D'var Torah

If someone said to you, “jump!” some of you might say, “how high?” while probably more of you would say, “why?!” Doing something without question is what the Israelites say they will do at the end of this week’s Torah portion, Yitro. Now, this is a big Torah portion. It’s the Torah portion when Moses gets the 10-commandments! It’s full of smoke, thunder, and lightning. There is majesty and grandeur. There is suspense and intrigue. And throughout the experience while Moses is preparing the Israelites for this great event that is about to happen, the Israelites respond, “we will do.” But at the end of this portion, when the commandments have been told to Moses and he repeats them to the Israelites they say, “Na’aseh v’Nishmah,” – we will do, and we will listen.

Huh? Shouldn’t it be “we will LISTEN and then we will DO?” The commentators suggest that the Israelites accepted the commandments before they really understood them. That they had such faith in Moses or, perhaps, in the relationship with God, that they were ready to accept anything that was said. The Rabbis of the Talmud through a debate between Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Akiva, argued whether study is greater than action. They resolved that study is greater as it brings about action. This means that action is more important if that’s what we are ultimately trying to get to. Other modern commentators suggest “Na’aseh v’Nishmah” means we can only understand Judaism by doing Judaism. Living a Jewish life is the best way to understand the meaning, according to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the former chief Rabbi of Great Brittan.

I love one other commentary that I read: Because the word “nishmah” is singular, it might imply that we as a people do… but individually we hear. As a group, we have survived because of what we have done. But it’s up to each of us to listen to the voices inside, to really comprehend what “doing” means for the survival of the Jewish people.  Our obligation as the present Jewish generation is to pass on this revelation to the next generation so that they have an opportunity to see us do, and then listen to what that means for them.

Shabbat Shalom,
Cantor Michael Shochet