"The Lord is my strength and my shield." Rabbi Simon said: This can be compared to a king who had one pearl. His son came to him and said, "Give it to me." The king said, "It is not yours." The son persisted and the king eventually gave it to him. Similarly, the children of Israel asked God to give them the Torah. God said, "It is not yours, it is from the heavenly realms." However, once they persisted, God gave it to them, as it says, "The Lord will give strength to His people" (Psalm 29:11). Rabbi Yochanan said that the people of Israel gave God a song of thanks for giving us the Torah, as it says, "And from the songs of our gratitude."...