I Heard It Through the Grapevine

Listening Deeper: Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and Parashat Ki Tetze

Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” is a soul classic filled with anguish and suspicion. Its iconic line—“I bet you’re wondering how I knew…”—drops us into a world of indirect communication, where truth arrives too late, and trust has already eroded. Instead of hearing the truth firsthand, the singer learns of betrayal secondhand, highlighting the emotional cost of silence, avoidance, and disconnection.

This painful absence of clear communication stands in stark contrast to the proactive spirit of Na’aseh V’Nishma—“We will do, and we will hear.” The Israelites’ declaration at Sinai is not about passive listening; it’s about acting with moral conviction, even before all the details are clear. Our theme this year, Embracing Action, Learning through Listening, invites us to move through the world with that same confidence: to begin by doing what’s right, even before we fully understand every nuance. We trust that clarity and meaning will emerge as we engage.

Parashat Ki Tetze, with its rich tapestry of mitzvot, embodies this ethic. With more commandments than any other parasha, it reads like a call to action. We are instructed to return lost objects, protect the vulnerable, pay fair wages, and show compassion to animals. Many of these mitzvot don’t come with explanations—they come with imperatives. The Torah assumes that when we act justly, understanding will follow. We don’t need to wait until we “feel” empathetic to help our neighbor. We help, and the heart learns.

Marvin Gaye’s song reminds us of the breakdown that occurs when people delay truth, when they avoid the difficult conversations, or wait for the “right time” to listen. By contrast, Na’aseh V’Nishma urges us to act now, to lean into our obligations first—and then to listen, reflect, and refine.

We can’t build trust “through the grapevine.” We build it by showing up, by doing what’s right, and by learning to listen deeply along the way.