Na'aseh before nishma rooted in ratzon

ואלה המשפטים אשר תשים לפניהם אא"ז מו"ר ז"ל הגיד בשם הרב מפרשיסחא ז"ל שיהיו משפטי ה' קודם חיות האדם וזה לפניהם והוא ענין הקדמת נעשה לנשמע כו'.

"And these are the mishpatim (laws) which you shall place before them." My grandfather, my teacher, of blessed memory, said in the name of the Rav of Pshischa, of blessed memory, that the laws of Hashem should come before a person's very life — and this is "before them" — and it is the matter of placing "na'aseh" (we will do) before "nishma" (we will hear).

The laws should take precedence over one's own vitality and self-interest; "before them" hints that the mishpatim must come first, embodying Bnei Yisrael's famous declaration of "we will do" even before "we will understand."

גם ברש"י ז"ל מה הראשונים מסיני כו'.

Also in Rashi: just as the earlier ones were from Sinai, so too these.

Rashi notes that the civil laws of Mishpatim, no less than the Ten Commandments, were given at Sinai — they are Divine decree, not mere human reasoning.

ופרשנו עפ"י דברי מו"ז ז"ל שגם משפטי ה' אף שיש בהם טעמים.

And we explained, based on the words of my grandfather, of blessed memory, that even the laws of Hashem, though they have reasons —

The mishpatim are rational laws with understandable rationales, yet that is not their foundation.

עכ"ז כל הטעמים ע"י רצונו ית' והוא העיקר.

nonetheless, all the reasons exist only through His will, and that is the essence.

Even the logic behind the laws derives entirely from the ratzon Hashem; the Divine will, not the reasoning, is the true root.

והטעמים נמשכים אחר רצונו.

And the reasons follow after His will.

The rationales are downstream of Hashem's will — they flow from it rather than standing on their own.

וז"ש שהם מסיני.

And this is the meaning of "they are from Sinai."

Saying they are "from Sinai" stresses that even reasonable laws are rooted in Divine command.

אף שהשכל מבין שכך צריך להיות עכ"ז הכל ע"י שכך גזרה חכמתו ית'.

Even though the intellect understands that it ought to be so, nevertheless it is all because His wisdom so decreed.

Our minds may grasp why these laws make sense, but their true binding force is that Hashem's wisdom ordained them so.

וז"ש אתה כוננת מישרים פי' שע"י רצונו יתברך נעשו משפטיו ישרים וכל העולם מודים ומבינים שישר משפטיו שכל הדעת נמשך אחר רצון השי"ת כנ"ל.

And this is the meaning of "You established uprightness" — that through His will, blessed be He, His laws became upright, and the whole world acknowledges and understands that His laws are upright, for all understanding follows after the will of Hashem, as above.

It is Hashem's will that makes the laws "upright" and self-evidently just; human reason itself is shaped by and follows the Divine will, so the world recognizes the justice of His mishpatim.

וכן צריך להיות ציווי השי"ת קודם לשכל האדם וזהו לפניהם כנ"ל.

And so too, the command of Hashem must come before a person's intellect — and this is "before them," as above.

The proper order in avodah is to accept Hashem's command first, placing it ahead of one's own reasoning.

ובנ"י הקדימו נעשה לנשמע פי' שהי' חביב אצלם יותר מה שזוכין לעשות רצון עליון ממה שיבינו הטעם של המצוה.

And Bnei Yisrael placed "na'aseh" before "nishma," meaning that it was more precious to them to merit doing the supernal will than to understand the reason of the mitzvah.

Their greatness lay in valuing the privilege of carrying out Hashem's will above the satisfaction of grasping its rationale.

ועי"ז זכו שיבינו גם הטעמים כי מקודם ניתנו הדיברות אח"כ המשפטים.

And through this they merited to understand the reasons as well, for first the Commandments were given and afterward the mishpatim.

Precisely because they accepted without conditions, they were then granted understanding too — mirrored in the order of the parashah: first the Dibros, then the explained mishpatim.

וכ"כ מגיד דבריו הוא הנהגתו יתברך בלי הבנת הטעמים אח"כ חוקיו ומשפטיו כו' וכן הוא בכל מצוה בפרטות כמו שמקיים האדם בפשיטות בלי השגה כראוי רק שרוצה לקיים מצות השי"ת זוכה אח"כ להבין הטעם.

And so it is written, "He tells His words" — this is His conduct, without comprehension of the reasons; and afterward "His statutes and His judgments." And so it is with every mitzvah in detail: when a person fulfills it simply, without proper understanding, only desiring to fulfill the command of Hashem, he then merits to understand the reason.

The verse's order — first Hashem's plain "word," then His statutes and laws — models the personal path: simple, wholehearted observance out of desire to do Hashem's will earns, in time, the gift of understanding.

וז"ש רש"י ז"ל לא תעלה על דעתך כו' ותמוה וכי מרע"ה אשר מסר נפשו בעבור ישראל לא הי' חפץ להבין לבנ"י הטעמים.

And this is what Rashi says, "Do not let it enter your mind…" — and this is puzzling: did Moshe Rabbeinu, who gave over his very soul for Bnei Yisrael, not wish to explain the reasons to them?

The Sefas Emes raises a difficulty on Rashi: surely the devoted Moshe Rabbeinu would have wanted to teach the people the reasons behind the laws.

אך כי באמת העיקר לקיים מצות השי"ת בלי הבנת הטעמים.

But in truth, the essence is to fulfill the command of Hashem without comprehension of the reasons.

He resolves it: the primary avodah is precisely to obey Hashem's command for its own sake, independent of any rationale.

רק שהשי"ת אמר שבנ"י זכו ע"י הקדמת נעשה לנשמע שיבינו גם הטעמים כנ"ל:

Only that Hashem said that Bnei Yisrael merited, through placing "na'aseh" before "nishma," that they would understand the reasons as well, as above.

Moshe did not withhold the reasons; rather, Hashem granted understanding as a reward earned by the people's prior, unconditional acceptance of "na'aseh" before "nishma."

Summary: The mishpatim, though rational laws with understandable reasons, are rooted entirely in the ratzon Hashem — even their logic flows from His will, and the same will shapes the human mind that recognizes their justice. The proper order of avodah is to place Hashem's command ahead of one's own reasoning, as Bnei Yisrael did in declaring "na'aseh" before "nishma." Precisely because they treasured doing His will over understanding it, they merited understanding too — and so it is with every mitzvah: simple, wholehearted observance for Hashem's sake earns, in time, the gift of comprehension.