CHUKAS - ACTIVITY VERSUS ACCOMPLISHMENT

The Parsha ends with a history of how the Jewish people came to conquer the city of Cheshbon from the Emorim. It had previously been part of Moav until Sichon, King of the Emorim, defeated Moav and acquired Cheshbon. With regard to that war, the Torah tells us, “Therefore say the ‘Moshlim’, come to Cheshbon and the city of Sichon will be built and set up. ” The simple understanding of this passuk is that the ‘Moshlim’ are those who say mashalim (poems), Bilaam and Beor, and they were telling Sichon to come and conquer Cheshbon from the Moavim. However, the Gemara sees a hidden message in this passuk: “Therefore, say those who rule their inclinations, come and let us make an accounting of the world; the loss [incurred through doing] a mitzva against its benefit, and the benefit of a sin against its loss ”. The commentaries ask, why is it that only those who ‘rule their inclinations’ say that one should do a cheshbon (accounting), implying that those who do not rule their inclinations do not believe that a person should participate in such a cheshbon . The Mesillas Yeshiarim explains that those who rule their inclinations are people who have developed a deep understanding of the yetser hara and are aware of the need to constantly remain vigilant against its tactics by undertaking a regular cheshbon hanefesh. Consequently they exhort people to make a cheshbon hanefesh. This cheshbon involves a review of what a person’s overall goals in life should be and assessing whether he is living in accord with those goals. A person who does not ‘rule over his inclination’ has no awareness of how the yetser hara is constantly tricking him into an undesirable lifestyle. He is so blinded by its powers that he stumbles along life like a person who walks in the darkness blissfully unaware that there are numerous traps awaiting him. He does not recognize the need to do any kind of cheshbon and has to be motivated to do so by one who does rule his inclination. The Mesillas Yesharim discusses the main factors that cause a person to fail to grasp the true purpose of life. He writes that the most basic problem is that one can become so engulfed in his activities that he never has the opportunity to step back and assess the direction that his life is taking. This is one of the main tactics of the yetser hara - he knows that if one were to step back and analyze his actions then he will recognize that drastic changes are needed. Therefore, it makes him so busy that he does not have any free time with which to think about his life direction. He compares this to the plan of Pharaoh when he perceived a threat that the Jews were beginning to think about freedom. His response was to make their workload heavier so that they would have no time to think about rebelling against him, rather, “he tried to distract their hearts from all contemplation with the sheer constancy of the work which never ceased.” So too, the yetser hara sends us all kinds of distractions that cause us to be constantly busy to the extent that we can never step back and look at the general direction that our life is taking. One observer, noting this succinctly stated, “there is a difference between activity and accomplishment;” a person may be extremely busy but were they to step back and examine what he is e actually accomplishing in a meaningful sense, they may be disappointed. This dilemma is demonstrated by the following observation by a person who had just arrived at the realization that he was caught in this trap: “I’ m busy - really busy. But sometimes I wonder if what I’m doing will make any difference in the long run. This busyness can manifest itself in a number of ways. The following stories provide two examples of how his can occur: One father was very involved in his work, to the extent that he even worked on Sundays, the one time when he could spend quality time with his son. Every Sunday his son would ask him if they could spend some time together but the father answered that he had to work. Finally, the son asked his father how much money he earns in one hour of work on a Sunday. The father answered, $100 - the son replied that he had saved $50 and was willing to give that to his father so that he would spend half an hour with him! It may well be that the father’s intentions in working so hard were noble and included providing a stable financial upbringing for his son. However, he missed sight of the fact that he was sacrificing a meaningful relationship with his son and therefore any benefit of the extra work was outweighed by the damage it was causing. Only after the father’s eyes were opened by his son’s desperate efforts was he able to step back and reassess his role as a father. Another example is about the Rebbe who asked one of his top talmidim how often he thinks about G-d. The talmid answered, “Rebbe, I get up at 3.00am every morning and learn continuously until I daven Neitz, I have a very quick breakfast, and learn all morning, only to stop for a brief lunch and mincha, and then I learn all afternoon and through the night until I collapse with tiredness - Rebbe, when do I have time to think about G-d? !” This talmid had got so involved in his ‘Avodas Hashem’ that he had missed sight of the overall purpose of what he was doing - to develop a relationship with G-d. If these nisyonos (tests) were so strong in the time of the Mesillas Yesharim then all the more so it presents a formidable challenge in the modern world. Society is saturated with gadgets and technology that can keep people busy and distracted throughout the day . There is barely a conversation that is not interrupted by someone receiving a call on their cell phone or an email on their blackberry. The consequences of such developments are that there is barely a moment where a person is free from all distractions to assess his life direction. In order to overcome the efforts of the yetser hara to never think about our life direction, The Mesillas Yeesharim strongly suggests that a person make a regular cheshbon hanefesh. The purpose of this is to remind himself of what his goals in life and to assess whether he is living according to them or has lost sight of the overall goal and is caught up in details that are distracting him from his true life purpose. A useful time in which one can escape from the numerous distractions of daily life and contemplate his life is Shabbos. That is the one day when an observant Jew is free from many of the technological advances that hinder cheshbon hanefesh. Therefore, this is a fitting time when one can look back at the past week and assess whether he lived in line with his life goals or not. As we have seen, the yetser hara is desperate to prevent us from true self-contemplation. As a result, one may find it harder to do a 5 minute cheshbon hanefesh once a week than to learn for 10 hours a day! The yetser hara does not want a person to learn but if it cannot prevent this, then he tries with all his might to prevent a person from utilizing what he learns in order to live a lifestyle with Torah true goals. He primarily does this by stopping a person from stepping back and thinking about his life direction. Consequently, it requires a strong effort to being a cheshbon hanefesh, but as we know, one who tries to purify himself receives great help from Shamayim and can surely succeed in this difficult area.

