Welcome to our daily Perek Shira class. Today's class is the song of the sefardea, which is usually translated as frog. The Sefardeah says,
בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלַם וָעֶד:
Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto L'Olam Vaed
This is an anomaly, as all the other creatures sing songs that are pesukim in the Torah. This is not a pasuk. So where does Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto L'Olam Vaed come from? From Yaakov Avinu, who told this to his children when they said Shema Yisrael. When they accepted upon themselves the yoke of God's kingdom, he responded, Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto L'Olam Vaed. For reasons we won't get into now, Moshe Rabbenu did not put it in the Torah and therefore when we say it, we say it quietly.
Frogs are famous for the fact that they came as a plague. Interestingly, the Gemara in Peshachim connect this to Chananya, Mishael and Azarya, three people who jumped into the fiery furnace. Tosafot explains there that it was not due to Avodah Zara, as it was a statue of the king that they were told to bow to. So why were they willing to give up their lives if they really didn't need to? The answer is, they learned it from the sefardeim/the frogs, who didn't have die Al kiddush Hashem, and yet they jumped into the ovens and were ready to die anyway (those that jumped in did survive. God miraculously saved them).
The Maharil Diskin, in Shemot 7,28 is bothered. Of course the frogs were commanded to die Al kiddush Hashem. God said the frogs had to go in. That was a command. But he says No. There was a command on the frogs in general that they have to go in. But who said which ones specifically had to go into the ovens? Some chose to go into the ovens. And just like the frogs chose to go into the ovens, So too, Chananya, Mishael and Azarya chose to die Al Kiddush Hashem and jumped into the fire.
Furthermore, the Yalkut Shemoni in Shemot, chapter 7, remez 182 says that the wordצפרדע Sefardea is a contraction of two words,Sipor De'ah/bird with knowledge. Frogs jump, which is like flying, but what exactly was the wisdom of the frogs?
The Imrei Emet on Parashat Vaerah says that the ultimate wisdom is Mesirut Nefesh, which is when you recognize God, realize how great God is, know that there is nothing more important than God, and are willing to die die to bring sanctification to God's name. That is the greatest act of knowledge. The Meshech Chochma explains this in Shemot 35,30, where the Torah discusses Betzalel, who was the wisest man, who created the Mishkan. God filled him up with all kinds of wisdom. And he is traced back to Chur, who protested against the Golden Calf (Sotah 37) and was killed. Chur therefore merited to have a grandson so full of knowledge.
How is that measure for measure? The answer is, because that willingness to sacrifice yourself is the ultimate wisdom. Rabbenu Yona explains that the ultimate wisdom is saying, It doesn't make sense. Why in the world am I dying Al kiddush Hashem? How does it make sense to die for this one moment? Is it really worth never serving Hashem again? And the answer is yes. The ultimate wisdom is making that choice.
So we come full circle. These frogs sing a song of Mesirut Nefesh, "Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto LeOlam Vaed." Why do they sing that? Why isn't their song Shema Yisrael?
There's a beautiful thought from the Imrei Emet, in Parashat Vaera, where he quotes the Sfat Emet that we will bring the Geula though Mesirut Nefesh. He cites a pasuk to prove his point.
That's what Shema Yisrael is- kabalut ol malchut Shamayim, accepting the yoke of Hashem's Kingdom, which you say with all your heart and all your soul.
And at the end of time, when the Geula comes, it's going to be the ultimate perfection-Yechudo Yitbarach/the ultimate Oneness of God's Name, when we will able to look back and see how the Holocaust, the Crusades and everything else makes sense in the larger picture. It's going to be an unbelievable revelation that there is really one big beautiful tapestry of history. At that time, we'll look back and say, Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto LeOlam Vaed. We will look at God's name, and see how it's forever blessed.
What's more, the Sfat Emet tells us that when a person says God's name in vain or by mistake, they say Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto LeOlam Vaed. That koshers it, because saying God's name in vain indicates a lack of respect for God, and by saying Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto LeOlam Vaed, we're increasing the respect of God's name. So he says, at the end of time, we're going to say, Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto LeOlam Vaed, and that will fix all of the things that were seemingly out of place in history. We're going to say Baruch Shem… which he says, will be a part of the Torah at that point. It won't just be whispered, it will be said out loud, like on Yom Kippur.
So when Mashiach comes, we'll say Baruch Shem out loud, and it will actually be considered a pasuk in the Torah (whatever that means).
Therefore, the frog, like all the other creatures, really is saying a pasuk. But his pasuk has not yet become a pasuk.
The original revelation of God's Oneness, started in Mitzrayim. The frog was Moser Nefesh then, and he continues to teach us this lesson throughout history, of Mesirut Nefesh that will eventually bring the ultimate Kavod Shamayim.
That's why the Song of the Frog is Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto LeOlam Vaed. What a fascinating explanation, from a combination of many great rabbis- the Imrei Emet, the Maharil of Diskin, and the Meshech Chochma, all piecing this beautiful little puzzle together.