Parshas Chukas
Do We Really Know What We Are Talking About?
“This is the statute of the Torah which Hashem commanded… take a red, perfect cow without a blemish, upon which no yoke was laid.” (Bamidbar 19:2)
There is a mitzvah from the Torah to sprinkle the ashes of parah aduma, a red cow, on a person who became ritually impure. Rashi (Bamidbar 19:2) says that the Torah calls this mitzvah a chok, a decree, which is a mitzvah that is beyond human understanding.
The Torah calls it a chok, says Rashi, because it has an inherent contradiction. How can the same object purify those who are ritually impure yet make the ritually pure people, who are involved in the purifying process, tamei, impure? The answer is that it is a decree from Hashem, and we accept Hashem’s authority even though we do not understand it.
Although this mitzvah may appear illogical, the fact that it emanates from Hashem is reason enough to oblige us to fulfill it. It is an enactment from Hashem, and we have no right to ignore it. A chok reminds us that we never fully understand any other mitzvah of the Torah. Even Shlomo HaMelech, the wisest of all men, who knew the deepest secrets of the Torah, could not fully understand the mitzvah of para aduma. That led Shlomo to realize that understanding of all the other mitzvos was also beyond him, as all mitzvos are somehow interconnected. (Beis HaLevi)
Although we do not know the true, hidden reasons for any of the mitzvos, the reasons that are given for most of the mitzvos, make it easier for us to observe those mitzvos.
The Torah says, “This is the statute of the Torah which Hashem commanded… take a red, perfect cow without a blemish, upon which no yoke was laid.” (Bamidbar 19:2)
The Beis HaLevi quotes a Midrash (Bamidbar Rabba 19:2) which Rashi also quotes. The Midrash says that the para aduma somehow atones for the sin of the golden calf. “Why are all the korbanos from male animals while the red cow is a female?” The Midrash answers this question with a parable. It can be compared to a king’s servant who has an infant son. The child defiled the king’s palace. The king says, “Let the mother come and clean up her son’s dirt.” Similarly, since the Jewish People became defiled by a calf (by the sin of the golden calf), let its mother (a cow) come and atone for it. Rashi then gives several specific details of the laws of the red cow, showing how each one corresponds to a detail of the sin of the gold calf. Such as Its requirement to be red, without blemish, never to have had a yoke on it, etc….
The Beis HaLevi asks, if the para aduma is an atonement for the sin of the golden calf then how can the Torah call it a chok, a mitzvah beyond human understanding? Furthermore, the mitzvah of para aduma is one mitzvah. Why does the Torah say that this is the “chok of the Torah” instead of saying that this is the chok of the para aduma? Why does the Torah make it sound as if para aduma is all the Torah?
The Beis Halevi explains the roots of the sin of the golden calf. The mitzvos that we perform make a positive impact on the higher, spiritual realms. Then, blessings descend to our world. When the Jews thought that Moshe had died, they wanted a new way of connecting with Hashem. Their intentions were pure because they wanted Hashem’s presence to dwell with them. They erred because they attempted to bring down Hashem’s Holy Presence in a way which Hashem did not instruct, using only their own intelligence and judgement to do so.
When the Torah discusses the building of the Mishkan (Parshas Pekudei), as each part of the Mishkan was made, the Torah keeps repeating the phrase “as Hashem commanded”. The Sages say that the building of the Mishkan atoned for the sin of the golden calf. Now we can understand why that was so. After the sin of the golden calf, the people learned to minimize relying on their own intelligence and judgement. By building every part of the Mishkan “as Hashem commanded” they demonstrated their realization that everything had to come from Hashem and not from their own intelligence. That rectified their sin with the golden calf.
If a person relies on his own intelligence when performing the mitzvos, he may come to add to or subtract from the mitzvos. The mitzvah of the para aduma serves as a strong reminder that we cannot totally understand the reason for any mitzvah. Now we can understand why the mitzvah of para aduma is called the chok of the Torah. It protects us from erring in a way that can affect the fulfillment of all our mitzvos. It does so by helping us understand that we do all the mitzvos because Hashem commanded regardless of whether or not we understand the reason for them.
Why did Hashem specifically pick this mitzvah of the para aduma to teach us this lesson, as opposed to teaching it with another mitzvah? Hashem could have hidden the reasoning of a different mitzvah instead. The reason is that the details of the laws of the para aduma closely resemble the sin of the golden calf. Thus, the fact that the Midrash cites the parallels between the sin of the golden calf and the mitzvah of the para aduma is not giving a reason for the mitzvah of para aduma. Rather it is clarifying why this mitzvah was chosen as a means, to teach this lesson.
We don’t understand the true reasons for the mitzvos.
We keep all the mitzvos because they are G-D given!
(Based on Talelei Oros by Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rubin)