ACTIVITY VERSUS ACCOMPLISHMENT - CHUKAS

The Parsha ends with a history of how the Jewish people came to conquer the city of Cheshbon from the Emorim. It had previously been part of Moav until Sichon, King of the Emorim, defeated Moav and acquired Cheshbon. With regard to that war, the Torah tells us, “Therefore say the ‘Moshlim’, come to Cheshbon and the city of Sichon will be built and set up. ” The simple understanding of this passuk is that the ‘Moshlim’ are those who say mashalim (poems), Bilaam and Beor, and they were telling Sichon to come and conquer Cheshbon from the Moavim. However, the Gemara sees a hidden message in this passuk: “Therefore, say those who rule their inclinations, come and let us make an accounting of the world; the loss [incurred through doing] a mitzva against its benefit, and the benefit of a sin against its loss ”.

The commentaries ask, why is it that only those who ‘rule their inclinations’ say that one should do a cheshbon (accounting), implying that those who do not rule their inclinations do not believe that a person should participate in such a cheshbon . The Mesillas Yeshiarim explains that those who rule their inclinations are people who have developed a deep understanding of the yetser hara and are aware of the need to constantly remain vigilant against its tactics by undertaking a regular cheshbon hanefesh. Consequently they exhort people to make a cheshbon hanefesh. This cheshbon involves a review of what a person’s overall goals in life should be and assessing whether he is living in accord with those goals. A person who does not ‘rule over his inclination’ has no awareness of how the yester hara is constantly tricking him into an undesirable lifestyle. He is so blinded by its powers that he stumbles along life like a person who walks in the darkness blissfully unaware that there are numerous traps awaiting him. He does not recognize the need to do any kind of cheshbon and has to be motivated to do so by one who does rule his inclination.

The Mesillas Yesharim discusses the main factors that cause a person to fail to grasp the true purpose of life. He writes that the most basic problem is that one can become so engulfed in his activities that he never has the opportunity to step back and assess the direction that his life is taking. This is one of the main tactics of the yetser hara - he knows that if one were to step back and analyze his actions then he will recognize that drastic changes are needed. Therefore, it makes him so busy that he does not have any free time with which to think about his life direction. He compares this to the plan of Pharaoh when he perceived a threat that the Jews were beginning to think about freedom. His response was to make their workload heavier so that they would have no time to think about rebelling against him, rather, “he tried to distract their hearts from all contemplation with the sheer constancy of the work which never ceased.”
So too, the yetser hara sends us all kinds of distractions that cause us to be constantly busy to the extent that we can never step back and look at the general direction that our life is taking. One observer, noting this succinctly stated, “there is a difference between activity and accomplishment;” a person may be extremely busy but were they to step back and examine what he is e actually accomplishing in a meaningful sense, they may be disappointed. This dilemma is demonstrated by the following observation by a person who had just arrived at the realization that he was caught in this trap: “I’ m busy - really busy. But sometimes I wonder if what I’m doing will make any difference in the long run.

