Naaseh v’Nishmah – messages of comfort in difficult times

Israelis’ ‘hearts are in tatters’ following the return of the cruelly murdered hostages, the elderly peace activist, Oded Lifshitz, and the small children, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, may their memories be a blessing; amid uncertainty about the fate of the murdered children’s mother, Shiri Bibas, may she be saved; amid concern for the remaining hostages, may they be saved; and amid anger that our murderous enemies intended a mass casualty terror attack on innocents in Bat Yam and Holon this morning that, we understand, thankfully was thwarted, BH.

Now is a moment when all Israel, and all the Jewish people, are unified in grief. We pray that Hashem, along with Clal Yisrael, provides comfort and relief to the Lifshitz and Bibas families, and to all those innocents who continue to feel the raw pain and trauma of the events of October 7th and its aftermath, and trust in Hashem’s system of justice, BDE.

In this week’s Torah portion, Mishpatim, the Children of Israel accept the Torah with the famous phrase, ‘na’aseh v’nishmah’, loosely translated as ‘we will do (na’aseh) and we will hear (nishmah)’ (Exodus 24:7).

The sages tell us that the Children of Israel won particular praise in heaven for the manner of their acceptance – unconditionally accepting the Torah even before understanding what it entailed.

However, there are not one but three statements of acceptance by the Children of Israel recorded in Torah. ‘Na’aseh v’nishmah’ (Exodus 24:7) is accompanied by two other statements in which only ‘na’aseh’ (‘we will do’) is said (Exodus 19:8 and 24:3).

Commentators have noted that in the statements in which ‘na’aseh’ alone is stated, the people respond ‘yachdav’ (together, Exodus 19:8) and ‘kol echad’ (with one voice, Exodus 24:3), but in the statement in which ‘na’aseh v’nishmah’ is said, there is no specific reference to togetherness.

The Pardes Yosef, noting there are a total of 613 mitzvot (commandments) in Torah, observes that it is impossible for any single Jew to fulfil all 613 – some are reserved for kings, others for priests, others for levites, etc. However, we are told that studying a mitzvah is like fulfilling it. We are also told that when Jews are united, they are like one entity – therefore every Jew can fulfill all 613 mitzvot collectively through their fellows. (This is built on the principle of arevot – ‘kol yisrael arevim ze bazeh’ – which has halakhic application; for example, it is permissible for one Jew to make a mitzvah blessing when another Jew performs the mitzvah, such as the kiddush blessing on Shabbat, even if they are not themselves performing the mitzvah). Therefore ‘nishmah’ – understanding what the mitzvot entail through study – enables every Jew as an individual to fulfill all 613 mitzvot. There is no need for togetherness to achieve this outcome. However ‘na’aseh’ alone – doing the mitzvot – does require Jewish togetherness in order that every Jew can fulfill all 613 mitzvot through unity with their fellow. Hence the Children of Israel responded together, in one voice, when ‘na’aseh’ was stated alone.

Rabbi Sacks observes that Judaism is a system of doing, not belief. When it comes to doing (‘na’aseh’), we seek consensus in halakha. We accept the halakhic outcomes even if we disagree with them. In halakha, we are – and need to be – unified. However, when it comes to our understanding and beliefs (‘nishmah’), Rabbi Sacks says, “even though there are undoubtedly principles of Jewish faith, when it comes to spirituality there is no single normative approach”. In our understanding and belief, Jews are – and have always been – diverse. We do not have dogma nor impose it on our fellow. In this, we do not even need to look at our current inter-denominational differences here. We can look at the structure of Talmud itself – an anthology of argument structured according to the formula: ‘Rabbi X says this, Rabbi Y says that, and the halakha is as follows’.

In this time of darkness, when the Jewish people are united in our grief, let us agree to take on more mitzvot in the merit of the souls of the deceased, Oded Lifshitz, Ariel Bibas and Kfir Bibas, of blessed memory, and all those hostages, civilians and soldiers that have lost their lives or are held in cruel captivity; and may Hashem bless us to remain united beyond our grief, because of, not despite, the unprecedented diversity of the Jewish people who have been gathered ‘me’arba kanfot ha’aretz’, as Hashem told us in Torah, and as He carried out His word, so may He carry out all His redemptive words speedily in our days.