Judaism is about applying theory in practice

Rabbi Ari Shishler

Chabad of Strathavon

That concept should resonate with us Jews. We’re not a religion based on belief, but on action. Our aim as Jews is to do another mitzvah, not simply deepen our ideological connection to Torah values.

Someone who can pontificate on the virtues of charity, but doesn’t actually donate, lives out of sync with Judaism. A person who can become so embedded in prayer as to miss the opportunity to help another in distress, has betrayed his faith.

Rabbi Dovber of Chabad lived at one stage in the same home as his illustrious father, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Rebbe of Chabad. Both sages would burn the midnight oil studying ancient texts, each becoming so absorbed in their studies not to notice evening turn to velvety night and eventually to dawn.

One night, as they pored over their books, the younger rabbi’s baby son slipped out of his crib and began wailing in pain. The baby’s father was too engrossed in his study to hear it. The older rabbi paused, attended to the baby, soothed him and returned to his studies only once the tot was asleep again.

In the morning, he rebuked his son, saying: “You may never become so caught up in Torah study so as not to hear the cry of a child.”

As the story was passed down through the generations, the subsequent rebbes of Chabad made sure to emphasise that “child” in the story really refers to any person in need.

You are likely to find Vayakhel a boring read. This parsha pretty much repeats, almost verbatim, information that we have already read in detail in previous portions, just two weeks ago. We have already waded through all the details of the mishkan structure, as well as all the materials needed for each component of the Tabernacle and the dimensions each one required. We have even been told where every single item is to be placed.

This Shabbos we get to read it all again. The only shift from last time to this is the tense. All the information on the Sanctuary described previousl,y was in future tense. This week, we get to read about how the Jews actioned those instructions perfectly.

For a book that is typically hyper-concise, it is clearly out of character to repeat instead of using the more expedient “and the Jews did just as they were told”.

Here, the Torah wants to share a fundamental insight. Had the Torah only detailed all the specifics in the instructions, we would know the theory of building G-d’s home. Once the Torah repeats every detail of how it was actually done, it highlights just how important it is to translate every detail of the theory into practice.

Living Jewish is not merely a matter of ideas or ideals or beliefs or philosophies. Judaism is about applying theory in practice