EXOD911 [M]any Jewish commentaries believe that it is the actions that help to formulate beliefs, and not vice versa. Maimonides Hilchot De'ot 1:7 asks how can a person train himself to internalize the proper Jewish values, ideas about God and Judaism, and he answers that through repeated actions and practice of reflecting these ideas and values, a person will come to internalize the beliefs. This order of action-mitzvot to be followed by the reasoning can be found in the Bible at the inception of the Jewish people's acceptance of the Torah from God. After the Ten Sayings (Commandments) were given, the people respond with the words "Naaseh Venishma," "we will do and then we will understand" [this verse]. Thus, the covenant of the Jewish people with God involves first the performance of mitzvot and then their understanding of the meaning of these commandments. Of course, both are significant and necessary to a Jew's full development, but the order must be performance first followed by understanding the reasons. This is also logical from a religious perspective. A person who says "I will not do any mitzvah until I understand it fully" is putting his or her judgment on a higher plane than God's judgment. One cannot truly believe in God and, at the same time, believe that man's ability is superior to His ability in judging right and wrong, in general, and what the proper specific path of action for that individual should be. A believing person must follow and perform God's commands first before understanding their meaning, since God knows what is better for man then man knows himself. Man naturally seeks to find meaning, but it should not be a condition to action. This is the intention of "we will do and then we will understand." This approach--action-mitzvot first, followed by a quest for understanding of meaning--is also a logical path in life. If a person decides to perform mitzvot only after he or she has found their true meaning, then it may take an entire lifetime of searching and maturation until he or she finally decides, late in life, that the Torah and its mitzvot have the validity and meaning searched for and should be performed in earnest. By that time, a person may have wasted his or her lifetime and will have lost years of potential action-mitzvot in that search. Therefore, Judaism encourages the Jew to continue to perform mitzvot even as he or she has doubts about life's meaning and the significance of individual commandments. Questioning while continuing to perform is a legitimate Jewish endeavor [See, Lamm, Faith and Doubt, New York: Ktav, 1971), pp. 24-27] and helps to give meaning to a person's entire life once the person has come to appreciate Torah and mitzvot.