In this week’s Torah portion, we learn the damage caused by jumping to hasty conclusions. The Israelites were riding high. G-d had taken them out of slavery from Egypt, and had given them the most precious gift imaginable, the Torah, on Mount Sinai, amidst great miracles.
During this incredible event, when Moses came down from the mountain with the tablets of the Ten Commandments, he found the people dancing around the image of a golden calf! It was almost as if they had forgotten about Moses, and the Torah G-d had just given them. How could this have possibly happened?
Before he went up on the mountain, Moses told the people that he would be coming down 40 days later. But they got the math wrong, and Moses didn’t return when they expected. Instead of reacting calmly, the people quickly jumped to the conclusion that Moses had died, or abandoned them. They panicked and built the Golden Calf.
To quote Mitchell’s d’var (bar mitzvah, Oct 2014): “The Jewish people made a mistake with the golden calf. “Moses spoke with G-d, pleading on their behalf and convinced G-d to give the Israelites a second chance. That second chance came with a price – the people would wander in the desert for 40 years. Their children and grandchildren would go into the Promised Land, but they would not. They would live and die in the desert.
“In conclusion, everything has a price, including mistakes. Even if you get a second chance, you have to pay for it.”
So Judaism teaches us, as we teach our Scouts: Whatever the situation, it always helps to stay calm, to think things through, and not jump to conclusions – since those conclusions are often incorrect.
Q. Why do you think people tend to draw hasty conclusions about things?
A. There is a tendency within people to feel that they must respond immediately to every situation that comes their way. Even to pause for a few seconds when asked a complicated question feels uncomfortable. (Try it.) But this is a mistake, as the repercussions of responding inappropriately or reaching a false conclusion are often much more costly than the few seconds of discomfort to get something right. One mark of a wise man is that he thinks before he acts.
Q. Is it ever appropriate to be hasty?
A. Yes, but at its proper time. The first stage of any decision is to clearly think a situation through, carefully weigh the facts, and arrive at a conclusion about the proper action to take. This stage should never be rushed. However the second stage, where we put our plan into action, should be done confidently and without delay. At this stage hesitation can reduce our level of effectiveness.
Every synagogue is a beit tefillah, a beit midrash, and a beit Knesset: a house of prayer, of study, and of assembly. We are here on this Sabbath to celebrate a movement that combines all three: Scouting.
Scouting, Judaism, and I would hope all religions appeal to the strengths of human beings – not to their weaknesses. It appeals to their hope – not their fear.
One thing we are celebrating at this service is the idea in Scouting that everyone has capabilities; our task is finding a way of drawing them out. We can then feel good about what we do and our ability to do it. Then, we can make a difference in our own world and, perhaps begin to make a difference in the larger world. As I recall from previous Scout Shabbats, there is a Girl Scout song about making a difference.
Scouting, as all teaching should do, educates for responsibility. Even G-d taught this way. Moses and David, for example, were shepherds. Why? Because G-d was concerned with giving them small tasks; by doing those tasks, they would learn to be responsible. They would learn to do things right, and they would learn to complete their tasks. Small tasks evolved into greater ones. Eventually, Moses led an entire people out of slavery in Egypt. David became king over Israel.
Educating for, encouraging, and expecting responsibility is one of the great achievements that any good educator strives for. It’s so easy to just “take over.” I have seen this many times and my boys will tell you I am guilty of this, as well. (BTW, guys, I’m sorry.) The better way is to allow mistakes, to experience, to encourage experimentation. We call this controlled failure. You can begin to control the smaller things. You build confidence, and move on to accomplish larger things. We often tell our children what to think, what to do, and how to act. We don’t encourage them to experience their own life and take on the tasks for themselves. Then, at a certain age, we say “you’re on your own now.”
How do we educate for responsibility? We do it as Scouts have done for years. When a Scout has learned something, he knows he’s learned it! He’s told what he’ll be learning, how it’s done, and that he has actually learned it… so he can use it. He begins to feel that the knowledge has some application to the world in which we live. If we don’t get that, what good is it?
This is the EDGE method. You’re told what your goal is, and how to reach that goal. Then you are recognized for achieving that goal. You think, “Well, I’ve gone one step further toward knowing and being and doing,” which is wonderful. This is a technique we could incorporate in any type of education.
Another aspect of Scouting I really like is that the group supports the individual. Individuality is not discouraged. We are dedicated to the group, but not lost in it. This is a vital balance: each person is important and feels that he or she contributes to the whole, which in turn nourishes the parts. This balance is essential to feeling good about what you do.
A third feature of Scouting is how we strive for no negative criticism; our goal is positive reinforcement. We reinforce the good. When someone does something not so good, we dwell on the positive, rather than the negative. Ben Azzai once asked, “Who is wise?” and answered by saying, “He who can learn from everyone and everything.” That, truly, is wisdom.
Fourth, I really like that Scouting tries to direct ambition. Scouting recognizes that ambition is necessary. Without ambition, no one would achieve anything. One must be clear, however, of the difference between selfish ambition and responsible ambition. Responsible ambition is wanting and being and achieving so you can help others. One great thing about Scouting – about any organization, I hope – is how the whole group feels pride when an individual receives and honor. Everybody shares in that award or honor. In a sense, the whole group is being honored. In this way, we demonstrate community is very important.
Finally, I think that Scouting is important because its members are interested in educating young people for change, yet with a sense of permanence. Change, for humanity to progress, is absolutely necessary. Heraclitus once said, “Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.”
There has got to be some balance between this drive to go forward and our concern, our cautiousness, which says wait, let’s be clear that we are going in the right direction. Scouting advocates this balance. There is plenty of experimentation, but there is always the context, that of tradition, of individuals present who – even though sometimes younger or with a lower rank – have had more experience and thus can direct and guide and teach. These are the people who can teach us, as we learned in this week’s Torah portion, not to make hasty decisions. This is all incredibly important.
Today, as always, it is important to take these values and to take these basic methods that the Boy Scouts of America use and to apply them – wherever you teach.
Scouting has given our children an opportunity to feel useful, to feel valued and to feel needed. It has presented us with a teaching model, a model of educating for responsibility, a model for encouraging all that is best in our world. If only we had more Scouts and if only we made better use of the Scouting program, I think this world would be a much, much better place in which to live.
Shabbat Shalom
David Kanter gave this d’var at the Scout Shabbat service on Friday, Feb 26.