We Will Do and Then Understand: The Secret to Real Spiritual Growth

Some of us hold a certain view when it comes to observing mitzvot (commandments), which sounds like this: “When I truly feel it in my heart or fully understand in my mind that keeping mitzvot is the right thing, then it’ll happen. Until then, I’ll just live normally.”

Those who think this way believe in God and in the Torah, and even attend synagogue on Shabbat and holidays, but full commitment to mitzvah observance still feels far off. This is because they’re waiting for the right moment to come, convinced that someday, in the distant future, their inner faith will awaken and their heart and mind will be ready to take the leap.

The problem is that “someday in the future” always remains... in the future. Time passes, and before they know it, they’re getting flyers in the mail inviting them to tour retirement homes, while still telling themselves that “one day” it will all happen.

Is it reasonable to expect someone to grow in mitzvah observance before they intellectually understand or emotionally connect to it?

The answer is found in the Torah itself. After the Revelation at Mount Sinai, Moses read aloud to the people the words of God and the laws of the covenant, and the people responded: “All that God has said, we will do and we will hear.”

Why did they say “we will do and we will hear” instead of the more logical “we will hear and we will do”? After all, typically one hears and understands first, then acts.

The Israelites understood that any instruction from God is undoubtedly the right and just path, even if they couldn’t yet grasp it intellectually. They humbled themselves before God and committed to carrying out His will, even when it wasn’t fully understood.

Indeed, some commandments make sense in our minds, such as honoring parents or the prohibition against theft, whereas others, like the red heifer or the law of shatnez (forbidden mixtures), defy human logic.

The greatness of our ancestors was their loyalty and humility before God. The mere fact that the mitzvot came from Him was enough for them to accept and fulfill them, whether they understood them or not. The "we will do and we will hear" approach is what distinguishes the Jewish nation from the other nations of the world. The Torah was offered to the other nations too, but they declined, because they weren’t willing to change. They weren’t prepared to surrender personal desires, break habits, or take on inner transformation.

The Jewish people, on the other hand, accepted the Torah because they recognized that life has a purpose, and to live without that purpose is to live a life without meaning. It could be a comfortable life, filled with pleasures and freedom from limitations. But from a higher perspective, it’s a life of simply “passing the time”, that never reaches its true destination.

When the Jews accepted the Torah, they saw no other option. They committed to fulfilling their mission — the reason their souls were brought into this world.

Indeed, the Torah demands change. It requires us to adopt a different way of life, to examine ourselves, and to live according to the guidance of the Divine. That’s not always easy, but that’s what loyalty to God truly means. It's about doing mitzvot even when we don’t understand them, even when they don’t feel spiritually uplifting, because we know they come from the One who created us, who loves us, and who knows what’s truly good for us.

Of course, it’s important to feel a personal connection to mitzvot, and most mitzvot can indeed become deeply meaningful through study and reflection. However, that connection should not be a condition for fulfilling them.

The fact that these mitzvot were given to us by the Creator of the universe — our King and our loving Father, should be reason enough to commit to them. Our faith in God should motivate us to act, even before we fully understand.

If a doctor prescribes you medication or vitamins essential to your health, you wouldn’t wait to study how they work before taking them but you’d take them out of trust in the doctor, and afterward perhaps learn more. Every day without the prescribed medicine harms the body.

The same is true in the spiritual world — every day a Jew lives without observing mitzvot harms the soul. The damage to the soul is not short-term like bodily damage, but is eternal.

Before you start shopping for a walking cane or selling your house to pay for a senior living facility, it’s time to say “We will do — and then we will understand.”