Vaera (2): Croaking Piety

In this week's Parsha we witness the plauge of the frogs.

There is a perplexing occurrence between Dovid HaMelech and a frog. When David proclaimed, "כי חסיד אני" - "I am pious", a frog approached him and said, "You only get up at midnight to praise Hashem. I pull all-nighters! I never stop!" How do we see this to be true? How does a frog never cease to praise Hashem moreso than any other creature?

The Sfarim HaKedoshim teach us that the essence of any topic is contained in its first manifestation in the Torah. Frogs show up now for the first time, thus the secret to our Midrash must be contained in this week's Parsha.

The Be'er Moshe of Ozherov explains:

Chazal explain that the frogs that plagued Egypt  were Mekadesh Shem Shomayim in an outstanding way. Moshe told Paroh that the frogs would penetrate  their bedrooms, their dough and their ovens. The frogs said, "When is there dough near the ovens? (the Passuk pairs them together) Only when the ovens are hot." Even though there was no particular command as to what kind of oven to jump into, the frogs thus engaged in extra self sacrifice and ruined the hot ovens - at the expense of their own lives.

We know the famous story that Chanaya, Mishael and Azarya survived a furnace after being thrown in by Nevuchadnetzar for not bowing down to a statue. The Gemara (Pesachim 53:b, see Tosfos there) explains that Chanaya, Mishael and Azarya didn't need to jump into the furnace that Nevuchadzetzar threatened them with because the statue wasn't Halachically considered Avodah Zara on a technicality. However, remembering how the holy frogs jumped into hot ovens - even when not explicitly commanded - in order to generate more honor for Hashem, so too they would risk entering the furnace - even when not required - in order to be Mekadesh Shem Shomayim.

We see that Moshe told Paroh that the plague of frogs would end by the frogs entering the Nile, and there they were to remain forever. The significance of this is that their message of going above and beyond to be Marbeh Kavod Shomayim reverberates forever. The frogs, and their power are everlasting.

This is why in Perek Shirah, the compilation of each facet of the universe and its praise of Hashem, it is the frog who says Baruch Shem K'vod Malchuso L'Olam Va'ed - Let Hashem's Honorable Name forever be great. For it is they, through their lasting identity of self sacrifice, who are the vehicle for Gilui K'vod Malchus, the revelation of Hashem's dominion.

Based on this we can understand how it is that the it is specifically the frog who can trump David HaMelech in piety. For this creature in particular left a mark on the universe that empowers all who seek to be Mekadesh Shem Shomayim to go above and beyond their normal requirements and limits.