Chukas

The sicha for parshas Chukas is in Vol. XVIII of Likkutei Sichos.

It says in the Midrash on the posuk “ zos chukas haTorah” that there are four mitzvahs that the yetzer hara resists, because they are describes as a “chok” a commandment that has no rational explanation. These four mitzvahs are marrying the widowed wife of a brother who did not have any children that, on the one hand, the Torah tells us that we are not allowed to marry a sister-in-law, even after the brother passes away, if the brother had children. But if the brother didn’t have children, then it is a mitzvah for a man to marry his sister-in-law. So how can it be on the one hand a sin, and on the other hand, a mitzvah? It is one of the mitzvahs that we can’t explain.

The next mitzvah is the mixing of wool and linen. First we are told that we are not allowed to mix wool and linen together, it is shaatnez, and then we are told to put the linen into the wool of the tzitzis. So it is a sin and a mitzvah at the same time. The third mitzvah is the goat that was sent away to Azazel on Yom Kippur. The person who took the goat became unclean, and by doing it, he brought cleanliness, forgiveness to all the people. So does it bring tumah or taharas? The same is true for parah adumah, the person who prepares the ashes of the red heifer becomes unclean and then sprinkling these ashes on the unclean person make the unclean person clean. So these contradictions make the mitzvah not understandable, and the yetzer hara has a hard time with it.

We find that Shlomo Hamelech says, on all the mitzvahs I have found an explanation, except the mitzvah of parah adumah. Only the mitzvah of parah adumah remained a mystery to Shlomo Hamelech, not the other three that the Midrash mentions even though they are all called chukim.

According to this the chuka of parah adumah is different from all other chukim. By the parah adumah is says, zos chukas haTorah, that this is the chok of Torah, this is the irrational commandment of Torah, this and no other because this chok is more of a chok than all the others, this is the true chok, completely beyond human comprehension, more so than the other chukim. However the Midrash says that G-d explained to Moshe the meaning, the reason and the rationale of the parah adumah, “to you I will reveal the reason, G-d said”. From this it is obvious that there is an explanation for the parah adumah.

So how is it that Shlomo Hamelech, who was the smartest of all people, couldn’t find the explanation that obviously exists, and why didn’t Moshe, who did know the reason, reveal it and share it with others, as he shared all the other parts of Torah that were given to him as a gift and yet he shared it? Moshe was told not to share it because it is beyond human comprehension so even if he tried to reveal the reason to others, they would not be able to understand. And that is what it says about the parah adumah, “chuka he, gezara gazarti,” G-d says, this is a chok, it is a decree and no created being can understand My decrees. It is beyond comprehension, which is why Shlomo Hamelech, even though he was the smartest of all people, could not find the reason.

And even Moshe Rabbeinu who was the most perfect of human beings, could not on his own, ever have come to understand the mitzvah. It had to be given from above, G-d had to reveal it to him, because it is a Divine reason, not a human one. And so G-d says to him, to you I will reveal the reason of the parah adumah, even though a created being on his own could never come to this. The question is since Moshe did in the end understand the reason, why didn’t he reveal it to others? And why couldn’t G-d reveal to others the same way He revealed it to Moshe?

So there must be a very deep reason for not revealing this Divine explanation for the mitzvah of parah adumah. It is known in the explanation of “zos chukas haTorah” that the Torah is referring to the mitzvah of the red heifer and yet it uses the term “chukas haTorah” this is the decree of the Torah, rather than saying this is the decree of the red heifer. It seems to be saying that there is an element of chok, an element of decree to the entire Torah, that every mitzvah in essence is really a chok, even those mitzvahs that have an explanation, that have a rationale. In essence it is really a decree from G-d and that is why we should fulfill even the rational mitzvahs. So that is why is says “zos chukas haTorah” that from this commandment we can see that not only is this particular mitzvah a decree beyond human comprehension, but all the mitzvahs of Torah are really in essence a decree above and beyond human comprehension.

And when it comes to doing the mitzvahs even the mitzvahs that makes sense and are rational we should do them because G-d decreed it and not because of the appeal that it has to our intelligence. The same must also be true with the Torah itself, not only all the mitzvahs of Torah. Although we study Torah and seem to understand what it says, we have to be aware that beyond what we comprehend in Torah, there is the decree part of Torah, the Divine part of Torah that is beyond our comprehension, so that Torah is in essence above and beyond human reasoning.

