Northern Harrier : Doing and Hearing

This is a Northern Harrier. She’s on the ground where I interrupted her breakfast, and her expression speaks volumes. But her posture reveals something else about her. Harriers are hawks, but her facial structure is reminiscent of an owl’s. The feathers on her face are shaped like a dish, collecting the most fleeting of sounds. These birds skim low over the fields, feeding largely on small rodents which scurry through the weeds. She is perfectly adapted to her environment and has optimally configured herself to target a meal. Detecting those tiniest of sounds is how harriers guide their actions, a combination of hearing and acting that is literally life and death for them.

Our Sages teach that the Shema, Judaism’s fundamental credo, is to be recited out loud. At the simplest level, the first word “Shema,” can be literally translated as “hear.” Naturally, then, the prayer must be heard, not just thought internally. More intriguing is the explanation that comes from the juxtaposition of “doing and hearing” at Mt. Sinai. The Israelites said both, that they would do and they would follow. Commentators ancient and modern have explored this relationship between internal commitment and external action. The Revelation at Sinai was a code of laws intended to govern daily life, and so the primary focus is on people’s actions, how they live together.

Thinking - good, loving thoughts - isn’t enough. A philosophy existing in isolation from our community and our God may be intellectually diverting, but it is fundamentally impoverished. Far richer is a framework of thoughts intended to guide actions. Vastly deeper is a set of principles which govern daily life. Our tradition is a living constitution rather than a philosophical treatise. And when we speak out loud, we manifest a reality - a shared, communal reality - that transcends our own private contemplation. Shared words lead to shared actions. And shared actions are the foundation of a thriving community. The Harrier lives and dies by translating sound into action. Our communities are no less reliant on the same commitment.