Many of the laws of the Torah are easy to relate to. We can easily understand why we are instructed not to lie, steal, or hurt others. We can also easily understand the responsibility to have gratitude, humility, and to be helpful and compassionate to others. The purpose and value of these mitzvos is very clear. They are founded on the basic tenants of morality.
However, the purpose and value is less obvious for some of the mitzvos in the Torah. One such mitzva is the mitzva of the parah adumah, the red heffer. The Torah teaches us that when someone comes into contact with a dead body, he becomes spiritually impure. He becomes forbidden to come into contact with any holy item or to enter the Beis Hamikdash until he goes through a purification process. The purification process includes the person being sprinkled with the ashes of a red cow.
Rashi tells us that when most people see that there are laws that they don’t understand they assume that the laws must be irrational and pointless. As a result, they often mock the people who follow those laws. They tell us that we are foolish for following these laws. Rashi tells us that these thoughts will often creep into our own minds as well, that these laws seem to be irrational and we feel foolish when we abide by them.
Unfortunately, when we don’t see the value in these mitzvos, it often leads us to feel less responsible to follow them and that sometimes leads us to not abiding by these laws.
Interestingly, the Torah teaches us that one of the questions that the “wise son” asks his father is “What is the purpose and the value of the mitzvos that are in the category of choking? If we can’t really understand why Hashem wants us to follow these specific instructions, why did He give us these mitzvos”? This is a question that is asked with humility and with a genuine interest in learning and understanding the purpose and value of the mitzvos with the intent of being more committed to the mitzvos as a result of the greater appreciation for them.
However, as Rashi explains, in the beginning of Parshas Chukkas, the Torah instructs us to not question the Torah’s mitzvos in an arrogant and dismissive manner. When we don’t understand the purpose and value of certain mitzvos it doesn’t mean that they don’t actually have an important purpose and value. Hashem is much smarter and wiser than we are and it is with Hashem’s great wisdom that Hashem gave us instructions about how to live and what to do.
Rashi says that the terminology of a chok references a decree, which is a way of Hashem telling us that we are not allowed to have a dismissive attitude to the mitzvos. We are not allowed to have an arrogant attitude that allows us to be critical of the mitzvos and antagonistic toward those who follow the mitzvos.
It is important to approach the Torah and mitzvos with a recognition that Hashem, who has infinite wisdom and endless compassion for us is the One who instructed us to do the mitzvos. We should also approach the mitzvos with humility and gratitude toward Hashem, which will help us to feel fortunate to have all of the blessings that we have in life, and to feel responsible to fulfill all of the mitzvos that Hashem gives us.
When we have this approach, we will be committed to following the mitzvos with joy even when we don’t see what their purpose is because we will know that Hashem who loves us and has infinite wisdom has given us the mitzvos for our benefit. However, we will still want to understand the mitzvos to the best of our ability so that we will be able to fulfill them with an understanding of their true intent and so that we will be able to embrace them fully.