לזכות ידיד נפשי האהוב הר"ר דניאל צוייגבוים וכל בני ביתו היקרים
There is a fundamental difference between the covenant - the Bris - Hashem made with mankind and the covenant He made with the Jewish people. When he made a covenant with Noach there weren't two sides. There was no asking, agreeing or discussion. None at all. There was a flood after which Hashem made a covenant with all of mankind that He would never do that again. A one-sided covenant.
In contrast - at Har Sinai we first said נעשה ונשמע. Hashem didn't force it on us [putting aside the כפה עליהם הר כגיגית - our discussion is just according to פשוטו של מקרא]. He offered it and we agreed. All of the Torah is about these two sides. Hashem promises us bracha if we keep the Torah and curses if we don't and we are completely on board. We all see this at the covenent at הר גריזים and הר עיבל where we said אמן to all of the blessings and curses. [Rav Hutner expands on this idea in Pachad Yitzchak]
There is also a tradition based on the gemara [ר"ה י"א and in Rabbeinu Bechaye and others it is discussed at greater length] that we were all asked whether or not we want to be created and were shown the circumstances of our life to which we agreed.
I think that the lesson is that the GREATEST way to be personally and cosmically redeemed is WITHOUT COERCION. If you want someone to become great - make sure that they agree to going on this path It CAN'T be forced. When you want your children to do something - try to get them to WANT to do it. When YOU are keeping mitzvos try as much as possible to do it because you genuinely and sincerely want to and not with the feeling that it is being imposed from the outside.
We don't believe that Hashem is only "out there" somewhere in the abyss, beyond human ken. We believe that Hashem is also כביכול within us. The pasuk says צור לבבי וחלקי אלהים לעולם - The medrash says based on this pasuk: Who is the heart of the Jewish people? Hashem.
So we really WANT to do what is right because of the אלוקות we have within us and not because it is super-imposed from the outside.
