Chukas

Parshas Chukas


In the Haftarah from next week's Torah portion, we find the following verse from Micha 6:  "He has told you, man, what is good, and what G-d seeks of you: only the performance of justice, the love of kindness, and walking humbly with your G-d." One could incorrectly interpret this verse and think that all G-d wants is that we do kindness and justice according to what we may feel is right.

The irony of this is that this week's Torah portion discusses the red heifer, the cow whose ashes were used for purification.  The commentators explain that this mitzvah is the epitome of a "chok," a mitzvah we don't understand.  A chok teaches us, among other ideas, that whether or not we understand a mitzvah should not dictate whether we perform the mitzvah.

Yes, we must certainly act kindly and use justice in our actions, but that is not where it stops and that is not our definition of doing mitzvos.  We must do justice and kindness according to what G-d thinks is right, even if we don't understand it.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!