Maybe You Should Skip It?

In the laws of ritual purity, Maimonides’ appears to make contradictory statements:

First, he rules that one who is not eating sacrificial food, should not concern himself whether he or his food becomes impure. But in the next law, he makes a statement that seems to be at odds with this: Maintaining purity through restraint, even where it is not ritually necessary, is one of the greatest virtues.

The answer: Maimonides presents Torah law in an organized and precise order. Upon completing the “letter of the law”, the student is introduced to “the spirit of the law”, which he must then begin to internalize and implement.

The goal is not to be pre-occupied with your will, but rather with G-d’s will – as expressed in the Chassidic adage: ‘That which is prohibited, is prohibited without question; and that which is permitted, one must first contemplate if he really needs it.”