“…For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants, whom I took out of the land of Egypt…” – Vayikra 25:55

לי בני ישראל עבדים עבדי הם אשר הוצאתי אותם מארץ מצרים…- ויקרא כב,נה

The Jewish people accepted G-d’s kingship at their own volition,, stating their readiness “to obey” – na’aseh, even before “hearing” and understanding – nishma – what would be expected of them. This stemmed from a profound eagerness to commit to G-d’s worship, rooted deep in the soul of the Jewish individual. Of this deep-seated dedication to G-d, the verse states, “”For the children of Israel are servants to Me”.

Nevertheless, due to the very fact that this was driven by the will of the Jewish nation, the servitude created thereby is limited. Created by and combined with the very nature of the Jewish individual, this personal relationship with G-d is not the ultimate subservience to G-d. It is not fundamentally limitless and transcendent of all situations and circumstances.

This then is the meaning of the continuation of the verse, “they are My servants, whom I took out from the land of Egypt”. What more could be added to the Jews’ willing “naaseh v’nishma” through G-d rightfully acquiring the Jewish people as His servants by virtue of having freed them from Egypt? This final phrase lends to the Jewish relationship with G-d the element of “inescapability”. This superimposed subjugation of the Jewish people, which was brought about by conditions beyond their control, caused the Jewish people to become “My servants”; in perfectly boundless and unlimited servitude of the Infinite G-d.

Hisvaaduyos 5750 vol. 3, pp. 319-320