This busyness can manifest itself in a number of ways. The following stories provide two examples of how his can occur: One father was very involved in his work, to the extent that he even worked on Sundays, the one time when he could spend quality time with his son. Every Sunday his son would ask him if they could spend some time together but the father answered that he had to work. Finally, the son asked his father how much money he earns in one hour of work on a Sunday. The father answered, $100 - the son replied that he had saved $50 and was willing to give that to his father so that he would spend half an hour with him! It may well be that the father’s intentions in working so hard were noble and included providing a stable financial upbringing for his son. However, he missed sight of the fact that he was sacrificing a meaningful relationship with his son and therefore any benefit of the extra work was outweighed by the damage it was causing. Only after the father’s eyes were opened by his son’s desperate efforts was he able to step back and reassess his role as a father.

Another example is about the Rebbe who asked one of his top talmidim how often he thinks about G-d. The talmid answered, “Rebbe, I get up at 3.00am every morning and learn continuously until I daven Neitz, I have a very quick breakfast, and learn all morning, only to stop for a brief lunch and mincha, and then I learn all afternoon and through the night until I collapse with tiredness - Rebbe, when do I have time to think about G-d? !” This talmid had got so involved in his ‘Avodas Hashem’ that he had missed sight of the overall purpose of what he was doing - to develop a relationship with G-d.

If these nisyonos (tests) were so strong in the time of the Mesillas Yesharim then all the more so it presents a formidable challenge in the modern world. Society is saturated with gadgets and technology that can keep people busy and distracted throughout the day . There is barely a conversation that is not interrupted by someone receiving a call on their cell phone or an email on their blackberry. The consequences of such developments are that there is barely a moment where a person is free from all distractions to assess his life direction.

In order to overcome the efforts of the yetser hara to never think about our life direction, The Mesillas Yeesharim strongly suggests that a person make a regular cheshbon hanefesh. The purpose of this is to remind himself of what his goals in life and to assess whether he is living according to them or has lost sight of the overall goal and is caught up in details that are distracting him from his true life purpose. A useful time in which one can escape from the numerous distractions of daily life and contemplate his life is Shabbos. That is the one day when an observant Jew is free from many of the technological advances that hinder cheshbon hanefesh. Therefore, this is a fitting time when one can look back at the past week and assess whether he lived in line with his life goals or not.

As we have seen, the yetser hara is desperate to prevent us from true self-contemplation. As a result, one may find it harder to do a 5 minute cheshbon hanefesh once a week than to learn for 10 hours a day! The yetser hara does not want a person to learn but if it cannot prevent this, then he tries with all his might to prevent a person from utilizing what he learns in order to live a lifestyle with Torah true goals. He primarily does this by stopping a person from stepping back and thinking about his life direction. Consequently, it requires a strong effort to being a cheshbon hanefesh, but as we know, one who tries to purify himself receives great help from Shamayim and can surely succeed in this difficult area.

TAAMEI HAMITZVOS - CHUKAS

The Parsha begins “this is the chok of the Torah” and proceeds to discuss the laws of Parah Adumah (the red heifer), a mitzvo which is impossible to understand according to human logic. The Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh asks why this mitzvo is called the ‘chok of the Torah’, it would have been more appropriate to say ‘this is the chok of tahara’. He answers that the Torah is alluding to us that if we fulfil this mitzvo even though it has no reason to it, then the Passuk considers it as if we have fulfilled the whole Torah, because fulfilling a mitzva without reason shows that we are unconditionally willing to follow Hashem’s Ratson.

Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz zt”l explains that when a person fulfils a mitzvo that has an obvious reason to it, it is still not clear that he is prepared to fulfil the Torah purely because Hashem commanded it. It could be that he is doing it because it makes sense to him. However, once he performs a mitzvo that is without logic that proves that he keeps all the mitzvos, not because they make sense to him, but because Hashem commanded them.

