Thursday, June 26, 2014
Parshas Chukas: Keeping the Laws of the Torah even if the reason doesn't apply today
10:08 PM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
"And the L-rd spoke to Moshe and Aharon saying, 'This is the ordinance of the Torah which the L-rd has commanded saying 'Speak to the children of Israel that they bring a red heifer without defect , in which there is no blemish , and upon which never came a yoke.'" (Numbers 19:1-2)
The red heifer is the paradigm example of a chok (a mitzvah that we don't understand at all) which we have to keep because it is a direct command from G-d. It is impossible to understand since it makes pure the one that is impure and makes the pure person impure at the same time. Nonetheless, even though it doesn't make sense to us, we still have an obligation to keep it!
In reality though, even though there are plenty of mitzvos that we do understand, the rabbis did not give all the reasons for them. For example, we may understand why a person is not allowed to steal but there may be countless reasons why we shouldn't not just the reason that the Torah have given us.
This is because when the rabbis expounded on what we are allowed or not allowed to do, they did not give all the reasons. This leads to the question that if there is a particular halacha that we must keep but the reason for it does not apply today, do we still have to keep it? There is a difference of opinion on this.
Some rabbinical authorities hold if the reason for a particular halacha does not apply, then we don't have to do it while other rabbinical authorities hold that even if the reason doesn't apply, we still have to keep it because that reason may not be the only reason for that particular law.
How does this apply in our everyday life? If we would look at all of the mitzvos as an ordinance that we didn't understand but rather it is a decree from G-d, we would be less likely to transgress any of the Torah. The reason is that we would keep everything G-d wants us to do without looking for loopholes or rationales as to why we can be lenient or that particular thing does not apply to me.
We are in G-d's army and have to do what He wants whether we understand fully or not. The Torah is everlasting and we need to uphold its high standards that it has for us. At the same time, we need to take stock of our actions and realize that everything in reality is a decree from G-d! If we looked at Torah in such a way, we would look like different people!
Shabbat Shalom
The red heifer is the paradigm example of a chok (a mitzvah that we don't understand at all) which we have to keep because it is a direct command from G-d. It is impossible to understand since it makes pure the one that is impure and makes the pure person impure at the same time. Nonetheless, even though it doesn't make sense to us, we still have an obligation to keep it!
In reality though, even though there are plenty of mitzvos that we do understand, the rabbis did not give all the reasons for them. For example, we may understand why a person is not allowed to steal but there may be countless reasons why we shouldn't not just the reason that the Torah have given us.
This is because when the rabbis expounded on what we are allowed or not allowed to do, they did not give all the reasons. This leads to the question that if there is a particular halacha that we must keep but the reason for it does not apply today, do we still have to keep it? There is a difference of opinion on this.
Some rabbinical authorities hold if the reason for a particular halacha does not apply, then we don't have to do it while other rabbinical authorities hold that even if the reason doesn't apply, we still have to keep it because that reason may not be the only reason for that particular law.
How does this apply in our everyday life? If we would look at all of the mitzvos as an ordinance that we didn't understand but rather it is a decree from G-d, we would be less likely to transgress any of the Torah. The reason is that we would keep everything G-d wants us to do without looking for loopholes or rationales as to why we can be lenient or that particular thing does not apply to me.
We are in G-d's army and have to do what He wants whether we understand fully or not. The Torah is everlasting and we need to uphold its high standards that it has for us. At the same time, we need to take stock of our actions and realize that everything in reality is a decree from G-d! If we looked at Torah in such a way, we would look like different people!
Shabbat Shalom
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment