40
Friday, June 13, 1986
IS YOUR
THEN GO
TO THE
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
GOING TO SUMMER CAMP?
SUMMER CAMP SPECIALIST
S
TORAH PORTION
Shavuot Is A Reminder
Of Faith, Understanding
in the
WEST BLOOMFIELD PLAZA
6690 Orchard Lake Road
West Bloomfield, Michigan
BY RABBI MORTON F. YOLKUT
Special to The Jewish News
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LOREE PARTRICH, R.E.
626-7160
A question, which deserves an
answer, is often asked of obser-
vant Jews. How can we observe
all these Jewish rituals and prac-
tices when we don't understand
them completely? If we don't
understand every word of our
Hebrew prayers, why recite them
at all? If we do not understand
why we may not ride on the
Shabbat, why should we refrain
from doing so? If we are not con-
vinced of the rationale of the laws
of kashrut, why bother with
them? Is it not a blind faith which
encourages such practice? Is it
not a fostering of ignorance?
The answer is that of course we
must understand and know. The
daily introduction of our holiest
prayer, the Shema, is a petition
for binah, that we may know and
understand in order that we bet-
ter do and observe. In Judaism,
as in no other religion, study is
championed as a cardinal reli-
gious virtue. At the same time, it
is dangerous and irresponsible to
argue that one should postpone
observance until he has mastered
the text and fully understood the
precept.
The Torah reading for Shavuot
describes that great rendezvous
of God and Israel at Sinai. Later
we are told of the reaction of our
ancestors to the Divine revela-
tion on that first Shavuot. At that
moment, the Israelites re-
sponded: Naaseh, we will do;
V'nishmah, we will hear, that is,
understand. And here our rabbis
quote an ancient tradition that
upon hearing these words, 'espe-
cially their order — first obey
then understand — God cried out,
"Who revealed to my children the
secret of angels?" (Shabbat 88a).
Our tradition thus affirms that
understanding and knowledge
and enlightenment are worthy
goals indeed. But until they are
achieved, there must be obedi-
ence and observance; first
naaseh, then nishmah.
Of course it is difficult for
many people, especially in our
sophisticated, technological era,
to accept that. Perhaps that is
why the Talmud called it "the
secret of angels." The essence of
Judaism is that while we strive to
understand, our submission to
God is not predicated upon our
understanding.
In this view one must learn
Hebrew well, but must not ref-
rain from prayer before becoming
an accomplished Hebraist. He
must study the laws and philos-
ophy of Shabbat, but must not de-
secrate the day because he has
not yet become an outstanding
scholar. He may search for the
rationale of the dietary laws but
must continue to observe them
even if he never finds a satisfac-
tory explanation.
Both naaseh and nishmah are
important — perhaps we may
even admit that in ultimate
value understanding is more im-
portant; but in the matter of
order and precedence naaseh, ob-
servance, comes first.
Why is this so? How can we ex-
plain ,PA,1.0Btc..91.111‘1-21:dayyllick
is unacceptable to so many of our
contemporary co-religionists?
The sequence, in fact, is not all
that strange. It is as natural to do
first and understand later in reli-
gion as it is in language. Only a
foreigner learns the rules of
grammar first and then learns to
speak. The native acquires the
We will do, then we
will understand" is
the secret of the
angels.
language first, and then prOceeds
to analyze its basic structure. So
too must we be native to Torah,
not foreigners to God. We must be
natural Jews, not artificial ones.
If we accept only that which to
our limited experience seems
reasonable and reject all that we
immediately do not understand,
then we are acting artificially,
and may well become spiritually
paralyzed. No reason I can give
you for attending services every
Shabbat will be as convincing as
your experience of actually try-
ing it for several weeks. No book
will persuade you of the beauty
and nobility of Jewish living as
much as practicing it. Indeed the
naasah, the observance, is itself a
form of nishmah, a way that
leads to understanding.
Of course, it is hard to be an
observant Jew. But if we are true
to our Jewish nature, then we
will appreciate that observance
precedes knowledge, that obedi-
ence is a prelude to understand-
ing.
On this great festival of
Shavuot, when we again recall
the response of Israel to the reve-
lation of Jewish law, we are
entrusted with the secret of
angels. Let us prove worthy of it.
Ex-Detroiter,
Soviet Expert,
Retires At 70
New York — Sovietologist
Marshal D. Shulman, director of
Columbia University's, Harri-
man Institute for Advanced
Study of the Soviet union, will re-
tire at the end of the month at
age 70.
Shulman said that although he
would be turning the institute
over to his deputy director, he in-
tended to keep teaching part-
time and to write books.
The former Detroiters's par-
ents were at one time prominent
figures in the community. His
father Harry was a renowned
engineer and president of Cong.
Shaarey Zedek. His mother Bea
was a leader in Mo'os Chitim and
_sto od.; outjg pois cir les