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May the Lord bless you – your possessions and protect you – your possessions. Rav Natan said: May the Lord bless you – your possessions, and protect you – your person. Rabbi Yitchak said: . . . and protect you – from the evil inclination.

May the Lord shine his face upon you – He will enlighten you. Rav Natan said: This is the light of the Divine Presence, as is written, Arise, awaken, for your light has arrived . . .Another explanation, This is the light of Torah, as is written, For the mitzvah is a lamp, and the teaching is a light

And favor you – (by answering) your requests, and similarly he says, 'And I show favor to whom I show favor, and I show mercy to whom I show mercy.'

An alternate explanation: He will let you find favor in the eyes of all people.

One passage reads: "May the Lord lift up his face toward you" – and another passage reads: "He who lifts up no face (in favor)". How can both passages be realized? When Israel does God's will, "May the Lord lift up his face toward you" – and when they do not do God's will, : "He who lifts up no face." An alternate understanding: Prior to sealing of the verdict, "May the Lord lift up his face toward you", but after the sealing of the verdict: "He who lifts up no face." (Sifri, Naso 40, 41, 42)

And the priest blessed all those members chosen by lot (to perform the service), those who wholeheartedly walk in all His ways, saying: "May He bless you with all good, and protect you from all evil and May He enlighten your heart with life intelligence and favor you with eternal knowledge and lift up his face of goodness to you for eternal peace. (From the "Serach Hayachid", p.2, of the Judean Desert Scrolls)

WE WILL DO AND WE WILL HEARKEN

Yisrael Hershler

THOUGHT AND ACTION, what is the relation of one to the other? On Shavuot, our Festival of the Giving of the Torah, we read in Exodus (19:8) "And all the people answered together, they said: All that God has spoken, we will do." Further on (24:7) the children of Israel proclaim "All that God has spoken, we will do and will hearken!" Our Sages, in the Tractate Shabbat (88) acclaimed the fact that Israel preceded "will hearken" with "will do," comparing Israel, in this respect, to the Ministering Angels: "Who revealed this secret (of preceding "hearken" with "will do" – trans.) employed by the Ministering Angels – to my children?" Achieving the level of ministering angels is certainly a great tribute to the Children of Israel. But on the other hand, ministering angels lack the option of choice, whereas mortals are autonomous and free to choose – is not the quoted declaration a relinquishment of independent thought? Are not the contemplation of God and belief in Him prerequisites for desireable behavior? Our sources approach the thought-action relationship from diverse perspectives. Clearly, if one has only good intentions, but these are not reflected in his behavior, his gain is offset by his loss, and his good intentions have been totally unproductive. It is also clear that one's good deeds are the determining factor. The question is, which is more important? Which is to be emphasized, the good and proper thought, or the good and proper act? For example: There are those who claim that one difference between Judaism and Christianity is that the latter's emphasis upon faith; the former sees practice as preeminent. Christianity offers the believer salvation through faith; Judaism demands observance of the commandments – action is the litmus test, not faith. The heavenly proclamation to the King of Khazars, "Your intentions are worthy – your behavior is unworthy" prefaces his conversion to Judaism. On the other hand, throughout the generations there has been criticism of the dry formality of observance, devoid of contemplation and emotion. An example of this contrast is the difference between Chassidism and Mithnagdism. Various sayings relate to the subject, such as: "The Holy One, Blessed Be He, combines intention (kavana) with deed" (Kiddushin 40). Performance is paramount, but should one be forcibly prevented from doing the good deed, the Holy One reckons it as if the deed were done. "(Observance) not for its own sake will lead to (observance) for its own sake" (Pesachim 50), and "The hearts follow the actions" (Sefer Hachinuch, Mitzvah 20), meaning that performance of the mitzvah has a formative influence on thought and heart. Regarding prayer, however, there is a prerequisite of contemplation and devotion (kavana). For example, "One should stand to pray only in seriousness. Early Hassidim would wait an hour prior to prayer, in order to concentrate their hearts towards God" (Berachot 30), or
"Prayer without devotion is like body without soul" (Abarbanel on Avoth 2:13), and "A few supplications recited with kavana are preferable to many without kavana." (Orach Haim 1:4)

STUDY AND ACTION: STUDY AND ACTION: Study parallels thought. This, of course, depends on the subject being studied. In any case, intellectual development is in itself study. In Kiddushin (40), we read, " Rabbi Tarfon and the elders were once reclining in the upper storey of Nithzah's house in Lydda, when this question was raised before them: Which is greater, study or practice? Rabbi Tarfon answered, saying: Practice is greater. Rabbi Akiva answered, saying: Study is greater, for it leads to practice. Then they all answered and said: Study is greater, for it leads to action." The question was which is the greater. The conclusion is not unequivocal. One the one hand, the adjective "great" is assigned to "study", but on the other hand it is determined that study is greater for it leads to action – saying, in effect that the result, the "action", is what gives "study" its importance. A halakhic query is posed: Study or action – which should precede which? The answer is contingent upon circumstances. If circumstances do not permit both, then action deserves priority. But, stress the Tosafoth, if one has not yet studied, he is told: "First study," because "An ignoramus cannot be a chassid, a righteous person." They also teach that teaching others takes precedence over action. The Rambam, in Laws of Torah Study (3:3) writes: "Study precedes action in every case." In Chapter 1, Tractate Avoth, which is more a tractate of outlook and ethical behavior than a Halakhic tractate, we find Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel teaching that: "Practice – not study – is primary."

