You may be familiar with the classic debate over the powerful statement Bnei Yisrael makes near the end of our parsha. Moshe reads the people the Sefer HaBrit and they respond in unison: "Na'aseh v'nishma“- “We shall do and we shall hear!"


For some, this is the quintessential statement of emunah: "I will obey HaShem, faithfully, completely and without hesitation, and only later will I stop to contemplate what I have done." For others, this maxim reflects a slavish, primitive behavior, implying that G-d wants us to be like robots that blindly do His will without thinking whatsoever about our actions.


I suggest both approaches are wrong - and right.


Let us take our cue from the very first pasuk in the sedra: "These are the laws that you shall place before them.” Rashi wonders about the phrase "place before them" and comments: "Said G-d to Moshe: 'Don't think your responsibility begins and ends by teaching the people a pasuk or a halacha; you must endeavor to teach them the reason for it, so that it is like a set table.'"


In other words, it is primarily the ta'am (reason) for the mitzvah that gives it its ta'am (taste).

It is primarily the ta'am (reason) for the mitzvah that gives it its ta'am (taste).



Here is the dichotomy: We must trust in HaShem and follow His instructions, even if we do not always understand why we are doing what we are doing. Just as a soldier is taught in basic training to follow his commanding officer without hesitation, so we must discipline ourselves to be loyal to G-d's will, for He knows best.


But if it stops there, then we'll never have a full appreciation of the Torah and its marvelous mitzvot. If we just keep Shabbat and never contemplate how, by doing so, we are witness to Creation and to G-d's very existence; if we mumble a bracha, but do not appreciate how blessed we are each day; if we light candles, but do not see reflected in them our mission to enlighten a dark world - then we have missed something major.


And that is why, I suggest, at the end of the parsha, first Bnei Yisrael responds, "Na'aseh” - “We will do" (23:3). Then, four p'sukim later, they declare, "Na'ase v'nishma“- “We will do and we will hear!" What happened between the two statements? Perhaps Moshe told them that "doing" was a great first step; but hearing and understanding the deeper meaning of their actions is the key to an even closer relationship with G-d.


So let's do; but let's hear, also.