Timeless TorahTake the Plunge (32:19)
I’ve been in the Rabbi business for over a decade. There are many accomplishments our synagogue is justly proud of, and many faux-pas whose memories still make us blush deep red. On a personal level, our organization’s greatest achievement is the religious impact we have had on many individuals and families. There are hundreds of children now attending day schools and Yeshivahs, dozens of families that keep kosher and Shabbat, countless businesses that learn Torah via the Timeless Torah or other classes, and the list goes on and on.
A question often asked is, “What influences one person to take the religious plunge and the other to have cold feet?” I must confess this query is never posed by the Baal Teshuvah (returnee) but usually by those in the latter category. They just don’t seem to comprehend someone taking on a new religious lifestyle. This week’s Biblical portion of Ki Sissa, offers us one possible reason to explain the different outcomes of two people exposed to the same spiritual information. Moses had spent the proverbial forty days and nights on Mount Sinai receiving the engraved Ten Commandments. G-d Almighty himself was personally teaching the Jewish leader when the lesson suddenly came to an abrupt halt. The Jews below had fashioned a Golden Calf and were having an old-fashioned, no holds barred, idol worshipping extravaganza. The L-rd put away the books, erased the blackboard, informed Moses of what was happening and ordered him back to the Israelite camp. With those instructions, the Jewish leader hurried down the mountain bearing the Tablets … “And as he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became angry and threw down the Tablets.” /
The Talmud (Yevamos) explains that Moshe’s reaction was not an emotional outburst, but rather an intellectual decision. One of the classical commentaries, the Maharsha (died in Poland, 1631), asks, “If the response was analytically motivated, shouldn’t Moses have acted as soon as he was informed of the situation? Surely, he trusted the messenger, in this case Hashem, to report all the necessary facts he needed to reach the appropriate decision?”
The Rabbi’s answer is simple. An event perceived through one’s senses evokes a stronger reaction than one learned second hand - even if the information is 100% reliable. So while Moshe definitely believed the account given by G-d, the actual sight of his fellow Jews disgracefully turning their backs on their Creator for a mere molten image penetrated his very essence. This triggered the intellectual awareness of how depraved their actions were and the response he knew they deserved. Religion was never meant to be a spectator sport. Those who have never tried the Shabbat experience cannot truly appreciate its beauty. We might think we understand its importance, but until you’ve lived the Shabbat or holidays, one cannot completely comprehend the soothing rhythm they add to our hectic schedule.
Those who have gotten their feet wet in the life-sustaining waters of our heritage eventually became more involved to one degree or another. Like swimming, Judaism cannot be intellectually transmitted from teacher to student. There comes a day when you must take the plunge.
P.S. Unlike swimming, where you cannot afford to start at the bottom of the pool, in Judaism you don’t have to worry, G-d won’t let you drown. In fact, religion is the life jacket.
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