Rashi offers an amazing insight (as usual) on this week’s parsha. He questions why there are so many breaks in the Torah. If you look closely at a Torah scroll, you will see in each column that the words are grouped in paragraph form. Rashi asks why we need to start new paragraphs instead of just writing them straight as one long paragraph. Rashi’s answer is that these breaks were when G-d took a break when he was speaking to Moshe. G-d taught Moshe a certain amount and then took a break to let it sink in. He took a breather to let Moshe understand what he had just learned. We have these breaks to remind us that we cannot learn everything in one shot. We need to take breaks and review what we learn. Or in other words, we need to stop and think.

This is a huge problem in our generation. When is the last time you sat in complete silence and just thought? We wake up, start running and don’t stop until the very end of the day. We always need to be doing something. Rav Yissochar Frand points out that it used to be that people would at least think during their ride in the car, but this is no longer true. We need to listen to talk radio or, those of us who are better, listen to Torah tapes/CDs/MP3s. I am not saying we should not listen to these Torah tapes, but we also need time to just sit in silence and think. A few years ago when I was visiting Walt Disney World, I noticed that even there, people do not want to think. All of the rides which normally have longer lines have something to look at or listen to while you are waiting on the line. They have electronical devices and animatronics doing things to keep you focused on something. The newer rides have pre-ride videos which cut down the waiting time and thinking time. Our generation is one that does not want to think.

Moshe was not a simple person. He was one of the wisest people that ever lived and our greatest leader. If G-d felt Moshe needed time to think about what was being said to him, certainly we, who are on a much lower level, need a little time to think. Even if it is only a few minutes a day, it is worth taking some time and thinking. Turn off the radio, cell phone, and computer and review your life with yourself.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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