"B'sha'ah shehikdimu Yisrael na'aseh l'nishma, yatz'ah bas kol v'amrah, mi  gila raz zeh lebanai, leshon shemalachei hashares mishtamshin bo..."
When Am Yisrael declared na'aseh before they declared nishmah (we will do,and only afterwards, we will hear), a Heavenly Voice called out, Who revealed this secret to My children, the way in which the Mal'achim express themselves?!

What is the meaning of "hikdimu na'aseh l'nishma"? How can a person do something before he hears what he has to do?  And why was HaKadosh Baruch Hu so proud of Am Yisrael for this declaration?

R' Nochum of Chernobl gives the following profound explanation:

A person never remains on one single madraiga, spiritual level.  At certain times he is davuk baHashem Yisbarach, and experiences great chiyus and taanug.  At times a person feels energy and enthusiasm and all the positive feelings of dvaikus b'Hashem Yisbarach.   This does not go on indefinately.  These feelings go away and he falls from this madraiga.  This happens in order to enable the person to rise to greater heights, for before any new revelation, there must be concealment.

When this fall takes place, and a person experiences concealment, he must EXERT himself to rise up and reach out to HaKadosh Baruch Hu from his present situation of concealment. He must EMOTIONALLY CONNECT himself to the fact that the entire world is filled with the Glory of Hashem.  There is no place void of His Presence, even though he experiences great concealment, darkness, lack of energy and motivation and hope in his present condition.

This is the meaning of the pasuk, "Mimizrach shemesh ad mevo'oh mehullal Shem Hashem".
shemesh - referring to the tzaddik
mimizrach shemesh - the times when the tzaddik experiences great clarity and devaikus in Hashem Yisbarach,
ad mevo'oh - the times when this clarity is obscured, and he falls
mehullal Shem Hashem - he continually strives to reach out to Hashem Yisbarach.

"Naaseh venishmah" especially refers to the person reaching out to cling to HaKadosh Baruch Hu in his predicament of concealment.  He reaches out, even though at that point he does not feel the gratification and the comfort and well-being  and energy that he feels otherwise.

This was the MAIN KABALAS HATORAH OF AM YISRAEL. This was the meaning of the great declaration of Na'aseh veNishmah, the declaration that we will never cease from reaching out to HaKodosh Baruch Hu, no matter in what state we find ourselves.

And what is the person supposed to feel when he finds himself in a situation of lack of clarity and dissarray??  When things seem complicated and confused and dark??
He should realize that the entire existence is filled with the Glory of Hashem, "m'lo col ha'aretz kevodo".  Hashem is there too. "Aretz" refers to these thick and crude states of mind or moods.  Hashem is there too (equally!!!), just in a much more concealed way.

Am Yisrael did not just receive the Torah over three thousand years ago.  We receive the Torah every day anew.
We also declare "Na'aseh venishmah", na'asheh BEFORE nishmah, every day anew.

A gutten Erev Shabbos
from Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh