Why did Chananiah Mishael and Azariah choose to be cast into the furnace to sanctify Hashem's name? They learned a kal v’chomer from the frogs. The frogs were not obligated in the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem yet [they willingly hopped into the ovens]. We who are commanded to perform a Kiddush Hashem they reasoned should certainly [surrender and be thrown into a burning furnace]. (Pesachim 53b cited in Daas Torah Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz ztz”l).

When I heard sizzling I thought someone had forgotten an omelet on the stove. But the stove was empty and the noise continued. I searched for my kids wondering what new game they had devised. My daughter was doing homework and my son was curled up with a book.

I went into the laundry room. The noise came from behind the washing machine — a squeaking nibbling scratching sound. A mouse.

I shrieked and ran out the room slamming the door behind me and wedging a chair against the handle. The mouse would chew its way through the pipes but I couldn't bring myself to face it. I shivered. Why did Hashem create mice anyway?

Giving up one’s life rather than worshiping idols is a clear-cut halachah. Why did Chananiah Mishael and Azariah need to cite a kal v’chomer to support their behavior?

In their case true idolatry (which includes intent) was not in question — Nebuchadnezzar merely wanted to aggrandize himself and diminish Hashem’s honor. Hopping into the ovens was not dictated by law — the frogs simply wanted to increase Hashem’s honor. Thus the frogs' example was indeed relevant to Chananiah Mishael and Azaria's predicament.

Still frogs have no free will. How could their actions be meaningful? This question belies a materialistic perspective. When Hashem commanded that the Egyptians be afflicted with frogs the frogs sensed it swarming through the land to fulfill Hashem’s Will. 

Sensing Hashem's will the frogs swarmed Egypt filling the air with deafening croaks: “Here we are; we have come to do Hashem’s bidding!”

Hashem wanted the plague to begin with Pharaoh and instinctively the frogs skipped other houses and went straight to the palace. They knew this was what Hashem wanted and they followed His will (ibid.).

Were these regular frogs?

They were as regular as the lizard in your backyard and the pine tree on the sidewalk. They were as regular as the raindrops pattering your window and the stars in the galaxy. They were as regular as the entire wondrous Divine natural world.

Every blade of grass has a malach standing over it telling it to grow. Every creation has a deep spiritual power we cannot see or hear that enables it to say shirah. We don’t hear the world sing but it sings nonetheless. It’s that same power that made the frogs leap into a blazing furnace and die there.

f greater Kiddush Hashem was created by entering the ovens the frogs would not hesitate. They would give up their lives for Hashem’s honor because their entire existence and task in the world is to do the will of their Creator. 

“What do we have in this world?” the frogs asked themselves a moment before they died. “Nothing but the Will of Hashem.”

Now we can understand the kal v’chomer that Chananiah Mishael and Azariah derived from the frogs. The entire purpose of the frogs was to sanctify Hashem’s Name. It is a purpose shared with every Jew. 

I'm glad to report that our mouse died in a trap we set. But I look back on the incident—at how I questioned that mouse's existence—with unease. The mouse also said shirah it was also part of the wondrous world of nature which fulfills Hashem’s Will.

What of me? Do I remember that there is something more important than anything else—more important than today's run-in with my boss and the fact I have nothing to wear to my cousin's wedding? More important than anything else—in fact the only thing that I really have in this world—is the calling to do Hashem’s Will.

It’s so simple.

Suddenly my dilemmas and challenges seem smaller. What was urgent or so aggravating doesn't matter any more.

“Why do you care?” ask the mice frogs ants the ray of sunshine peeking in from outside. “All that you need to do is fulfill Hashem’s Will. You're here only to increase His honor. Keep going!”

The purpose of all creation—man included—is to sanctify Hashem’s Name. Our readiness to surrender our lives lends meaning to that conviction. 

Simple frogs. And yet what clarity what power what priorities.