Accepting Hashem's yoke brings true freedom
avdus · ol malchus Shomayim · bechirah · freedom · Torah
בפסוק כי לי בנ"י עבדים עבדי הם.
On the pasuk "For unto Me are Bnei Yisrael servants; they are My servants."
The Sefas Emes examines why the verse states twice that Bnei Yisrael are Hashem's servants.
הלשון כפול.
The wording is doubled.
He notes that the verse seems redundant — "servants" and "My servants" — and this repetition must carry meaning.
ולי בנ"י עבדים הוא מצד בחירת ה' בנ"י.
"And unto Me are Bnei Yisrael servants" is from the side of Hashem's choosing of Bnei Yisrael.
The first phrase reflects Hashem's initiative: He chose Bnei Yisrael as His servants, a bond established from above.
עבדי הם מצד בחירת בנ"י לקבל עליהם עול מלכותו ית'.
"They are My servants" is from the side of Bnei Yisrael's own choosing — to take upon themselves the yoke of His kingship, may He be blessed.
The second phrase reflects the reciprocal side: Bnei Yisrael freely choose to accept the ol malchus Shomayim (yoke of Heaven's sovereignty) upon themselves.
כמ"ש ה' האמרת וה' האמירך כו'.
As it is written: "You have proclaimed Hashem… and Hashem has proclaimed you…"
The Torah's mutual "proclamation" (Devarim 26:17-18) expresses this two-sided bond: Bnei Yisrael declare Hashem as theirs, and Hashem declares them as His.
וכפי מה שמקבלין להיות עבדי ה' כך מתקיים סוף הפסוק לא ימכרו ממכרת עבד.
And according to the measure in which they accept being servants of Hashem, so is the end of the pasuk fulfilled: "they shall not be sold as a slave is sold."
The more wholeheartedly Bnei Yisrael embrace serving Hashem, the more they are protected from ever falling into bondage to any other master.
וז"ש במשנה המקבל עליו עול תורה מעבירין ממנו עול מלכות כנ"ל:
And this is what the Mishnah says: "Whoever accepts upon himself the yoke of Torah, they remove from him the yoke of (worldly) kingdom," as above.
Accepting Hashem's yoke is itself the path to true freedom: one who takes on the ol Torah is released from subjugation to earthly powers.
Summary: The doubled wording "servants… My servants" reflects two dimensions of avdus to Hashem — His choosing of Bnei Yisrael from above, and their own free acceptance of the ol malchus Shomayim from below. The deeper a person embraces being Hashem's servant, the more he is freed from every other yoke, as the Mishnah teaches that accepting the yoke of Torah lifts away the yoke of worldly rule.