Page 4 - Harlem Shavuot Companion 2020

Leaning into Discomfort: A Lesson from the Shavuot Story
By Adina Schwartz, Director of Engagement at JCC Harlem

I hoped to start this piece with a simple exercise. It will take no more
than 30 seconds, I promise...

Lean back, away from your chair, desk, couch or wherever you are
right now. Put down anything in your hands.

Quickly, fold your arms in front of you.

Observe how you feel. Are you comfortable?

Now...

Quickly fold your arms the other way, with the opposite arm on top.

Observe again. How do you feel now?

If your answer is strange, uncomfortable, unnatural...mission accomplished. This popular exercise
is used to illustrate one plain-as-day fact - change is uncomfortable. One small tweak to the
simplest of tasks we undertake, like folding our arms, can completely alter our experience. It can
move us from completing a task automatically or on autopilot to having to think twice (or three or
four times!) about that same action.

I was reminded of this exercise while reviewing the story of Shavuot. More specifically, the part
where the Israelites’ receive the Torah at Mt. Sinai. They accepted the covenant with G-d by
exclaiming the words ‘Na’aseh V'nishma’ - we will do and we will hear (Ex. 24:7). One famous
talmudic interpretation of this phrase is that it emphasized the Israelites’ belief in G-d. In this
exclamation, they were asserting their trust in the Almighty. Their acceptance of the Torah was
not contingent on reading it or understanding the messages it contained. It was a gift from G-d and
they were proud to accept it, and to abide by its laws, yet unseen.

Doing before listening. Could this be further from the way we are taught to operate in the world
today? Listen before drawing assumptions or conclusions...and certainly before taking action. That
sounds more like it. The reverse order of these two words - Lishmoa V’Laasot, to listen (to learn
and to understand), and then to do - is the approach that I’ve always been taught to take.

And yet...

In the last couple of months, a new reality has taken hold. One where we are asked to do quickly,
and to take time to understand later. In the age of COVID-19, the words of the Israelites ring loud
and true. Do! And then, in tandem, listen and understand. Wear a mask. Stay home. Wash your
hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Our leaders and health experts are asking us to make
fast changes, often in the same breath as we are hearing their explanations, and certainly before
we fully understand them. This feels strange and different, but we also know it is so incredibly

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