בס''ד
The unfathomable nature
of the Red Heifer and its designation as a chok is not just in the seemingly
arcane manner of how such a concoction functioned, but perhaps more crucially
in the paradox contained within it. For
although it was able to purify those who had become impure through contact with
a corpse, those who prepared it themselves became impure. This being the epitome of those mitzvos that
seem to transcend rationale reason, requires us to contemplate what it is
specifically about this particular contradiction that the Torah chose to use
and what message is alluded to in its illogicality.
If we were to try and encapsulate the purpose of
chokim, those mitzvos of seemingly arbitrary composition, one could suggest it
is so that we realise that the reason to fulfil the dictates of the Torah is
simply to fulfil the will of Hashem. The
logic of this fulfilment is in effect irrelevant to the fact that G-d has instructed
us that it should be so. This in itself
can be a challenging level for us to achieve, as instinctively we seek to
understand all that we do. Yet a task
that is even more in opposition to our nature, is to perform acts that we have formerly
considered wrong, or to abstain from that which we have always considered desirable. To do something that the Torah says is right,
even when it runs contrary to our own innate sense of morality, conceivably requires an even greater level of faith
than something that is merely not in line with our sense of logic. This perhaps is what is intimated by the
notion that within this mitzvo what is pure becomes defiled, and that which is
contaminated becomes cleansed. To truly
believe in the perfection of the Torah is if necessary to take that which we
considered improper and view it as just and transform those elements we thought
of as righteous into a sin.
Despite claims to the contrary, society today, perhaps more than ever, commands us to think in a certain way, believe in specified notions of morality and only say those things that fit within these confines. The laws of political correctness govern what we can and cannot say and the right to free speech is applied only as long as we are using it for what they deem acceptable. Respect, kindness and compassion must be shown to all who walk this earth, but it is not society that decides what is right and what is wrong, but the eternal Torah given to us by G-d. It is indeed hard to put aside the ideals we have long held sacrosanct, yet at times it may be what is necessitated by the sublimity of our Law.
*May the brilliance
of Shabbos help us to see with absolute clarity*
לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם
לרפואה שלימה: שרה יעל בת ברכה אסתר
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