Listeners have to choose between the two options. They have to decide what to believe. All too often, they are confused. They cannot or do not have the inclination to distinguish between blabber and truth.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that there is a thin line between communication and intentional miscommunication, or between information and disinformation. A single sentence could include communication as well as its opposite, and it is often difficult to determine where one begins and where the other one leaves off.

Why do some people blabber?

Surprisingly, some people blabber because they do not want to sound foolish.

Yes, you would give them good advice. You would tell them to remain silent. However, they do not want others to know that they do not know the answer to the issue at hand. Their foolish drivel stems from a desire to sound knowledgeable. They would prefer to give an answer - any answer – rather than not giving an answer at all.

They never learned that their blabber is serving the purpose that contradicts their desire. They should have been taught that the world needs more people who are straight about things that they know nothing about.

Other people chatter when they have nothing worthwhile to say because they need an audience. It doesn't matter who is listening.

In still other cases, people need to vent their problems. The issue may be of importance or value, but your response as a listener is of little interest to them. You can do little to resolve their problem.

Cacophony

Did you ever observe a group of people who were chattering? Sometimes all of them are talking at the same time. Nobody in the group knows or cares what the others are talking about. They are all talking, but nobody is listening.

Some business meetings are conducted in a similar atmosphere. People may make important statements, but their speech does not relate to that of the previous speaker. They speak, but they do not listen.

Speakers in parliaments such as the Knesset often say their piece and then leave. They may have something important to say, but they don't care what anybody else says.

Members of Knesset often "preach to the choir." They take the podium in order to address their own constituents. They can then proclaim that they "told those guys in the opposition a thing or two."

They didn't.

Perhaps it's a fair game, since they don't listen when the opposition speaks. Everybody talks, nobody listens. The word "parliament" itself means a speaking environment.

Is that any way to run a country?

These same politicians make an effort to show that they "listen" to their constituents before elections. They may even take notes and promise to follow up on the issues. Surprisingly, many of their potential constituents believe that they were listening, and that they care about them.

Telephones, and especially cell phones, have exacerbated this already-problematic situation. People taking a stroll or waiting for a bus may phone a victim in order to pass the time. Their erstwhile friend, who cannot even watch the changing scenery, may have to stop his productive work in order to entertain his bored caller.

Some people leave their radios on during the entire day. They like the background noise, but they do not listen to the broadcast. The content doesn't "speak" to them. They are practicing the fine but questionable art of listening without hearing.

Please listen to me!

We have learned to accept the fact that we often talk without being heard. However, this acceptance is frustrating when we have something important to say. In those cases, we want the audience to listen carefully, and we want our words to have an effect. We may want the listeners to respond or act in a certain way.

When those urgent times arise, we are hurt when nobody cares about our opinion. The audience may not demonstrate that they are ignoring us. They may stare at us – blankly. Experienced speakers realize when their words are having little effect.

Some people like to test their listeners by asking occasional questions. Some people in Israel begin their conversation with the cryptic words, "àúä ùåîò...?" – "So, are you listening?..." The inevitable response may be, "îä ðùîò?" – which can literally be translated as "What have you heard?" (although it is understood to mean, "what's new?")

The misleading and often irrelevant response is, "Don't worry, I hear every word you say."

They don't hear you. You've lost them. Your words have not penetrated their consciousness. Perhaps it is because the meaningless initial patter gives the impression that nothing important will follow.

Consultants sometimes face a similar problem. Out of exasperation, they may explode, "You are paying me to listen to what I have to say. It's your money. I have something valuable to tell you. Please listen to what I have to say. I want to help you."

But the clients are not listening.

Teachers may tell their classes, "I worked hard to prepare a nice lesson. I have interesting and important things to tell you. This material will help you answer the questions on tomorrow's test. Please listen to what I have to say, and then you will do well. You'll be able to show your parents a good mark on the test and on your report card. Please listen."

But the children do not even hear you begging them to listen.

In desperation, you may want to communicate with some people in a different form. You may want to write down the information for them. You might want to send them a fax or an email.

Don't bother. You have already tried to get their attention. If your face-to-face approach didn't work, then another form of communication is not likely to improve the situation. If you're not getting through, then you're not getting through.

The Israelites did listen

The Israelites said, "We will do and we will hear," when they were offered the Torah. However, did they really listen?

Four weekly portions in the book of Exodus give us the answer. Two of them offer the instructions for constructing the Mishkan – the predecessor to the first Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Two other portions repeat the process, with a description of its implementation.

Certain sections in those portions repeat the entire process almost verbatim, with one exciting, but nearly-overlooked difference. Nearly each paragraph ends with the repeated statement that the Israelites did the work, exactly as they were told.

Various commentators implied the reason for this unusual verbiage in an otherwise taciturn Torah.

Many commentators offer only one explanation to this unusual phenomenon. G-d gave the instructions for building the Mishkan to Moses, who then spoke to the assembled Israelites. They then built the Mishkan according to plan.

That's more exciting than it seems. Those Israelites followed every instruction – properly, precisely, and completely. Everything. They listened to the instructions the first time, and then they did the work right.

This fact becomes more exciting when we realize that G-d was not presenting a very fascinating lesson. It's hard to get excited about the detailed construction plans for a temporary Mishkan. Yet, the Israelites listened carefully, and built it correctly, according to Divine plans – after listening the first time.

That's not all. Let's recall the larger context of these instructions. The Israelites had recently built two large, elaborate cities in Egypt - Pitom and Ramses. The construction of the temporary Mishkan was certainly trivial compared to their previous work. We might have forgiven the Israelites for yawning through extensive details about methods for attaching pegs, bars, and loops for a single building.

But they didn't yawn. Everybody was enraptured by G-d's lengthy lecture. They then did exactly as they were told, without deviation. Moses spoke to the Israelites about the construction only once, but during that time he communicated G-d's important message successfully. They listened to every word. One checklist item after another got ticked off, sequentially.

Those repeated portions at the end of Exodus have suddenly become quite interesting and unusual, indeed.

Communication is important!

Proper communication may be one of the most important issues facing mankind today. That's why I wrote this article. I wanted to make sure that many people would read it – as many as possible.

You can help by making sure that you care.

Oh, I see that distant look on your face.

You don't really know what I wrote here, do you?

You haven't been reading this carefully, have you?

Oh, well.