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Ask The Rabbi

Ask The Rabbi

category:  Chassidut

Mitzvos without rhyme or reason

The Rav Name: Rabbi Asher Lemil Cohen

Shalom & Greetings,

I wanted to ask why we are commanded to perform mitzvos which have no rhyme or reason, for the superiority of man is that one has the ability to think and to comprehend. So why not have every mitzvah explained, to make it easier and more pleasant to perform?

 

An important part of fulfilling the mitzvot is understanding and comprehending that they come from the infinite G-d, who is beyond our comprehension and knows what is best for us and for our souls. Therefore, we follow his directives. There is a category of the Mitzvot called chukim, which emphasize that point. If we could understand all of the mitzvot, we might make the mistake of thinking that since the mitzvot make sense, and then we come across one that doesn’t seem to, we are free not to keep it.

There are mitzvot that we do understand and this is G-d’s kindness to us, in order for us to internalize them better. A Jew dedicates himself to performing the mitzvot not simply because he understands them, but because he wishes to perform G-d’s will.

Studying Chassidut can help us find deep insights into all the mitzvot, even if those insights are not the REASON we fulfill the precepts, and when we study Chassidut we find ourselves wishing that we fulfill the mitzvot we DO understand with the same nullification to G-d as the ones we do not understand.

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