This is a fundamental principle of the Torah - we accept that we must follow Hashem’s will without making any cheshbonos according to our own logic. Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l writes that this was Korach’s mistake in his theological attacks against Moshe Rabbeinu. He attempted to expose the fallacy of the mitzvos of tsitsit and mezuza by showing their illogical nature. He argued that the reason for wearing a thread of techeiles on each corner is because it resembles the sea, which resembles the sky, which resembles the Throne of Glory. Based on this reasoning Korach argued that one who wears a garment of techeiles should not need a thread of it on its corner because there is ample reminder of the sea, sky and the throne of glory in the actual garment. In reality, however, the mitzvo applies in all cases, even where the given reason has no apparent application because ultimately all mitzvos must be observed and should be viewed as a gezeira that cannot be questioned.

In light of this principle, a difficulty arises: Many of the greatest Torah scholars such as the Rambam, Sefer HaChinuch and, more recently, Rav Hirsch zt”l went to great lengths to explain the taamey hamitzvos - the reasons behind the mitzvos. Yet it is clear from Parah Adumah that the ultimate reason behind each mitzvo is beyond human understanding; Shlomo Hamelech had thought that he understood the deepest reason for every mitzvo until he came to Parah Aduma which he could not fathom. He then realised that he did not truly understand the definitive reason for any of the mitzvos. In light of this, how can anyone claim to understand a taam for any given mitzvo if Shlomo Hamelech, the wisest man, could not?!

My Rebbe answers by explaining that the commentaries are not claiming to understand the ultimate reason behind the mitzvo - we can have no concept of the genuine reason for any mitzvo - that is something that belongs in the highest olamos. However, this does not mean that the ‘taamey hamitzvos’ have no truth to them. Hashem, in his infinite wisdom ‘arranged’ it so that each mitzvo can make sense on many different levels of existence. For example they can help a person develop desirable character traits and can enhance relationships.

We see this in many mitzvos: The laws of tumah and tahara are among the most difficult to fathom. However, the most relevant of these laws today, taharas mishpacha, has obvious benefits. The Gemara explains that it is very beneficial for husband and wife to separate for a certain time every month so that they can avoid the problem of lack of excitement in the relationship . Based on this Gemara, the Sefer Hachinuch writes that this advantage is one of the taamey hamitzvos of taharas mishpacha . This does not mean that the reason we keep taharas mishpacha is because it helps one’s relationship, however, it is no co-incidence that it does so, Hashem clearly ‘intended’ it to be that way.

Another example of this is the mitzvo of shechita. The Ramban writes that it does not effect Hashem whether we kill an animal by shechita, by nichor or by strangling. However, Hashem instructed us to kill the animal in the least cruel way in order to teach us the mida of rachmanus even at the time of killing . Again this does not mean that we slaughter animals the way we do because it will help us be more merciful, we do it that way purely because Hashem commanded us to. Nevertheless this does not take away from the fact that Hashem also intended for us to develop favourable midos through observing the mitzvos.

Thus, notwithstanding the fact that we cannot fathom the ultimate reason for the mitzvos, we can nonetheless understand taamim to the mitzvos that are emes on a certain level. With this understanding we can now appreciate why the commentaries held it was so important to teach us taamey hamitzvos. It is true that we keep the mitzvos solely because Hashem instructed us to, however, it is not sufficient that we merely do the mitzvo robotically, without any thought as to what we are doing. Mitzvos are intended to change us into better people, and the way that they do this is through the taamey hamitzvos. The Sefer Hachinuch tells us the shoresh to every mitzvo - why? So that we can have an idea of what we are supposed to gain from performing this mitzvo and we can work towards achieveing that benefit.

The issur of lashon hara demonstrates this idea. Rabbeinu Yonah explains the taam of this issur with a maaseh. A chacham was walking with his talmidim when they came across the corpse of a dead dog. One of the talmidim commented on how disgusting this corpse was. The chacham replied that it had very nice, white teeth . He was teaching his talmid the mida of focussing on the good. This, Rabbeinu Yonah writes, is the taam of shemiras halashon. There is no actual issur of lashon hara for focussing on the unpleasant aspects of a dead dog, however one who sees things in a negative fashion misses the point of the issur of lashon hara. It is not enough merely to not speak badly about others, the root of the mitzvo is to focus on the good in people. In refraining from speaking badly about others, one should strive to transform himself into a person with a positive outlook on life.

Learning from the taamey hamitzvos is not merely a profitable exercise, it is essential to one’s relationship with Hashem. The Ramban in the end of Parshas Bo explains why there are so many mitzvos that relate to Yetsias Mitzrayim. He says that their purpose is to instill in us a deep sense of emuna in Hashem and His hashgacha . It is not sufficient merely to put a mezuza on the doorposts of one’s home and kiss it now and again. We are supposed to see the mezuza and be reminded of the message inside it, that Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim and is continually guiding us in our lives.

The Ramban goes even further and says that, in reality the tachlis of all the mitzvos is to bring us close to Hashem and acknowledge that He is our creator. “This is the purpose of creation, for there is no other reason for our creation, and the only thing that Hashem wants from us is that we know and acknowledge Him. ” This process, whereby a person is brought closer to Hashem through observance of the Mitzvos is not automatic. If a person commits mitzvos out of habit then, although he may have technically fulfilled them, he has not utilised them to achieve their purpose; closeness to Hashem. Some mitzvos do this by directly arousing a person to awareness of Hashem and some do it by encouraging development of certain midos. But the common denominator of all of them is developing our emuna.

We have seen how parah aduma teaches us that we are obligated to fulfil mitzvos without questioning their logic, and yet at the same time, we are also obligated to understand the taamim of the mitzvos so that we can grow from them in the intended way.
A recommended way to achieve this is to spend some time analysing the taamey hamitzvos; there are many sources, one can look to the earlier sources such as Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim and Sefer Hachinuch or turn to later commentaries such as Rav Hirsch or Rav Aryeh Kaplan zt”l. By doing this we can remind ourselves that each mitzvo has taamim that we are supposed to be aware of and use to grow from.

This is not an easy task because there is a strong yetser hara that allows us to do mitzvos as long as we miss their intended tachlis. The story is told of a Gadol who visited a home for the Friday night meal. As he and his host entered the house, they saw that the challah had not been covered as is the minhag. The host, upset at this failing in front of his honoured guest, proceeded to berate his hapless wife in front of his guest. After this outburst, the Gadol gently took him aside and asked him if he knew why we cover the challah? The reason is so as not to embarrass it when we bless on the wine before it. By embarrassing his wife the host demonstrated that he had clearly not internalised the message of this minhag. All the mitzvos have internal messages - it is up to us to learn them and use them in their intended way.

ACTIVITY VERSUS ACCOMPLISHMENT - CHUKAS

The Parsha ends with a history of how the Jewish people came to conquer the city of Cheshbon from the Emorim. It had previously been part of Moav until Sichon, King of the Emorim, defeated Moav and acquired Cheshbon. With regard to that war, the Torah tells us, “Therefore say the ‘Moshlim’, come to Cheshbon and the city of Sichon will be built and set up.[1]” The simple understanding of this passuk is that the ‘Moshlim’ are those who say mashalim (poems), Bilaam and Beor, and they were telling Sichon to come and conquer Cheshbon from the Moavim. However, the Gemara sees a hidden message in this passuk: “Therefore, say those who rule their inclinations, come and let us make an accounting of the world; the loss [incurred through doing] a mitzva against its benefit, and the benefit of a sin against its loss[2]”.

The commentaries ask, why is it that only those who ‘rule their inclinations’ say that one should do a cheshbon (accounting), implying that those who do not rule their inclinations do not believe that a person should participate in such a cheshbon[3]. The Mesillas Yeshiarim explains that those who rule their inclinations are people who have developed a deep understanding of the yetser hara and are aware of the need to constantly remain vigilant against its tactics by undertaking a regular cheshbon hanefesh. Consequently they exhort people to make a cheshbon hanefesh. This cheshbon involves a review of what a person’s overall goals in life should be and assessing whether he is living in accord with those goals. A person who does not ‘rule over his inclination’ has no awareness of how the yester hara is constantly tricking him into an undesirable lifestyle. He is so blinded by its powers that he stumbles along life like a person who walks in the darkness blissfully unaware that there are numerous traps awaiting him. He does not recognize the need to do any kind of cheshbon and has to be motivated to do so by one who does rule his inclination.

