A Broken Temple, A Broken Soul; Do and You Shall Hear the Depth of it All (נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמַע Na'aseh V'nishma)

By Ashrei (Ima Sari Wisenthal)

Explain to me, why I should do what you tell me to do. What is the point? Please explain to me why you think what you do is a better way to live. Do you think you are better than me? Do you know something I do not? Explain to me your ideas, your reasons, your thoughts… 

Who today dares take action before understanding the point, the purpose—why on earth would I invest any effort, time, or money into something I cannot understand? Development, evolution, and scientific exploration unveiled a path to understanding life and assessing what makes more sense for each one of us - it presumes to be able to tell us what the right thing to do is; all one needs to do is ‘google-able’ or answered by a magical AI ‘god’: “What is this new symptom I am having?” Google knows it is probably cancer. What is the best career path for my specific personality? Which city is rated happy enough for me to move there? Is the name I chose for my child a good choice according to society? Why am I unhappy? How can I fix the dishwasher, myself? Will I live forever or will I die? Where do I find bearings? 

Our modern world produces a continuous stream of insights and information. We know what time we should wake up, what medication we should take, which vitamins will help us, what we should be eating and at what time of the day, how many steps to take, and what thoughts and mental shifts will turn our day into a success. We know all this thanks to scientific research; explorers of knowledge and observable phenomena test, assess and report to us what works and what does not. Who are we, the non-researcher mass, to argue with the results of centuries of scientific efforts? And yet, despite the efforts to uncover truths about the way the world works, something is not right. We can sense deep inside of us that there is something missing from our observable world in which we live. 

We are not medians or average numbers. We are not statistically removed from an axis or any null hypothesis. What we are is the detail—lost between observations of scientific studies—a unique combination; we are energy and particles, and the souls that bind them together. We are the center that needs no proof to feel and give love. We are the wholesome excuse for our eyes to keep looking, keep taking in the world with all its pain and beauty. 

We live our lives in continued disintegration. Dissecting every idea, thought, emotion and behaviour until we are no longer able to recognize, the essence, or the whole to which it belongs to. Eating a specific diet is part of a choice to have a healthier body and a healthier life. Learning at a university is part of growing in a particular career. Dating is part of finding someone to share your life in the deepest and most complex of ways. We break life down to the point that meaning and purpose are tossed away, left to rot and decay. 

We change our diet based on the latest studies or influencers’ recommendations, fooling ourselves into believing the newest food fad will be the one that saves us. So many who go to university prioritize the experience and fun and neglect the commitment to finding a path that will bring true value to themselves and the world. Dating is a hobby, a fun activity, a space to place your bet on who it is you will get next. At the end of the day, from our bed we wonder, why is my life meaningless, why do I feel empty? For many, blaming everything external to us becomes the best explanation for our carrying this pain. 

We have it all wrong. We flipped the script on its head. We cannot dissect a frog and expect it to keep on living. We cannot expect to break a person to pieces and still have meaning. If we blindly follow information, ideas and rules provided by others, we will lose the ability to understand what truth is, and what truly moves us. 

Na’aseh—we will do, and only then will we listen —Ve’nishma (understanding the benefit of our actions); this is the secret of how the Jewish people sustained their freedom. Such a faithful soul is free to connect to its depth, no matter what pain, hate, and constraints you try to wrap around its faith. It is our ability to follow a set of guidelines so that we can later understand the hidden meaning in life. 

The Israelites, waiting impatiently at the bottom of Mount Sinai, set out to form a magnificent sculpture, the golden calf. The production of art can be a noble craft, but worshiping what we create opens humanity to many illusions, leading toward treating our products as if they are something to idolize and worship. This mindset directs us to the destruction of ethical civilizations, as every person can now create a sculpture and demand, in its name, that we all bow down and worship their G-d. This is no exaggeration; throughout history, we have seen this happen time and again, causing brutal killing and hate in G-d’s name. 

The Jewish story recognizes this danger and highlights the sin of the golden calf as something that must never be repeated. While this was corrected without too much delay, the picture was clear: There was a significant paradigm shift to be made, one that might take decades or centuries. It was at this point, of needing to redirect their attention, that the idea to ‘first do and then listen’ came into play- tying the Mishkan (and later on the temple), to our ability to do the right thing so we can hear (find) the deeper meaning in our lives. 

The aftermath of that kerfuffle led to the establishment of the Mishkan—the foldable version of the temple (sanctuary)—your ideal tent for worshiping while hiking and camping. The Israelites had a long journey ahead, and this ‘tent-temple’ was with them the entire time. Eventually, when King David passed his kingdom to Solomon, he also handed down legally purchased lands on which to build a permanent home for the practice of worshiping G-d; for remembering how one needs to walk a certain path to be able to grasp the deeper meaning of life. 