That is why the posuk says “zos chukas haTorah” that although in Torah there are many subjects, some of them understandable and logical, yet we are told here that beyond that every part of Torah is essence beyond understanding and is in fact a chok. And not only it is a chok like other chukim of Torah, but it is a chok like this chok, the chok of the red heifer, the true chok, that which is truly beyond human comprehension, even beyond the comprehension of Moshe Rabbeinu and Shlomo Hamelech.

And that is why it is necessary that at least one mitzvah should remain on the level of chuka without giving it any rationale whatsoever because in essence, even those mitzvahs which have a rationale are really chukim, are really above human understanding. Their true reason, the desire that G-d has for them is truly beyond the reason that Torah gives for them. But we may not recognize that because of the reason that does exists. So there has to be one mitzvah for which no reason is given so that we see that mitzvah in its purest form, that of the chok, a pure decree from G-d, His will without any garments concealing it.

If all mitzvahs came down to the level of understanding and were given some rationale by Torah, then we could make the mistake of thinking that they are truly rational and reasonable and that there is nothing more to Torah than what the eye sees. So there will be no possibility for mesiras nefesh for Torah, because human intelligence does not approve of mesiras nefesh – human intelligence wants everything to make sense – it wants everything to come down to our level, rather than giving ourselves away, giving up our comfort in mesiras nefesh for what G-d wants.

If every mitzvah and all of Torah was seen as rational, Ramban says that one could end up being “naval b’reshus haTorah”, someone who rationalizes his negative behavior according to Torah because since everything depends on human intelligence and there is nothing beyond that to dictate our behavior, it is possible to become even within a Torah framework  “naval b’reshus haTorah” a person vulgar and debased in his understanding of Torah, and then find rationalization   and justifications and explanations for his negative, immoral behavior in Torah arguments.

There is the expression in the Mishnah “yagita u’matzasa” if you strive, you will find, that relates to a level of Torah that you have to find, it is not something that the mind is capable of understanding. It is like a find, something that you come across unexpectedly, that you didn’t work for or prepare for, but it is given to you from above. The way to get to that part of Torah that is a find, you have to have “yagita” - you have to strive. If you don’t strive to go out of your way to rise above yourself then you will never come across that part of Torah that is greater than the human condition that can be called refined. Only when a person goes beyond his habits, his natural inclination and tendencies, where he studies Torah even in those areas that he is not naturally inclined but because it is Torah, and he studies it diligently, only then can he find that part of Torah that is a true find.

So there is a part of Torah that is beyond human rationale, beyond the limits of the human condition and the inner part of the Jew is also that way. There is a part of the Jew that is greater than the human condition and it is that part of him that makes contact with the part of Torah that is higher than human intelligence. Then he reaches the level of ultimate knowledge, which is where I come to the recognition of that which I do not know.

Now we have the opposite question.

Since Moshe Rabbeinu was the one to whom G-d revealed the reason for parah adumah, we might think that Moshe was lacking the opportunities for mesiras nefesh, since for Moshe, every mitzvah made sense, there was no room for him to exercise the mesiras nefesh, to rise above the human condition in his study of Torah or his performance of mitzvahs. It can’t be that G-d would give Moshe a gift and thereby take away from him such an essential quality in the avodah of Torah and mitzvahs.

To understand this, we have to explain another Midrash.

The Midrash says that when Moshe was told about the tumah from coming into contact with a dead body he said to G-d, if a person becomes tameh this way how will he ever become clean, how will he be purified? G-d didn’t answer him at that time, and Moshe’s face turned white and even later when G-d told to him about the ashes of the red heifer, that purifies a person comes in contact with a dead body, even then Moshe asked, and will this actually bring purity?

What was it that was so difficult for Moshe in regard to cleansing the tumah from contact with a dead body? There are greater forms of tumah it would seem. The person who came in contact with the dead body is not allowed to be in the camp of the Levites where the Mishkan was, but a metzora, a leprous person could not be even in the camp of the Israelites, he had to be outside of all Jewish settlements. And yet Moshe didn’t ask how will a person like this ever become purified. But when he heard a person could become tameh by coming in contact with a dead person, here he couldn’t understand how this would ever get cleansed.