The Mesillas Yesharim discusses the main factors that cause a person to fail to grasp the true purpose of life. He writes that the most basic problem is that one can become so engulfed in his activities that he never has the opportunity to step back and assess the direction that his life is taking. This is one of the main tactics of the yetser hara - he knows that if one were to step back and analyze his actions then he will recognize that drastic changes are needed. Therefore, it makes him so busy that he does not have any free time with which to think about his life direction. He compares this to the plan of Pharaoh when he perceived a threat that the Jews were beginning to think about freedom. His response was to make their workload heavier so that they would have no time to think about rebelling against him, rather, “he tried to distract their hearts from all contemplation with the sheer constancy of the work which never ceased.”
So too, the yetser hara sends us all kinds of distractions that cause us to be constantly busy to the extent that we can never step back and look at the general direction that our life is taking. One observer, noting this succinctly stated, “there is a difference between activity and accomplishment;” a person may be extremely busy but were they to step back and examine what he is e actually accomplishing in a meaningful sense, they may be disappointed. This dilemma is demonstrated by the following observation by a person who had just arrived at the realization that he was caught in this trap: “I’ m busy - really busy. But sometimes I wonder if what I’m doing will make any difference in the long run.

This busyness can manifest itself in a number of ways. The following stories provide two examples of how his can occur: One father was very involved in his work, to the extent that he even worked on Sundays, the one time when he could spend quality time with his son. Every Sunday his son would ask him if they could spend some time together but the father answered that he had to work. Finally, the son asked his father how much money he earns in one hour of work on a Sunday. The father answered, $100 - the son replied that he had saved $50 and was willing to give that to his father so that he would spend half an hour with him! It may well be that the father’s intentions in working so hard were noble and included providing a stable financial upbringing for his son. However, he missed sight of the fact that he was sacrificing a meaningful relationship with his son and therefore any benefit of the extra work was outweighed by the damage it was causing. Only after the father’s eyes were opened by his son’s desperate efforts was he able to step back and reassess his role as a father.

Another example is about the Rebbe who asked one of his top talmidim how often he thinks about G-d. The talmid answered, “Rebbe, I get up at 3.00am every morning and learn continuously until I daven Neitz, I have a very quick breakfast, and learn all morning, only to stop for a brief lunch and mincha, and then I learn all afternoon and through the night until I collapse with tiredness - Rebbe, when do I have time to think about G-d?[4]!” This talmid had got so involved in his ‘Avodas Hashem’ that he had missed sight of the overall purpose of what he was doing - to develop a relationship with G-d.

If these nisyonos (tests) were so strong in the time of the Mesillas Yesharim[5] then all the more so it presents a formidable challenge in the modern world. Society is saturated with gadgets and technology that can keep people busy and distracted throughout the day[6]. There is barely a conversation that is not interrupted by someone receiving a call on their cell phone or an email on their blackberry. The consequences of such developments are that there is barely a moment where a person is free from all distractions to assess his life direction.

In order to overcome the efforts of the yetser hara to never think about our life direction, The Mesillas Yeesharim strongly suggests that a person make a regular cheshbon hanefesh. The purpose of this is to remind himself of what his goals in life and to assess whether he is living according to them or has lost sight of the overall goal and is caught up in details that are distracting him from his true life purpose. A useful time in which one can escape from the numerous distractions of daily life and contemplate his life is Shabbos. That is the one day when an observant Jew is free from many of the technological advances that hinder cheshbon hanefesh. Therefore, this is a fitting time when one can look back at the past week and assess whether he lived in line with his life goals or not.

As we have seen, the yetser hara is desperate to prevent us from true self-contemplation. As a result, one may find it harder to do a 5 minute cheshbon hanefesh once a week than to learn for 10 hours a day! The yetser hara does not want a person to learn but if it cannot prevent this, then he tries with all his might to prevent a person from utilizing what he learns in order to live a lifestyle with Torah true goals. He primarily does this by stopping a person from stepping back and thinking about his life direction. Consequently, it requires a strong effort to being a cheshbon hanefesh, but as we know, one who tries to purify himself receives great help from shamayim and can surely succeed in this difficult area.