The temple was a place of worship, welcoming all. It was not a ‘Jew-only’ place. All were invited to pray and worship side by side, in unity and harmony. It was a spiritual dwelling that connected those who came to a force bigger than themselves. It was a place of peace and respect—a magnificent space to show each other love. When the temple stopped functioning with such values, it ended in ruins.  

In a city older than most, where the Jewish presence remained from the times of both temples until today, it was due to internal conflicts and lack of the prioritizing of values which led to its demise. This was true for the days of old, as it is true for our times. Our connection with deep ‘doing’ seemed to have been lost. We are no longer capable of differentiating between basic themes of what is wrong and what is right - leaving too many to behave like toddlers, fighting over who will get more: more of the land, more of the money, more of the air space, more of the votes - we forget the deeper meaning behind ‘first you do, then you will listen’ (נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמַע). 

When the temple was destroyed, Jewish people tried as hard as they could to remember—first, you do, and then you will understand. The acts of worshiping G-d turned from work (עֲבוֹדָה - work and/or worship) in the temple to learning the Bible and practices in Jewish prayer (which consists mainly of meditating on key verses from the Bible and on the meaning of Psalms). Yet, for those who did not practice remembering, regardless of their religious background, the spiritual depth which the temple provided was lost. Today, like we did before, we complain. We want first to hear and to be heard, yet we will not do the work needed to prepare our mind, body, and spirit to grow to the point where we can receive the blessings waiting for us. As discussed at the beginning of this essay, we were analysed to the point that we are no longer recognizable. We dissect our identity beyond recognition and sink deeper into depression and isolation without knowing how to reassemble our core structure. Who are we? Without a solid foundation by which to ground ourselves, we believe the lies disseminated from all corners of the world, and we all pretend or assume it is true. 

Here is the secret - first, you do, and only after, can you expect to be able to listen. If we have not done the work, the practice, the effort, the cleansing, we will not find that space in ourselves to hear the truth of life. If we want profound love, we begin by loving others. If we want peace, we start by being peaceful towards those we angered. If we want to find joy, we start by providing smiles and happiness to others. If we want to feel complete, we start by treating others with respect at the level we would reserve for kings, queens or today, for media idols. 

Do you want true love, true meaning, true purpose, true peace, and true joy? Return to the source that inspired many modern ideas: freedom from slavery, caring for those who are suffering, inclusion, working in collaboration, making sure you always give what you can, and correcting your actions, owning up to your mistakes, and maintaining good relationships with whomever you can.

What is the simplest thing to start with? Start by showing gratitude. Jewish wisdom teaches us to be thankful for all we receive, from the moment we wake up to the time we fall asleep. From being able to urinate (something people with kidney failure understand deeply) to the smell of a flower, the sight of something new, the food that you have, the latest thing you just learned - be thankful for it all, say the sages. If you do not know (or want) to say the ‘official’ blessing, just say what comes out of the heart. There are no correct words needed when you are practicing how to say “Thank you, G-d, for…..”.

If each and every one of us start taking the needed responsibility to pull ourselves back together—to once more see ourselves as the whole and not the parts of which we are made of—we have a chance to fix this world. With the help of a mother’s embrace or a stranger’s smile, we are able to hear the light and see the sounds (Synesthesia). 

This wholeness and fullness replace woe with awe, pain with joy - and it is here, all around us, just waiting to be plucked like a fruit from a tree. This shift can give us access to a new perspective on our lives; this is reserved for the brave, those willing to take the leap. If we can jump into faith, if we can hold on to the belief that the sum is greater than its parts - that we are more than our problems, we will raise ourselves from this fractured place and, once more, do what we need to do, to explore, our faith. 

I have no problem admitting - I am biased. You should return to the sources and dive as deep as possible. Go back to the original texts, those of Biblical times, for they hold the secrets of what needs to be done. It does not matter if you are Jewish or from another religion, observant or if you think it is all fiction. What matters is that you do it, and do it without fear. Keep coming back, keep jumping in. One day, you might find that you have plunged into the fountain of youth—into the essence of who you were always meant to be. I am biased because I have done it, and it made all the difference in the world.  

Na’aseh V’nishma, we will do, and only then will we hear; it was not a one-time statement that the Jewish people declared when they accepted taking on this commitment, to truly hear G-d’s words. It is an ongoing way of life, eternally unfolding the meaning in the texts into the reality of our lives. It is an everlasting promise to never give up on ourselves, even though it can be challenging. 

For decades, we have been breaking down our external and internal worlds with hopes of better understanding ourselves; leaving each one of us standing fragmented in the center of our self-isolated confusion, in pain and feeling alone. Do not despair, look up, for it is through the valley of the shadow of death that we must walk to be able to hear what is said (Psalm 23). Once the lost echo of who we are reaches our soul, the valley of the shadow of death will turn into the valley of light; it will fuse all the broken pieces into a unity, which we have yet to grasp. 

---

Join me; spread ideas that will bring us back to true peace and deep love, and together, we will turn this dream into a reality. The time is now.