Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei, Shabbat HaChodesh (5761)

With God's help, on the eve of the holy Sabbath of Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei, Shabbat HaChodesh, 5761

Study and Action

Three weeks ago and two weeks ago, we read the portions of Terumah and Tetzaveh, in which Moses was commanded

by the Holy One, blessed be He, concerning the construction of the Tabernacle and its various details. This Sabbath we read the double portion, Vayakhel-

Pekudei, which deals with the actual construction of the Tabernacle. At the same time, in anticipation of the New Moon of Nisan, we also read

this Sabbath the portion of 'This month shall be for you the beginning of months' (Exodus 12:2), which deals with the month of Nisan and with the fixing

of the months in general. As Rashi notes in his opening comment on the Book of Genesis (on Genesis 1:1), the portion of 'This Month' contains the

first direct halakhic command in the Torah. Until this point the Torah had dealt with describing the formation of the people of

Israel, and now the practical part of the Torah begins.

These two portions are similar in the following respect: both of them deal with emphasizing the importance of implementation

in practice. In the portions of Vayakhel-Pekudei, the Torah repeats in detail entire passages that had already been stated

as a command to Moses our teacher (in the portions of Terumah and Tetzaveh). As several commentators point out, the significance

of this is to emphasize the importance of actual observance, beyond study and theoretical knowledge (which, within the framework of

the Torah, also has value in its own right). As noted, in the portion of 'This Month' as well we see a similar aspect; there

the practical and applicative part of the Torah begins.

The Talmud debates the relation between study and its actual implementation. Which is greater: study or

action? The conclusion is: 'Study is greater, for study leads to action' (Kiddushin 40b). This statement is

seemingly paradoxical, for it appears from it that precisely action is greater, since study is presented only

as a means of reaching it.

It may be that the intention is that what is greater is the study that leads to action. That is, the very dilemma

whether study is greater or action is greater assumes that there are two things, study and action, and that we must

decide which of them is greater. The conclusion is that the dilemma was based on a mistaken understanding of the concepts:

study and action are not two alternatives. There is only one possibility: study that leads

to action. Precisely against the background of the importance of theoretical study in the world of Torah, let us now try, insofar

as space permits, to understand this statement about the relation to the practical implementation of study

on three levels, built one upon the other.

1. The uniqueness of Torah study, like that of the Torah in general, is that it is theoretical learning, sometimes

highly abstract, that ends in practical instruction. In every discussion we are required to issue a halakhic ruling. For example,

the stubborn and rebellious son never existed and never will exist (according to one opinion; Sanhedrin 71a), that is, this discussion has

no direct halakhic implications (indirect ones it does), and nevertheless vigorous debates take place concerning

the details of the laws that pertain to him. These debates end, like every halakhic discussion, in a ruling on the

law. We thus find that there is no theoretical study whose purpose is merely intellectual amusement.

The discussion is conducted with the aim of reaching a conclusion and deciding. The first layer of the importance of action in

Torah life is the very need for decision within study, that is, the fact that study has a

conclusion-oriented character.

2. There is another layer to the importance of practical implementation, namely the carrying out of the words of the Torah.

The Torah is not a detached field of inquiry, although there are halakhic discussions that sometimes appear to be such.

The goal of the discussion is not only decision and arriving at an intellectual conclusion, but the actual realization of the conclusion. There

is here a dimension that often seems very lacking in various spheres of life: in Torah life a person is obligated

to the intellectual conclusions he reaches. The end of conceptual inquiry, however abstract it may be, is

actual conduct in accordance with the conclusions of the inquiry.

A well-known story is told about a professor of moral philosophy who, when asked about his

morally irresponsible behavior, answered that just as a mathematician need not be a triangle, so too a professor

of morality need not behave morally. In the world of Torah no such distinction exists. If there is

a Torah scholar who does not behave in accordance with what he teaches, it is forbidden to learn from him. He is not

considered a Torah scholar at all. The second layer of the importance of action in Torah life is that the Torah acts

upon the world and rectifies it fully only if it is implemented in practice.

3. The previous layer also relates to practical implementation as the goal of study, and there study is still conceived

as a means intended to help a person know what he must do. Let us return now to that merely theoretical

'Torah scholar' who does not observe what he teaches. We have received from our teachers that even the reasonings

and ideas of that 'Torah scholar' cannot be correct and cannot accurately reflect the intention

of the Torah. In Torah study, implementation is an inseparable part of study. Here lies one of the important differences

between academic Torah study, which does not touch the life of the learner, and yeshiva Torah study,

which is meant to guide the learner in his conduct and worldview. The claim is that one cannot truly understand

the laws of the lulav and the ideas connected with it without actually waving a lulav, or

at least without the existence of a motivation in study directed toward observance. On this level one relates

to study as an end and not as a means, and yet implementation remains of supreme importance. The

third layer of the importance of action in Torah life is that action constitutes a condition for study to be

correct, that is, for study to accord with the intention of the Giver of the Torah.

All three of these layers together constitute an explanation of that paradoxical statement cited above,

that study is greater because it leads to action (Kiddushin 40b): study and action are interwoven with one another, and neither

can exist without the other.

Have a peaceful Sabbath

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