The Talmud expounds on na'aseh ve'nishma, teaching that when Israel said 'we will do' before 'we will hear,' 600,000 angels descended and placed two crowns on each Israelite — one for each word. Rabbi Simai derives that each Jew was endowed with the quality of angels. The crowns were later removed when Israel sinned with the Golden Calf.
דָּרַשׁ רַבִּי סִימַאי: בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהִקְדִּימוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל ״נַעֲשֶׂה״ לְ״נִשְׁמָע״ בָּאוּ שִׁשִּׁים רִיבּוֹא שֶׁל מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת, לְכׇל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל קָשְׁרוּ לוֹ שְׁנֵי כְתָרִים, אֶחָד כְּנֶגֶד ״נַעֲשֶׂה״ וְאֶחָד כְּנֶגֶד ״נִשְׁמָע״. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁחָטְאוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל, יָרְדוּ מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים רִיבּוֹא מַלְאֲכֵי חַבָּלָה וּפֵירְקוּם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיִּתְנַצְּלוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת עֶדְיָם מֵהַר חוֹרֵב״. אָמַר רַבִּי חָמָא בְּרַבִּי חֲנִינָא: בְּחוֹרֵב טָעֲנוּ, בְּחוֹרֵב פֵּרְקוּ. בְּחוֹרֵב טָעֲנוּ — כְּדַאֲמַרַן, בְּחוֹרֵב פֵּרְקוּ — דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיִּתְנַצְּלוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגוֹ׳״. אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: וְכוּלָּן זָכָה מֹשֶׁה וּנְטָלָן. דִּסְמִיךְ לֵיהּ: ״וּמֹשֶׁה יִקַּח אֶת הָאֹהֶל״. אָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ: עָתִיד הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְהַחֲזִירָן לָנוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּפְדוּיֵי ה׳ יְשֻׁבוּן וּבָאוּ צִיּוֹן בְּרִנָּה וְשִׂמְחַת עוֹלָם עַל רֹאשָׁם״ — שִׂמְחָה שֶׁמֵּעוֹלָם עַל רֹאשָׁם. אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר: בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהִקְדִּימוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל ״נַעֲשֶׂה״ לְ״נִשְׁמָע״ יָצְתָה בַּת קוֹל וְאָמְרָה לָהֶן: מִי גִּלָּה לְבָנַי רָז זֶה שֶׁמַּלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת מִשְׁתַּמְּשִׁין בּוֹ? דִּכְתִיב: ״בָּרְכוּ ה׳ מַלְאָכָיו גִּבֹּרֵי כֹחַ עֹשֵׂי דְבָרוֹ לִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקוֹל דְּבָרוֹ״ — בְּרֵישָׁא ״עֹשֵׂי״, וַהֲדַר ״לִשְׁמֹעַ״. אָמַר רַבִּי חָמָא בְּרַבִּי חֲנִינָא: מַאי דִּכְתִיב ״כְּתַפּוּחַ בַּעֲצֵי הַיַּעַר וְגוֹ׳״ — לָמָּה נִמְשְׁלוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְתַפּוּחַ, לוֹמַר לָךְ: מָה תַּפּוּחַ זֶה פִּרְיוֹ קוֹדֶם לְעָלָיו, אַף יִשְׂרָאֵל הִקְדִּימוּ ״נַעֲשֶׂה״ לְ״נִשְׁמָע״.
Rabbi Simai taught: When Israel accorded precedence to the declaration “We will do” over the declaration “We will hear,” 600,000 ministering angels came and tied two crowns to each and every member of the Jewish people, one corresponding to “We will do” and one corresponding to “We will hear.” And when the people sinned with the Golden Calf, 1,200,000 angels of destruction descended and removed them from the people, as it is stated in the wake of the sin of the Golden Calf: “And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments from Mount Horeb onward” (Exodus 33:6). Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: At Horeb they put on their ornaments, and at Horeb they removed them. The source for this is: At Horeb they put them on, as we have said; at Horeb they removed them, as it is written: “And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments from Mount Horeb.” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: And Moses merited all of these crowns and took them. What is the source for this? Because juxtaposed to this verse, it is stated: “And Moses would take the tent [ohel]” (Exodus 33:7). The word ohel is interpreted homiletically as an allusion to an aura or illumination [hila]. Reish Lakish said: In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will return them to us, as it is stated: “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads” (Isaiah 35:10). The joy that they once had will once again be upon their heads. Rabbi Elazar said: When the Jewish people accorded precedence to the declaration “We will do” over “We will hear,” a Divine Voice emerged and said to them: Who revealed to my children this secret that the ministering angels use? As it is written: “Bless the Lord, you angels of His, you mighty in strength, that fulfill His word, hearkening unto the voice of His word” (Psalms 103:20). At first, the angels fulfill His word, and then afterward they hearken. Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. Under its shadow I delighted to sit and its fruit was sweet to my taste” (Song of Songs 2:3)? Why were the Jewish people likened to an apple tree? It is to tell you that just as this apple tree, its fruit grows before its leaves, so too, the Jewish people accorded precedence to “We will do” over “We will hear.”