaseh v'nishma.
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Parshas Mishpatim - Naaseh V'Nishma
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