Shabbat Parashat Yitro 5783

Parashat Hashavua: We Will Do and Hear – An Address to a Bar Mitzva - 1947

There are two parallel powers that are ingrained in a person – the power of emotion and the power of the intellect. 

The power of emotion is that which drives a person without prior thought. A person’s development of his personal qualities pushes him to act according to what he feels. The power of abstract thought is that which gives man his main advantage over the animal world.

Both of these powers can be used for the better or for the worse. Emotion is that which produces the feeling of love of justice, acting with kindness, mercy, and compassion. However, it is also the root of anger, cruelty, vengefulness, and stinginess. It is behind the animalistic desires, which push a person toward spiritual ruin and death. Intellect as well can lead to both correct decisions, and also can be used for bad – to cheat, deceive, and make evil plans to hurt others.

It is our mandate to “enslave” these powers to the service of Hashem. This is in line with what our forefathers said at Sinai – “We will do” (corresponding to emotion) and “We will hear” (corresponding to intellect).

We had the tragic opportunity (referring to the Holocaust) to see what emotion that is not funneled toward Hashem can lead to. We saw cruelty running wild, as man removed the restraints of his lowest desires, giving full freedom to the lust for power, haughtiness, and sadism. We saw the intellect in its most disgusting applications, seeing how one can devise ways to act on these emotions in the most wicked manner.

Bnei Yisrael said “We will do” before “We will hear.” When we put on tefillin, we also put on first the tefilla that corresponds to action (on the arm) before the one that corresponds to intellect (on the head). We do not arrive at emuna (belief) by means of intellect, but rather through emuna we will come to intellect. We first inculcate a youngster with simple belief, which is used to rein in his wildest desires, so that he can grow in a healthy manner. When he becomes of age, he has to fulfill the mandate of “We will hear,” to understand and delve into matters, so that the next time he acts, it will be performed with greater significance.

This idea, that proper action must precede understanding is the secret of the angels, who are referred to as “Those who do His bidding, to hear His voice” (Tehillim 103:20). Their original action gives them the ability to “hear His voice.”

Although “there is no free man like one who is involved in Torah” (Avot 6:2), such people are still “My servants” (Vayikra 25:42). Following Hashem’s commands is servitude and so is accepting of His dominion and agreeing to nullify one’s own interests, both in practice and in conception. Bending one’s back to bear the load and bending over with the ear to hear that which Hashem commands, without first analyzing if he wants to do what is requested, is the servitude that is the only means of reaching freedom. If one does not except divine dominion, he will forever remain a slave to other slaves and will never be free.

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