THE YOKE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AND THE YOKE OF MITZVOTH: The Mishna in Berachot (2:2) presents a discussion which brings us closer to the question of the relationship between faith and practice: "Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korkha said, Why did the chapter of 'Shema' precede "Vehaya im shamoah"? So that first one should accept upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, and afterwards the yoke of mitzvoth." The phrase "yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven" has not been sufficiently clarified. It would seem to be an expression synonymous with faith in the oneness of God, which is expressed in the passage "Hear O Israel." In the Yotser prayer in the Shacharit service, we recite: "And all accept upon themselves the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven one from another" – the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven is also accepted by the celestial servants of God who have no obligation to observe the mitzvoth of the Torah. This faith is transferred on from one to another, a kind of angelic "passing on". According to this, in this world the embracing of faith in one God precedes the acceptance of the yoke of mitzvoth. In Tractate Makkoth (23), there is an attempt to grade various mitzvoth, and here, too, faith precedes all other mitzvoth: "Rav Simlai taught exegetically, 613 mitzvoth were given to Moshe . . . David came and established them upon eleven . . . came Isaiah and established them upon six . . . came Micah and established them upon three, as it is written: He has told you, O man, what is good and what God demands of you: Only to do justice, to love kindness, and to go discreetly with your God . . . Came Habakkuk and established them upon one, as it says: A righteous person will live because of his belief." The Ten Commandments are not mentioned in this exegesis, the stress is placed upon ethical obligations, and these are expressed in principles presented in decreasing number. The final one "A righteous person will live because of his belief" is interesting, for it actually encompasses the doing of justice by the righteous person and his belief in God. The word emunah – belief, trust –derives from "and he trusted in the Lord and He deemed it as merit on his part." The choice of a single principle – emunah – as basis of all the mitzvoth of the Torah, strengthened the position of those medieval Jewish sages who objected to multiplicity of "principles."

KAVANA DURING PERFORMANCE OF THE MITZVA: In the Tanakh, the prophet denounces prayer offered in routine fashion, unaccompanied by thought. Isaiah bewails : "My Lord said: Because that people has approached [Me] with its mouth and honored Me with its lips, but has kept his heart far from Me, and its worship of Me has been a commandment of men, learned by rote . . ."(Isaiah 29:13) In a number of places, the Talmud raised the question of whether or not mitzvoth demand kavana. The Bavli makes a number of attempts to derive a ruling from the Mishna, but the results are inconclusive. Berachot (13) cites an obligation to 'direct the heart' when reciting the passage "Shema Yisrael." In Tractates Rosh Hashana (28) and Pesahim (114) the Sages deliberate the necessity of kavana while hearing the shofar, and while eating matzoh and maror. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Hayim 60) states: "Some say that mitzvoth do not require kavana and some say that they require (general) intent to fulfill a mitzva while performing the act, and so is the halakha." But the matter is not so simple. There are so many mitzvoth, and a demand to concentrate one's kavana and attention to each and every one is unreasonable, beyond the general public's ability. Therefore, the decisors divide the kavanoth into different categories, such as: General kavana, a willingness to observe God's commandments, and a more specialized kavana while performing the specific mitzvah. The conclusion is that faith in God and willingness to observe his mitzvoth is the basic requirement in observance of the mitzvoth. The "Mishna Berurah", quoting the "Chayey Adam", writes: One who has recited the Shema in the prayer service, or ate matzha, blew the shofar and took the lulav, even though he may have had no kavana to fulfill the mitzvah, he has fulfilled his obligation, for he performs the mitzvah in order to fulfill an obligation – even though specific, subject-related kavana was lacking." An exception to the rule is the recitation of the "Shema"; its recitation demands total attention, for it is the act of acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven.

"Everything is foreseen [by God], yet freewill is granted [to man] (Avoth 3:20) A fundamental principle of Judaism is free choice. In Deuteronomy (30) we read: "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity . . . choose life." Choice and thought are bound one to he other, and study is a prerequisite to thought. "We will do and we will hearken" is explained by the Rashbam as follows: "We will do that which he spoke, and we will hearken to what which He will command us in the future, and we will observe." The phrase naaseh — "we will do" – refers also to what the Children of Israel have already heard and learned until now. First come hearing, contemplation, belief, and study – and then, action. The meaning of "Torah" is "teaching" and "learning". The "Festival of the Giving of the Torah" is the Festival of Learning. We are acquainted with the widespread custom of remaining awake and learning all through the night of Shavuoth. For "Great is study, for it leads to action." Better than undirected, thoughtless action is "sof maaseh be'machshava techilla" — final action resulting from prior thought.

Yisrael Hershler a native Jerusalmite, was educated in heder and yeshivoth. Following his army service, he studied economics and Semitic languages, earned the degree DRS , and taught economics and Judaica. Qualified by the Organization of Orthodox Congregations of Holland for title "Maggid" and "Chaver".