[1] Chukas, 21:27.
[2] Bava Basra, 78b.
[3] See Mesillas Yesharim, Ch.3; Nesivos Shalom, Chukas.
[4] Heard from Rav Moshe Dovid Cohen Shlita.
[5] Its author, Rav Moshe Chaim Luzatto lived nearly 400 years ago.
[6] This is not to say that there are no benefits to such technology. Rather, like everything in life, it can be used for the good or for the bad. The point made here is that the yetser hara tries to utilize the technological advances to distract people from what is meaningful.

TAAMEI HAMITZVOS - CHUKAS

The Parsha begins “this is the chok of the Torah” and proceeds to discuss the laws of Parah Adumah (the red heifer), a mitzvo which is impossible to understand according to human logic. The Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh asks why this mitzvo is called the ‘chok of the Torah’, it would have been more appropriate to say ‘this is the chok of tahara’. He answers that the Torah is alluding to us that if we fulfil this mitzvo even though it has no reason to it, then the Passuk considers it as if we have fulfilled the whole Torah, because fulfilling a mitzva without reason shows that we are unconditionally willing to follow Hashem’s Ratson.[1]

Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz zt”l explains that when a person fulfils a mitzvo that has an obvious reason to it, it is still not clear that he is prepared to fulfil the Torah purely because Hashem commanded it. It could be that he is doing it because it makes sense to him. However, once he performs a mitzvo that is without logic that proves that he keeps all the mitzvos, not because they make sense to him, but because Hashem commanded them.[2]

This is a fundamental principle of the Torah - we accept that we must follow Hashem’s will without making any cheshbonos according to our own logic. Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l writes that this was Korach’s mistake in his theological attacks against Moshe Rabbeinu. He attempted to expose the fallacy of the mitzvos of tsitsit and mezuza by showing their illogical nature. He argued that the reason for wearing a thread of techeiles on each corner is because it resembles the sea, which resembles the sky, which resembles the Throne of Glory. Based on this reasoning Korach argued that one who wears a garment of techeiles should not need a thread of it on its corner because there is ample reminder of the sea, sky and the throne of glory in the actual garment. In reality, however, the mitzvo applies in all cases, even where the given reason has no apparent application because ultimately all mitzvos must be observed and should be viewed as a gezeira that cannot be questioned.[3]

In light of this principle, a difficulty arises: Many of the greatest Torah scholars such as the Rambam, Sefer HaChinuch and, more recently, Rav Hirsch zt”l went to great lengths to explain the taamey hamitzvos - the reasons behind the mitzvos. Yet it is clear from Parah Adumah that the ultimate reason behind each mitzvo is beyond human
understanding; Shlomo Hamelech had thought that he understood the deepest reason for every mitzvo until he came to Parah Aduma which he could not fathom. He then realised that he did not truly understand the definitive reason for any of the mitzvos. In light of this, how can anyone claim to understand a taam for any given mitzvo if Shlomo Hamelech, the wisest man, could not?!

My Rebbe answers by explaining that the commentaries are not claiming to understand the ultimate reason behind the mitzvo - we can have no concept of the genuine reason for any mitzvo - that is something that belongs in the highest olamos. However, this does not mean that the ‘taamey hamitzvos’ have no truth to them. Hashem, in his infinite wisdom ‘arranged’ it so that each mitzvo can make sense on many different levels of existence. For example they can help a person develop desirable character traits and can enhance relationships.

We see this in many mitzvos: The laws of tumah and tahara are among the most difficult to fathom. However, the most relevant of these laws today, taharas mishpacha, has obvious benefits. The Gemara explains that it is very beneficial for husband and wife to separate for a certain time every month so that they can avoid the problem of lack of excitement in the relationship[4]. Based on this Gemara, the Sefer Hachinuch writes that this advantage is one of the taamey hamitzvos of taharas mishpacha[5]. This does not mean that the reason we keep taharas mishpacha is because it helps one’s relationship, however, it is no co-incidence that it does so, Hashem clearly ‘intended’ it to be that way.

Another example of this is the mitzvo of shechita. The Ramban writes that it does not effect Hashem whether we kill an animal by shechita, by nichor or by strangling. However, Hashem instructed us to kill the animal in the least cruel way in order to teach us the mida of rachmanus even at the time of killing[6]. Again this does not mean that we slaughter animals the way we do because it will help us be more merciful, we do it that way purely because Hashem commanded us to. Nevertheless this does not take away from the fact that Hashem also intended for us to develop favourable midos through observing the mitzvos.