What was so difficult for Moshe? The Rebbe says, all other tumah comes when the body is alive, and contains a soul. Then when the body comes in contact with something unclean, it becomes tameh. But since it still has a neshama, and that neshama is a “helek Elokai mimal mamush” an actual little piece of G-d and of course G-d can’t be affected by tumah, uncleanliness, so we can understand how the power of his neshama, which never was affected by the tumah, can eventually heal and purify the body through mikva and so on, and cleanse it of its unholiness.

But when it comes to the tumah of a dead body, here the tumah comes from the fact that there is no soul, no life - the neshama has separated itself from the body and what is left is merely dust to dust, ashes to ashes. So here Moshe’s question was how is someone purified on that level? Since he has lost all contact with his neshama, where will the purification come from? On a deeper level, the idea of tumah is not some physical dirt that has to be washed off the body. It means a spiritual blemish in the person, which weakens his dveikus, his connection to G-d. And it is through the connection to G-d and through the oneness with G-d that we receive our life as it says, “you are connected to G-d, your G-d, therefore you are all alive today”. Our life comes from being connected to G-d. But when a Jew sins and through this his connection to G-d becomes weakened, then the life becomes weakened and he becomes tameh.

In this there are many forms of degrees of tumah, of disconnectedness, of lifelessness. And each of them has its own form of correction or purification. But as long as there is still a devotion, a desire, a connectedness, an identification with G-dliness, then there is reason to hope that this will be healed. But when a person loses all feeling, all connectedness, all desire for G-dliness then the tumah is so complete that we don’t know how this will ever get fixed. And that is called tumas mes, the tumah of a dead body. It is not only the sin that was committed but also the deadness, the lack of life, the lack of connection to one’s Jewishness, to one’s G-dliness.

And that is why Moshe’s face fell; he was confounded by this kind of tumah. How can a person who has severed his connection to G-d so completely, how can he come back, how can he regain his connection to G-d.

So in response to this, G-d said “zos chukas haTorah” this is the chuka, the decrees of the Torah, that the Torah has the power of healing, even when the body has lost its neshama and therefore its Torah and mitzvahs are suffering. Since, even while the neshama is in the body, studying Torah and fulfilling mitzvahs, being that the neshama is eternal, has a part of G-d from above, and is capable with the power of Torah which is also eternal, to affect a change in the body and to leave a permanent affect of holiness of the neshama and the Torah on the body even when the body had died, when the body has separated itself from the neshama, therefore even the uncleanliness of the deadness can become pure. The mitzvahs a person did before being torn away from G-dliness, remain in the body and can and will in the end bring him back to G-dliness.

And this could be one of the explanations for what Chazal says that when tzaddikim die it does not cause impurity. Since the body of a tzaddik is the same as their neshama because the life of a tzaddik is not a life of the flesh, but a spiritual life of emunah, yirah and ahava, faith, fear and love, therefore the life of the body and the existence of the body in the tzaddik is itself a neshama so that even when the neshama leaves, the body remains as holy as the neshama, and it is not a descent and a loss of life as happens in people who are not tzaddikim.

But this is a chok, something that is above and beyond human rationale. According to human intelligence something cannot affect something else unless they have some kind of a connection between them. But when that connection is severed and they are opposite in their properties, one cannot have an affect on the other. So how can the neshama being a spiritual eternal being, have an affect on the body, a physical mundane being? It can only happen through a decree that comes from above, beyond and above the laws of nature and therefore not restricted by these laws.

Now we will understand why Moshe to whom G-d gave the reason for parah adumah, yet he still had the opportunity for mesiras nefesh for Torah and mitzvahs. The level of Moshe was the level of chochmah, and because of chochmah, which is very humble, G-dliness dwells in chochmah, as the Alter Rebbe says, that the truth of G-d’s oneness is revealed at the level of chochmah. In Kabbalah, it makes the point even stronger, how the truth and essence of G-dliness are revealed in chochmah, because of the humility, the transparency of chochmah. So when G-d says, to you I will reveal the reason for parah adumah, it doesn’t mean that G-d gave Moshe a rational explanation, but rather G-d gave him the essence of parah adumah, the essence of  chuka, the level  of complete  submission to the  truth  of G-dliness which was the essence of what Moshe was.

So G-d revealed to Moshe His true essence and that is the recognition and the appreciation of a purely Divine chok and not a rationale on the human level for the mitzvah. And so Moshe Rabbeinu was not deprived of this level of mesiras nefesh, on the contrary, that was his level, his permanent condition and G-d revealed to him who He Himself really was.

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