It has happened more than once that I really<\/i> need my friend\u2019s help. No is simply not acceptable for now. I approach him strategically: \u201cCan I ask you a question?\u201d, \u201cSure\u201d he responds, \u201cWhat is it?\u201d I lay down the gauntlet, assuredly stating \u201cJust say yes – then I\u2019ll ask\u201d. Usually, they don\u2019t say yes.<\/p>\n
Ama Peziza<\/i> \u2013 \u201cA foolish hasty nation that places its mouth before its ear\u201d is the external incredulous response to our triumphant words na\u2019aseh v\u2019nishma<\/i> \u2013 understood Rabbinically to mean something like \u201cwe will do whatever it is \u2013 now tell us what it is and we will try to comprehend\u201d (Shabbos 88). Irrational? Surely! But people in love often do crazy things. Perhaps this is yet another layer of depth in that rich Rabbinic analogy that likens our acceptance of the Torah to a marriage. Not only is it about a lifelong commitment \u2013 it is essentially an unknowable endeavor. A heilige madrega (lofty height)<\/i> \u2013 a holy people ready to take the Divine plunge without an inkling of its enormous commitment.<\/p>\n
The pashtan<\/i> (textual analyst of Torah) might balk. Is it true that the Jews had no clue? Na\u2019aseh v\u2019nishma<\/i> appears in chapter 24 while the Aseres Hadibros<\/i>, the Ten Commandments are in chapter 20, followed by the myriad, complex laws of Mishpatim. These laws encompass much Talmud (Bava Kamma, Metzia, Basra, Sanhedrin, Makkos, etc.) \u2013 A veritable lifetime of learning. Is it not the case that by the time Bnei Yisrael were ready for the Sinai revelation, they surely had a ta\u2019am<\/i>, a taste of coming attractions.<\/p>\n
Rashi, citing Rabbinic tradition, indicates that ein mukdam u\u2019meuchar batorah<\/i>, i.e. we need not be bound to chronology in Torah. Even though na\u2019ase v\u2019nishma<\/i> is presented afterwards, the event took place before Bnei Yisrael heard the Ten Commandments and parshas Mishpatim<\/i>. When the Torah relates that Moshe read to Bnei Yisrael the sefer habris<\/i>, the book of the covenant (without detailing the contents), it is referring to the narrative of world history from Creation through Exodus, traversing the patriarchs and matriarchs. Thus the na\u00efve, beautiful and idealistic na\u2019aseh v\u2019nishma<\/i> remains in place.<\/p>\n
Ramban, axiomatically rejects this approach. De facto<\/i>, Torah is always in chronological order unless we find an explicit source to the contrary (cf. Bamidbar, 9:1 with Rashi). Na\u2019ashe v\u2019nishma<\/i> took place after the Jews had already heard the Ten Commandments and had been exposed to the sundry details of Jewish jurisprudence. Indeed, this constituted the sefer habris<\/i> \u2013 the book of the covenant upon which Bnei Yisrael uttered their words. When I learned Ramban, it was somewhat of a downer. If Bnei Yisrael knew what to expect, did\u00a0na’aseh\u00a0v\u2019nishma<\/i> mean as much? It was a reasoned rational decision \u2013 where was the great Divine plunge? It seemed that\u00a0na’aseh\u00a0v\u2019nishma<\/i> had lost some luster.<\/p>\n
But upon reflection, I have changed my mind.<\/p>\n
Ever notice at a wedding there are usually two distinct groups of guests: 1. Chosson-Kallah and friends 2. Parents and their friends. Both are smiling and laughing and enjoying. Perhaps one group is a bit more energetic and the other somewhat sedentary \u2013 but they seem essentially united. In truth, their joy emerges from different places. For the first group, there is an incredible purity and idealism associated with the wonder of marriage \u2013 let\u2019s call it blessed naivete. Zeh hayom kivinu lo<\/i>, this is the day and the moment we have pined for. The second group, we will call them the veterans, smile as well. It\u2019s a different type of smile. Surely they too are moved by the pristine and beautiful moment of love \u2013 but they are armed with the retrospective of the challenges, meanderings and vicissitudes of life. They smile because they remember their innocence and for a moment they have regained it \u2013 but their grin is somewhat enhanced by the delicious realization that the first group knows not a clue of what lies ahead. I concede that this might be a projection.<\/p>\n
What Ramban\u2019s na\u2019aseh v\u2019nishma<\/i> lacks in naivete and idealism it more than makes up in gravitas and experience. Their rational knowledge could have been a hindrance to their acceptance of Torah. Their na\u2019aseh v\u2019nishma<\/i> was not a Divine leap of faith, but rather a leap of knowledge \u2013 transcending their conception of the real challenges that lie ahead. Perhaps, Ramban\u2019s na\u2019ase v\u2019nishma<\/i> is like the couple that get married a little later in life \u2013 armed with greater self knowledge and more real with their challenges.<\/p>\n
Which is greater? To commit without knowing what to expect or to accept with clear knowledge of the work that lies ahead. They are different avodahs <\/i>(tasks). The first is emunah peshuta<\/i> (simple, pristine faith) and the second emunah amukah<\/i> (deep, rational faith). One challenges the heart, the other confronts the mind \u2013 both absolutely critical in the molding of a complete Jew.<\/p>\n
\n
Rabbi Asher Brander is the Rabbi of the Westwood Kehilla, Founder\/Dean of LINK (Los Angeles Intercommunity Kollel) and is a Rebbe at Yeshiva University High Schools of Los Angeles<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It has happened more than once that I really need my friend\u2019s help. No is simply not acceptable for now. I approach him strategically: \u201cCan I ask you a question?\u201d, \u201cSure\u201d he responds, \u201cWhat is it?\u201d I lay down the gauntlet, assuredly stating \u201cJust say yes – then I\u2019ll ask\u201d. Usually, they don\u2019t say yes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":223,"featured_media":42954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-torah"],"yoast_head":"\n