What Type of Person Am I?

Everything that the Eternal has said, we will do, and we will listen! (Shemot 24:7).

At first glance, it seems that the order of this crucial expression in Judaism “na’aseh venishma” goes against logic, since we would usually do it after we hear it, and not without knowing what we have to do.

Does this expression infer blind faith? Does God want us to act impulsively, without thinking? Is it bending our will toward the unknown? Apparently not, since Israel had previously seen the Eternal reveal His power and that’s why they said this… to demonstrate their total confidence; if something came from the Eternal, it would be for their good, so they would do it and then listen.

In today’s modern world, based on Greek and Roman logic, we are taught that we must first know and then do; that only a few are privileged to have access to vast amounts of knowledge that make them “useful” in society thus increasing their capacity to exercise this applied knowledge. How many geniuses today, with their vast knowledge, would not even survive one day because they don’t know how to boil milk or cook an egg? Who needs so much knowledge without wisdom or common sense?

At a second glance at this week’s portion, Vayakhel וַיַּקְהֵל “and he assembled,” it seems that the principles “we will do, and we will listen” in Shemot 24 were becoming a reality.

Rabbi Yitzhak Kook made a comment which I will paraphrase… he said, “We are all born with instinctive knowledge, not learned knowledge. For example, who taught spiders to weave their webs? Who taught bees geometry to build their hives? “This innate talent is represented by the word na’aseh (we will do)”, however, when “study” is added to their innate knowledge to perfect their talent, then the word “nishma” takes effect.”

 

With this in mind, Yeshua told us a Mashal (a parable) that we read in Matthew 21:28-32; “There were two sons from the same father in a certain field, and their father addressed them saying: ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard’; however, the eldest son said to him, ‘I don’t want to’, but soon he did teshuva and he went. Later, the father told the same thing to his second son, who answered: ‘Yes, sir’, but he didn’t go.  At the end, Yeshua asked those gathered: “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” to which everyone responded, the first.” Although the first son’s response was not correct, his action had merit, demonstrating his teshuva.

On the other hand, Yaakov also known as James, brother of Yeshua, said the following in his writings in chapter 1:22-25: “Do not be content with just hearing the word, for in this way you deceive yourselves. Put it into practice. He who hears the word, but does not put it into practice, is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, he leaves and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever pays close attention to the Torah Hashlemah (complete Torah), the Torah Hacherut (The Torah that liberates) and perseveres in it, not forgetting what he has heard, but being a shomer mitzvot (keeper of the commandments), will receive blessings by the practicing of it.”

As our RANEBI would say, Yaakov had evidently seen people with a sea of knowledge, but who had little depth in the practice of this knowledge in their daily lives.

It seems that the last chapters of Shemot are redundant because they repeat the building of the Mishkan with its description of materials, but it is on this very topic that I want to elaborate today.

There are two key concepts at the end of Shemot: one is instruction, and the other is the construction or execution of the instruction. In chapter 25, we read the instructions to build the ark, the table, the contributions, the menorah, etc. In chapter 26, we read the order to build the tabernacle; in 27, the altar of sacrifice and about the menorah; chapter 28, on the priestly vestments; in 29, the ordination ritual of the cohanim; chapter 30, on the altar of incense, the incense itself, the anointing oil, the fountain and it ends in chapter 31 on the craftsmen, and the importance of the Shabbat.

From the 35th chapter down, we see how those instructions became a reality, not by the finger of God, but by the UNITY of the people, by them making a national effort to turn the instructions into REALITY.

Several elements had to be “conquered” to make the instruction a reality, and we see them in this portion.

First, who would be the artists accomplished enough to do the work? In Egypt they had been slaves, so the ability to work with gold and silver, with fine materials and, above all, to have a refined taste to capture beauty in them, would be practically impossible for slaves. Slaves did not have access to art. They had no access to gold or fine materials, much less education. It is here that we see the first “miracle” when God placed his “na’aseh” into two men, Betzalel and Aholiav, who then developed their “nishma”. They had this innate knowledge (spirit of wisdom for all the work – 35:31), but they had to put hard work into it.

We also see how important it was for these two men to collaborate. There is a Midrash from our sages in Bamidbar Rabba 15, which says that Betzalel descended from an aristocratic family of Judah, son of Uri, son of Miriam. Then, Aholiav descended from a less wealthy family, in fact, he descended from one of Yaakov’s concubines, Bilhah (Dan’s mother), however, the Torah highlights the two as being at the same level, that is, it would take every social level to build the Mishkan. It also said that Betzalel represented the “right side” (kindness, benevolence – from the tribe Judah) and that Aholiav represented the left side (severity, rigor – of the tribe of Dan, meaning judgment). In this sense, these artisans brought both the physical and spiritual aspects to the Mishkan. It is in the unity of both sides that something beautiful is forged, the connection with God. They were endowed with an innate gift to beautify the Mishkan, as well as to spread this talent to others.

Next, we see that this portion is in the middle of the mistake made in worshiping an invented god, the golden calf. From this, we learn that “God is the God of Beginning Again” and that His mercy is renewed every morning. No matter what mistakes we committed in the past, they should not be the excuse to hold onto guilt or sufficient reason to desist from acting. I have met many people who, because of failure, gave up, not only in spiritual matters but also in endeavors. For example, did you know that it took the Jewish scientist, Jonas Salk 13 years of trial and error to develop the polio vaccine? What would have happened if after the first failed test he stopped trying? Many children would have died or would have been left with physical scars on their bodies. What if Israel decided not to rise again after all the mistakes that they made in the desert? Surely today we would be worshiping other gods, and we would not exist. So, if a golden calf has gotten in your way, it is best to get up and do teshuva. The mistake was a physical one, and it was repaired physically with the gold that was donated to it, and then freewill offerings were brought until it was enough (36:7). The spiritual error is then repaired with the service of God.

Finally, it is not to remain in knowledge but to put it into practice. Putting it into practice involves effort, it involves discipline, and going against our will. Let us start by putting 35:2 into practice on Shabbat. Let us begin the work that we read from chapter 36 with action verbs: he joined, made, covered, and carved, among others. We can know the instruction, but if it is not put into practice, it is dead work. When there is movement, it is a sign that there is life. Today, we may know Torah, Gematria, History, Hebrew, Theology and Halacha, but if we do not put the Ten Commandments into practice, we will become like the cracked cisterns that cannot hold water as Jeremiah described in chapter 2. “So, how long must you sleep? When will you wake up?” (Mishlei 2:9).

What kind of community will we be…people who act or people who simply make excuses? Let us be the people who “na’aseh venishma”- “do and listen.”

Shabbat Shalom

Mauricio Quintero