Shabbat Table Talk

Parashat Mishpatim

Erev Shabbat, 24 February 2005
Week of 19 to 25 February
Torah portion: Ex. 21:1-24:18
Haftarah: II Kgs. 12:1-17
Sunday Readings, 26 Feb.: Hos. 2:16b-17b, 21-22; II Cor. 3:1b-6; Mk. 2:18-22

Na'aseh ve-nishma / "We shall do and we shall hearken" (Fox translation)

This week's Torah portion begins with the words, "And these are the laws that you shall set before them" (21:1). The conjunction "ve" (and) is considered by most translators as too insignificant to translate. Take the JPS translation for example, the opening "and" is missing. Nevertheless, in rabbinic opinion, nothing is insignificant in the Torah.

Indeed, the "ve" (and) which appears at the very beginning of the Torah portion for this week is not insignificant. It connects the Ten Commandments in the preceding portion, Yitro, with the collection of Laws in Parashat Mishpatim. In this manner, the narrative tells that as the Ten Commandments are given by God at Mount Sinai, so are the many rules in Exodus 21:1-23:19. And God's revelation is expanded from ten general principles to many rules related to matters of daily life. This expansion reaches its climax when the people ratify the covenant in 24: 1-8.

The text of the ratification of the covenant tells us that after Moses wrote down all the words of God and read them aloud to the people, they responded: All that God has spoken, we shall do and we shall hear! This formula of the commitment actually is an expansion of the previous we shall do in verse three. With regard to the additional commitment we shall hear, Rashi rearranges the text of 24:1-12 so that it comes before the commandments (Rashi to 24:1-12) to suggest that the text which Moses read to the people actually covers "the history of the world from creation to the date of writing" (Zornberg, 292). The commitment we shall do and we shall hear is to the whole Torah, not to the Ten Commandments only. We shall hear manifests the people's acknowledgement of the demand of that moment.

What calls for more attention is the order of the commitment; the people commit themselves to doing before hearing. Normally, people have to hear and understand before making any commitment. Thus, the people's response seems to be illogical, and it gives the impression that they are acting in childish faith, lacking in caution or discernment. In the Talmudic passage, the Sadducees criticize the Israelite as a rash people, "for whom the mouth passes before the ears" (Zornberg, 303). But, one 20th century Jewish writer, Emmanuel Levinas, sees this reversed order of commitment in a different way.

Levinas suggests that Israelites are not naïve. On the contrary, their response perfectly reflects the behavior of a mature adult at Sinai. The reversed order of commitment expresses the people's desire for a life of openness and their readiness to hear God's further instructions. He considers na'aseh ve-nishma ("we shall do and we shall hear") as "the people's readiness to entertain the idea of infinity" (Zornberg, 309).

A similar comment can be found in a 19th century Chasidic commentator, Maor Va Shemesh, says that the additional commitment we shall hear declares people's uncalculating readiness to obey the new laws of the Torah, and they do so because they recognize "the force of the laws lies not in their pragmatic, conventional nature, but in the fact that the laws are the will of God" (Zornberg, 295).

The Sefat Emet, a Chasidic teacher, further suggests that na'aseh ve-nishma (we shall do and we shall hear) manifests the longing of the people not only to fulfill the basic demands of the commandment, but also to go beyond static obedience to God and to be open to God's not-yet-revealed revelation. The already-revealed commandments are to be carried out, na'aseh (we shall do), but beyond that, the people have to keep themselves alert to further intimations of God's will, and to be ready to respond. With a hearing heart, the people have to venture spiritually into a large hidden and unknown area that surrounds the commandments. The Sefat Emet points out that by the great command Sh'ma Yisrael (Hearken, O Israel), "the destiny of the Israelite is precisely to live a life of continuous, passionate listening to God. Their future depends on their openness to God's not-yet-reveled revelation" (Zornberg, 308).

Together with other Jewish teachers such as Nahman of Bratslav, the Sefat Emet, insists na'aseh (we shall do) and nishma (we shall hear) can never be isolated from each other. In the process of doing the commandments na'aseh (we shall do), the faculty of "hearing" is activated because God continues speaking, thus nishma (we shall hear). And this "hearing" calls for another new appropriate "doing." Thus, na'aseh and nishma seemingly form an endless ladder or eternal cycle. They constantly move from one level to another more profound level. As a result, no one can stand still and stop growing on the ladder or along the cycle. Jewish teachers conclude this constant growth is precisely the sign of true religious living.

The Gospel Reading The Gospel reading raises a question: Which one is important, fasting or feasting? Jesus gives the answer: "As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in that day" (Mk 2: 19-20). For Jesus and his disciples, there is a time for feasting in each other's presence; there is also a time for sorrow over human wickedness and fasting for purification.

Using the image of new and old wineskins, Jesus also teaches the people that just as there is a right time for everything, so there is a right place for the old and the new. New wine is poured into fresh wineskin. Jesus is not teaching the people to reject the old, but to stick to the old tightly will shut the door of one's mind to refuse to learn new things. In this Gospel Reading, Jesus invites us to be open and ready to receive the new work of the Holy Spirit.

In the world, we can be like the slave who is so attached to his master that he refuses the freedom to move forward in life (Ex 21:5-6). Or we can be like the people at Sinai, commit ourselves to Jesus na'aseh ve-nishma (we shall do and we shall hear). What will be your choice?

Reflection: [1] For Jewish writers, "We shall do and we shall hear!" piques the imagination. What imaginations does it provoke you? How does it affect your spiritual growth? [2] The immediate concern of God through the laws is to transform the life of the Jewish people into service of God. How does weekly reading of Torah Portion strengthen your service of God and people?

Bibliography: Fox, The Five Books of Moses (New York, 1995); Green, The Language of Truth: The Torah Commentary of the Sefat Emet (Philadelphia, 1998); Rashi, Sefer Shemot (The Art Scroll edition); Zornberg, The Particulars of Rapture: Reflection on Exodus (New York, 2001).

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This week's teaching commentary was prepared by
Angela Liu, Mercedarian Sister, M.A.; Mandarin Section, Radio Veritas Asia, Philippines; Bat Kol Alumna 2005