Robert Pinsky talked to us yesterday, and we in Israel were overwhelmed to find the similarities between American Jewish poetic experiences and Israeli – particularly the understanding of the words of the prayers and the intoxication of the melody.
Near the end, Pinsky connects his haftorah of Isaiah chastising the people for practicing rituals without understanding and believing, preferring that they practice good deeds, and says he chooses to practice good deeds.
Maybe I understood it wrong because it has been in my heart for so long. The phrase, “We will do and we will listen,” which is often repeated as justification for rituals, is one I’ve debated about for decades. And it is reflected in the way I brought up my children.