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Video class September 17, 2026 40 min

Why Judaism Puts Doing Before Understanding

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Welcome to Ethics of Our Fathers: Chapter 3, Mishna 17 (Part III) — the tree with many branches and few roots, and the power of Yom Kippur

If you only do what you understand, will your Judaism survive the first strong wind? Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah says no, and his parable flips the way most of us think about knowledge and action.

The Mishna compares a person whose wisdom exceeds his deeds to a tree with many branches and few roots: impressive to look at, but the first wind uproots it. You would expect wisdom to be the roots and deeds the branches. The Mishna says the opposite. Action is the foundation; understanding grows out of it.

Rabbi Greenberg brings the Chassid Yavetz, who saw during the Spanish expulsion that simple Jews held on to their faith more steadfastly than the intellectual elite, and Rabbi Meir Lehmann’s commentary on Avot, built on the central thesis of Sefer HaChinuch: your actions shape your heart. Two stories bring it home: the Rebbe’s one-line advice to a lonely woman, and the Alter Rebbe’s visit to the town miser. The class then turns to Yom Kippur: why Jewish holidays are re-experienced rather than commemorated, what actually happened on the first Yom Kippur, and how its five prayers correspond to the five levels of the soul.

🔎 In this video we explore: • Why the Mishna makes deeds the roots and wisdom the branches • Na’aseh v’nishma, and why we trust the doctor and the pilot without a lecture • The Chassid Yavetz on who stayed loyal during the Spanish expulsion • Sefer HaChinuch’s “behaviorist” thesis: actions fashion beliefs • The Rebbe’s advice: bring water to the table • The Alter Rebbe and the rich miser’s rusty copper coin • Why Chanukah only became a holiday a year later • The golden calf, the second tablets, and the five levels of the soul unlocked at Neilah

💡 Key Insights:

  • Deeds limited to what you understand won’t endure; commitment to action is the root.
  • Behavior changes character gradually. It’s not a switch.
  • Yom Kippur is the day of forgiveness: Moshe brought down the second tablets 120 days after Shavuot.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Welcome — Pirkei Avot 3:17, Part III 01:02 Which is the most important Jewish holiday? 02:00 Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah: you can’t have one without the other 03:19 The tree with many branches and few roots 04:19 When your deeds only go as far as your understanding 05:30 Why are deeds the roots and wisdom the branches? 06:47 Na’aseh v’nishma: the doctor, the pilot and trust 10:06 The Chassid Yavetz: simple Jews and the Spanish expulsion 11:35 Rabbi Meir Lehmann & Sefer HaChinuch: action creates understanding 13:59 Q&A: Women’s mitzvot and the acronym CHANA 16:32 The Rebbe’s advice: bring water to the table 17:59 The Alter Rebbe and the rich miser’s copper coin 21:29 Why change takes time — it’s not a switch 23:06 The essence of Judaism is action 23:38 Holidays aren’t commemorated — they’re re-experienced 24:51 Why Chanukah became a holiday only a year later 26:15 What happened on Yom Kippur: the golden calf and the second tablets 30:12 Eating on Yom Kippur at the First Temple’s dedication 32:35 Yom Kippur as a wedding day 33:01 Five prayers, five levels of the soul 35:48 Story: “You have a defective soul” 38:37 Plugging in to Yom Kippur’s energy 39:19 Gmar Chatima Tova

🙏 If this shiur gave you something to act on, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who’s been waiting to “feel it” before starting. Tell us in the comments: what’s one action that changed how you feel about something?

📚 Sources discussed: Pirkei Avot 3:17 (Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah); Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa (earlier in Pirkei Avot ch. 3); Na’aseh v’nishma; the Chassid Yavetz (Rabbi Yosef Yavetz); Rabbi Meir Lehmann’s commentary on Avot; Sefer HaChinuch (attributed to Rabbi Aharon HaLevi of Barcelona); the Lubavitcher Rebbe; the Alter Rebbe; Rashi (the three periods of 40 days); the Talmud (Chanukah’s establishment; the First Temple’s dedication; Yom Kippur as a wedding day); Midrash and Zohar (nefesh, ruach, neshama, chaya, yechida); the Arizal; Eleh Ezkerah

#PirkeiAvot #EthicsOfOurFathers #NaasehVnishma #SeferHaChinuch #AlterRebbe #YomKippur #JewishWisdom #TorahStudy #RabbiGreenberg

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