Parshat Chukas 5778
Rabbi Jablinowitz
This week's parsha begins with the laws of the Parah Adumah and is introduced with the words Zos Chukas HaTorah. Rashi teaches on the first pasuk that the reason the parsha begins with the words Zos Chukas HaTorah and not with the words Zos HaTorah is to emphasize the fact that these laws are a chok and a gezeirah before Hashem. The mitzvah itself seems to be contradictory; the pure who are dealing with the ashes of the Parah Adumah become impure and the impure becomes pure as a result of being sprinkled with the ashes. Rashi says that since the nations of the world and the Satan (the yetzer hara) bother Bnei Yisrael and say why are you keeping these mitzvos, there is no reason and rational basis for them, Hashem states, Zos Chukas HaTorah, it's a gezeirah before me, you have no right to question it.
The Sfas Emes asks, why does the Chazal Rashi quotes state Lefi She'HaSatan V'Umos Ha'Olam Monin es Yisrael etc., since the nations of the world and one's yetzer hara ask him why he is keeping such a mitzvah the Torah calls it a chok? If one doesn't understand the reason, it's a chok; what do I care if the nations of the world poke fun at Am Yisrael? It's a Chok because its reason can't be understood. What is Rashi adding by stating that the nations of the world and one's yetzer hara give him a hard time about this mitzvah?
The Sfas Emes answers that it is in fact possible to reach some level of understanding of the meaning of the mitzvah of Parah Adumah. However, this is only possible after performing the mitzvah. One needs to perform mitzvos and purify his body first and then as a more spiritual being he will be able to develop an understanding of the meaning of the mitzvos, including an esoteric mitzvah like Parah Adumah.
This is why Rashi begins with the words Lefi She'HaSatan V'Umos Ha'Olam Monin es Yisrael. The nations of the world and one's yetzer hara work on a totally different plane. In the physical world, one doesn't act unless he decides that he has reason to act. First there is a desire and an understanding of a compelling reason to act, and then the desire is followed by an action. If one doesn't have a desire or a clear understanding of why he needs to act, he simply won't.
But in the world of Torah and mitzvos, one acts without understanding the reason for the mitzvos. One acts even if he has no interest. One acts purely as a result of "Gezeirah He Milfanai"; it is a decree from Hashem. And if one continues to fulfill the mitzvos, he eventually will reach a level of understanding. One needs to be connected and involved with mitzvos in order to understand them. One can't sit back and understand mitzvos on his own without being involved first in mitzvos. He must first purify himself and become less of a physical being and become closer to Hashem in order to attain an understanding of the meaning of mitzvos. And this is in contradistinction to the physical world where action must be preceded first by a desire and an interest to act.
This unique process of action in the realm of Torah was taught to us by Bnei Yisrael at Har Sinai. When they said Na'aseh V'Nishma, they meant to express the notion that one must first act and be involved in mitzvos before he can understand them. It wasn't only an unconditional acceptance of the mitzvos by Bnei Yisrael. It was a lesson for generations for how one must relate to the mitzvos; the more we fulfill them, the greater our ability to understand them, including the Zos Chukas HaTorah of Parah Adumah.
Good Shabbos
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