* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
Once I gave a lecture to some students and at the end one of them asked: “All the lecturers tell us to think outside the box. Did someone tell all of you to say that? I am beginning to think that it would be much more original to think inside the box.” He made an intriguing point. It’s well and good that we have a desire to bring something new to everything we do, but it sometimes seems that we are living at a time when there is an endless, exaggerated demand to innovate, to refresh, to reset. What about simply doing what needs to be done?
In this week’s Torah portion, Aharon HaKohen receives a command to light the menorah in the Mishkan. “And he did so,” is all the Torah has to say about Aharon’s response. And Rashi elucidates the meaning behind this response as follows: “This shows Aharon’s virtue, that he did not deviate (from God’s command).”
Acting in such a manner cannot be taken for granted and it deserves to be praised: Aharon neither added to nor took anything away from God’s command. He did not innovate with a creative response, but just did as he was told. “And he did so.” With simplicity, wholeheartedness, obedience, and devotion. Note that the first sin in the Garden of Eden — eating the forbidden fruit — occurred because of a failure to be precise in following God’s instructions.
Could adhering to our “gray” routine be the greatest innovation? Is performing a mitzvah consistently not enough of a spiritual challenge? And how many tasks await us in life that need to be completed without complaint? Everyone is welcome to think of those in their circle who deserve praise for never deviating from the path of doing what needs to be one.
