This year, Parashat Para (the added Torah
portion which describes the Mitzvah of the Red Heifer) is appended to
Parashat Shemini. We read the portion of the Para Aduma before the
month of Nisan in order for the Jews to be able to offer the Passover Sacrifice
on the 14th of Nisan while in a state of purity.
‘...it is a decree from Me and you do not have permission to ponder it.’
Parashat Para begins, "This is the
statute of the Torah which G-d commanded saying, ‘Speak to the Children of
Israel and take for yourself a whole and unblemished red heifer [in Hebrew,
'para aduma temima'].’" This Mitzvah is called a "statute" [in
Hebrew, 'chok'] from G-d, which seemingly has no logical reason. Rashi
explains the use of this term: "Since the nations of the world mockingly ask,
‘What is the reason for this commandment?’ G-d said, ‘This is a statute that I
have made; it is a decree from Me and you do not have permission to ponder it.’"
Para Aduma is a statute for which we do not
know the reason. Likewise, we do not understand why the Para Aduma
purifies the impure from the defilement of a corpse and why the Kohen doing the
purification becomes impure. The matter is beyond our intellect and
understanding.
The Mitzvahs are divided into two types:
- ‘logical’ Mitzvahs, those that we would still fulfill even if we had not
been commanded to perform them by the Torah, since our
logical minds would obligate us to do so. These Mitzvahs include
resting one day a week, honoring one’s father and mother, avoiding killing and
theft, and so on.
- Mitzvahs of obedience, Mitzvahs that we would not think of fulfilling had
we not been commanded to do so by the Torah. These include the prohibitions
against mixing breeds of plants or animals, mixing linen and wool, eating meat
with milk, and so on.
When fulfilling the ‘logical’ Mitzvahs, we must
override our reason and logic which obligate us to fulfill them because of
humane, logical or social reasons that we can understand. Even though it seems
to us that to perform the Mitzvah is the ‘right’ thing to do, we must fulfill it
only because it is the will of G-d as commanded in the Torah.
A person should not say, ‘I am disgusted by pork ...'
Likewise, regarding these Mitzvahs, Rashi quotes Rabbi
Elazar Ben Azarya: "A person should not say, ‘I am disgusted by pork or it is
impossible for me to wear a wool and linen blend,’ but rather he should say, ‘It
is possible for me, but what can I do, my Father in Heaven decreed it upon me.’"
(Lev. 20:26)
Why are we obligated to fulfill the Mitzvahs simply
because they are commanded by G-d? To answer this we must first understand the
role and purpose of Mitzvahs. This is explained in the Midrash: "The Mitzvahs
were only given to refine and purify Israel, and to refine the Yetzer
Hara (Evil Inclination), which is a person’s ‘desire to receive for
himself’". Additionally, the Mishna explains that, "G-d wanted to provide merit
[in Hebrew, 'lizakos'] for the Children of Israel; this means to refine
them [in Hebrew, 'lizakaich'], just as a refiner removes the dross
from the silver. They take out the refuse and leave behind only the pure silver.
This is the role of the Mitzvahs."
Our Sages say that one who performs a Mitzvah having
been commanded to do so is greater than one who performs a Mitzvah but has not
been so commanded. Fulfilling a Mitzvah because it is a commandment from G-d
serves to refine a person and connects the individual with the One Who gave the
command. Even while fulfilling logical Mitzvahs, we should supersede our
understanding of the purpose of the Mitzvah, and simply fulfill it as a statute
from G-d.
It is written in Pirkei Avot (Chapter 2): "Make
your will like His will." A person needs to develop the will to fulfill G-d’s
Mitzvahs even if he has no natural desire to do so. This refers to the Mitzvahs
of blind obedience. The following mishna there states, "Nullify your will
because of His will." This refers to the ‘logical’ Mitzvahs since, even though
our rational mind tells us that this is the right thing to do, we nullify these
thoughts before the will of Hashem.
...a person becomes tamim...because he overrides his own will
only in order to perform the will of his Creator...
This is what King David requested when he said, "May
my heart be tamim [meaning both sincere and whole] in Your statutes."
Tamim refers to both logical Mitzvahs and Mitzvahs of obedience. In this way
a person becomes tamim, whole with G-d, because he overrides his own will
only in order to perform the will of his Creator, as it is written, "Be tamim
with Hashem, your G-d." This is similar to what is stated regarding the Para
Aduma, which must be "temima", whole and unblemished. Wholeness,
temimut, is when there is a single will and not two conflicting wills.
Accordingly, we can understand what is written in this
week's Parasha: "And the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, each took his
firepan, and they offered a strange fire which G-d had not commanded them."
The Sages offer two viewpoints regarding the sin of Nadab and Abihu. Rabbi
Eliezer says that they sinned because they ruled on a Halacha, a point of Jewish
law, in front of Moses their Rabbi. Rabbi Akiva says that they sinned because
they entered into the Holy Mishkan after they had drunk wine.
Sefat Emet says, "What is wine? When one
comprehends the reasons of the Torah, this is called the wine of Torah." Our
Sages tell us that our Forefathers fulfilled the Mitzvahs before the giving of
the Torah. They did so by fulfilling the ‘penimiut’, the inner essence of
the Mitzvahs, even before they had actually been commanded at Sinai. when Rabbi
Akiva says that they had ‘drunk wine’, it is possible to understand that Nadab
and Abihu were on a very high spiritual level indeed, just like the Forefathers,
understanding the inner meaning of the Mitzvahs. However, since the Torah had
already been given, they were obligated to perform the Mitzvahs because, and
only because, they had been commanded by G-d, and not because of their innate
understanding of their inner meaning. Only in this way could the performance of
the Mitzvahs refine them. Having performed the Mitzvah, only then could they
seek to ‘taste the wine’, to understand its inner meaning.
Fulfilling Mitzvahs because they are the commands of
G-d connects us to the Creator...
Fulfilling Mitzvahs because they are the commands of
G-d connects us to the Creator, as we say in the blessing, "Who has made us holy
with His Mitzvahs, and commanded us…" Just as He commands us because He wants to
bestow goodness upon us, so too must we give Him pleasure and fulfill His
Mitzvahs and this will bind us to Him. Only then are we able to receive the
Light of Torah and partake of its spiritual pleasures.
This is what King David prayed: "May my heart be
tamim, whole, in Your statutes." As Rashi explains on the verse, "Be
whole [in Hebrew, 'tamim'] with Hashem, your G-d." When you
accept everything with temimus, sincerity and wholeness, then you will
attain closeness to G-d and become His portion.
[Delivered orally; translated by David Devor from his notes and extensively edited by KabbalaOnline.org staff.]
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