It is action that counts. It is all about the end-result. Talk is cheap. Did you do it or didn’t you do it? These statements and similar ones were drilled into many of our heads when we were children, emphasizing the importance of action over all else. Actionable measurement of our success or failure was the most important thing. If we just spoke about something, or if we thought about something, that was not enough – it was the action that counted.
Now that we are older, it is time to think about these accepted truisms.
Are our thoughts worthless? How about our speech? Is it really only about our action?
In this week’s Torah portion, Yitro, we are given the Ten Commandments. Amongst them we have the commandment to observe Shabbat. We are told to keep the seventh day holy. One way to keep the day holy is to refrain from working. G-d worked for six days when He created the world, and on the seventh day He rested, so too shall we rest on the seventh day. This sounds like a simple and reasonable statement. G-d didn’t work, so we too shall not work.
However, G-d didn’t work with His “hands” the prior six days either; all that G-d did was speak. G-d said “let there be light” and there was light, and so too with the rest of creation. We mortals on the other hand, cannot just say “let there be light,” and if we did, light would not appear. Since we must build and create a fixture, a fire, or whatever to have a source of light, our efforts are much greater – they are in the realm of action.
To be practical, the Torah teaches us to look at the results of what G-d created, regardless of how He made it happen. Afterward He rested, therefore, we too, shall rest.
This is also why we are not commanded to refrain from talking about work on Shabbat, although there are people who like to be extra-holy and do try not to talk about business matters on Shabbat, so that they don’t ruin their day of rest. Just as someone will not talk about work while they are on vacation, “let’s keep work and pleasure” separate.
We can take this even further. When we don’t talk about business matters in Shul on Shabbat, or at the Shabbat dinner table, we are showing ourselves and our friends, as well as G-d, that although we are not G-d, and we are not “commanded” to be G-d-like to such an extent, we recognize the unique ability of the human being, meaning that even though our speech cannot create things, it still counts for something, hence, the reason why we are not talking about work-related subjects. As we all know, certain topics will put us in certain moods—even our thoughts can have an effect on us, and that is why we stay focused on this holy day.
G-d, on the other hand, only requires us to do what is easily attainable, but that doesn’t stop us from reaching even higher with our own initiative.
If we try.