One of the many aspects I simply love about the Torah is how a simple, short phrase can say so much, can teach so much, and can express a powerful universal truth.

In this week’s portion, Mishpatim, Moses stands before the entirety of the nation of Israel right after the people heard the Almighty pronounce the Ten Commandments. At the request of God, Moses instructs the assembly on a host of laws, rules, moral directives and aspirational behaviors. The range of statutes and legal imperatives as outlined by Heaven were detailed, wide in scope and far-reaching. Specific regulations dealt with personal injuries, various types of thievery, cursing one’s parents, returning lost property, and caring for the widow and orphan, just to name a sampling of the long list ordinances and ethical codes of conduct.

How did the descendants of Jacob respond to this seemingly overwhelming demand in their everyday lives?

“And Moses spoke all the laws into the ears of the people… and they responded in one voice na’aseh v’nishma, we will do and we will listen” (Ex. 24:3 and 7)

With these two words the newly freed Israelites bound themselves and all future generations to a covenantal relationship with God. But the earliest sages were taken aback by the order of their affirmation. It was backwards. Normally, the commentators asked, don’t you listen to the instructions first, then you act upon them?

According to our revered Talmudists the excited and apparently reversed utterance by our ancestors actually revealed an important lesson. Only by doing — genuinely engaging in the mitzvah, the holiday, or the prayer — will you come to understand its meaning and import fully. V’nishma, like its root word Shema, means listen, as in comprehending and internalizing what is meant to be conveyed.

By stating na’aseh v’nishma, we will do and we will listen, our forerunners taught us to be proactive, to go visit the sick, volunteer to feed the food-insecure, by lighting your own Shabbat candles, attending services, joining Torah study — by doing you will come to experience, feel and believe the mystical majesty of our tradition and heritage.

L’shalom,

Rabbi Jack