Bs”d
Parshas Chukas (5760)
by Mordechai Dolinsky
Our Parsha opens: “The following is the Chok of the Torah”—instructions. Take a pure red cow with no blemish that was never burdened with a yoke—instructions—but for what?
The next pasuk (3): “Give to Elazar Ha’Kohain, take it outside the camp and slaughter it before him—instructions—but what is it for?
Pasuk 4: “Elazar should draw from the blood and sprinkle it seven times”—detailed instructions for the absolute unknown.
Pasuk 5: “Burn the cow in front of his eyes”—to where does all this lead?
The sixth pasuk: “Take cedarwood, hyssop and a tongue of crimson wool and throw them in the fire”—and so it continues to pasuk 7–
the Kohain having to immerse his clothing and himself.
Pasuk 8: The burner likewise needs to purify himself
Pasuk 9: And to put the ashes outside the camp—and still no hint as to where all this has to lead.
Pasuk 10: The gatherer of the ashes likewise needs to be purified.
In pasuk 11 we are introduced to the Tumah, through the contact with a ‘meis’.
Finally in pasuk 12: “Yischateh Vo”, the enlightenment we have been waiting for these past 12 pasukim. The purpose of all these directives, complicated intricacies, is for the purification from tumas meis. Have we ever encountered anywhere in the Chumash a list of intricate directions and directives without the slightest implication, hint or insinuation of the subject matter we are dealing with?
Rashi at the beginning of the parsha quotes the Chazal: Since this Mitzva is a source of teasing and scorn by the Satan and the gentile nations exclaiming that they don’t see any logic or reasoning for it, it was termed by HaShem as a Chok. This is a Divine order and no one has the right to delve or critically analyze it. To deal with the onslaught of the Satan and the gentiles we were armed with a perpetual “guard-all” from their harassment, ‘Para Aduma” is a Chok! The perplexity is obvious, the enemy is haranguing us for willing to undertake fulfilling something that doesn’t seem comprehendible, and we return our “fire”—this is a Chok! How is this dealing with the issue? How is this supposed to be a foolproof inoculation against them? On the contrary, this statement seems to intensify their criticism and objection.
The essence of the enemy ammunition is the seemingly lack of logical structure and the rebuttal is that we are actually in a “no logic zone”. Yes, in our repertoire of various aspects of “Avodas HaShem”, we do have a ‘no logic zone’. The crown of our anatomy, our most important powerful possession, is our thinking faculties. We must keep it in constant use and access its resources always. We constantly have to ward off our laziness and run everything through our thought process, without this we are lost. It is imperative to understand this in order to perceive the implication when Hashem does command us to withdraw, refrain and inhibit our logic. This is one of the highest, if not the highest, form of submission to Hashem.
We find amongst, lehavdil, the cults and false religions, demands of submission of the thought faculty. But they deaden their minds and anesthetize their thought process completely. The Torah expects and demands of us to make use of our mental capacities, so the area of Chok has a completely different dimension.
Perhaps we can offer a thought on our opening observation of the puzzling presentation of the Para Aduma. The Para Aduma is so “CHOKI” that even the manner of how it was presented to Klal Yisroel was in the same spirit–lacking logic. The orders were given not even knowing for what end it was to be used.
By the relinquishing of our need for understanding that we find in chukim, we are also expressing our gratitude to Hashem for the gift of thought.
Shenizkeh Lishmor Chukecha.