Thus, notwithstanding the fact that we cannot fathom the ultimate reason for the mitzvos, we can nonetheless understand taamim to the mitzvos that are emes on a certain level. With this understanding we can now appreciate why the commentaries held it was so important to teach us taamey hamitzvos. It is true that we keep the mitzvos solely because Hashem instructed us to, however, it is not sufficient that we merely do the mitzvo robotically, without any thought as to what we are doing. Mitzvos are intended to change us into better people, and the way that they do this is through the taamey hamitzvos. The Sefer Hachinuch tells us the shoresh to every mitzvo - why? So that we can have an idea of what we are supposed to gain from performing this mitzvo and we can work towards achieveing that benefit.

The issur of lashon hara demonstrates this idea. Rabbeinu Yonah explains the taam of this issur with a maaseh. A chacham was walking with his talmidim when they came across the corpse of a dead dog. One of the talmidim commented on how disgusting this corpse was. The chacham replied that it had very nice, white teeth[7]. He was teaching his talmid the mida of focussing on the good. This, Rabbeinu Yonah writes, is the taam of shemiras halashon. There is no actual issur of lashon hara for focussing on the unpleasant aspects of a dead dog, however one who sees things in a negative fashion misses the point of the issur of lashon hara. It is not enough merely to not speak badly about others, the root of the mitzvo is to focus on the good in people. In refraining from speaking badly about others, one should strive to transform himself into a person with a positive outlook on life.

Learning from the taamey hamitzvos is not merely a profitable exercise, it is essential to one’s relationship with Hashem. The Ramban in the end of Parshas Bo explains why there are so many mitzvos that relate to Yetsias Mitzrayim. He says that their purpose is to instill in us a deep sense of emuna in Hashem and His hashgacha[8]. It is not sufficient merely to put a mezuza on the doorposts of one home and kiss it now and again. We are supposed to see the mezuza and be reminded of the message inside it, that Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim and is continually guiding us in our lives.

The Ramban goes even further and says that, in reality the tachlis of all the mitzvos is to bring us close to Hashem and acknowledge that He is our creator. “This is the purpose of creation, for there is no other reason for our creation, and the only thing that Hashem wants from us is that we know and acknowledge Him.[9]” This process, whereby a person is brought closer to Hashem through observance of the Mitzvos is not automatic. If a person commits mitzvos out of habit then, although he may have technically fulfilled them, he has not utilised them to achieve their purpose; closeness to Hashem. Some mitzvos do this by directly arousing a person to awareness of Hashem and some do it by encouraging development of certain midos. But the common denominator of all of them is developing our emuna.

We have seen how parah aduma teaches us that we are obligated to fulfil mitzvos without questioning their logic, and yet at the same time, we are also obligated to understand the taamim of the mitzvos so that we can grow from them in the intended way.
A recommended way to achieve this is to spend some time analysing the taamey hamitzvos; there are many sources, one can look to the earlier sources such as Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim and Sefer Hachinuch or turn to later commentaries such as Rav Hirsch or Rav Aryeh Kaplan zt”l. By doing this we can remind ourselves that each mitzvo has taamim that we are supposed to be aware of and use to grow from.

This is not an easy task because there is a strong yetser hara that allows us to do mitzvos as long as we miss their intended tachlis. The story is told of a Gadol who visited a home for the Friday night meal. As he and his host entered the house, they saw that the challah had not been covered as is the minhag. The host, upset at this failing in front of his honoured guest, proceeded to berate his hapless wife in front of his guest. After this outburst, the Gadol gently took him aside and asked him if he knew why we cover the challah? The reason is so as not to embarrass it when we bless on the wine before it. By embarrassing his wife the host demonstrated that he had clearly not internalised the message of this minhag. All the mitzvos have internal messages - it is up to us to learn them and use them in their intended way.



[1] Ohr HaChaim Hakados, Chukas, 19:2.
[2] Sichos Mussa,r, Chukas, Maamer 78.
[3] Darash Moshe, Chukas.
[4] Nidda 31b
[5] Sefer Hachinuch, Mitzvo 166.
[6] Ramban, Ki Setsey, 22:6.
[7] Shaarey Teshuva, Shaar 3, Maamer 216,217.
[8] Ramban, Parshas Bo, 13:16.
[9] Ibid.