Beyond Understanding: Keeping Even the Logical Laws as Decrees
From the Torah ofRav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitzהרב דוד מתתיהו בן יחיאל יהושע רבינוביץProfile ›
Shemos 21:1
וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים לִפְנֵיהֶם
And these are the laws that you shall set before them.
Rashi: “And these” adds to the earlier ones. Just as the earlier ones were from Sinai, so these too are from Sinai.
1“And these are the laws that you shall set before them.”1 Rashi comments: “‘And these’ adds to the earlier ones: just as the earlier ones were from Sinai, so these too are from Sinai.” The holy sefarim, among them the Shelah, ask why the verse needed to tell us that the laws and rulings, too, were given at Sinai. Where else did we receive the whole Torah, if not at Mount Sinai? And why is this said about these laws in particular?
וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים לִפְנֵיהֶם (כא, א). ברש״י הַקָּדוֹשׁ, ׳וְאֵלֶּה׳ מוֹסִיף עַל הָרִאשׁוֹנִים, מָה הָרִאשׁוֹנִים מִסִּינַי אַף אֵלּוּ מִסִּינַי. וְהִקְשׁוּ בַּסְּפָרִים הַקְּדוֹשִׁים (של״ה) לָמָּה הוּצְרַךְ הַכָּתוּב לְהַשְׁמִיעֵנוּ שֶׁהַדִּינִים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אַף הֵם נִתְּנוּ בְּסִינַי, וְכִי מֵהֵיכָן קִבַּלְנוּ אֶת הַתּוֹרָה כּוּלָּהּ אִם לֹא בְּהַר סִינַי, וְגַם לָמָּה נִזְכַּר דָּבָר זֶה דַּיְיקָא לְעִנְיַן הַדִּינִים.
- Shemos 21:1. ↩
In shortWhy say these laws are “from Sinai,” when the whole Torah came from there, and why say it of them in particular?
2On the verse “There He set for them a chok and a mishpat,”2 Chazal teach that Israel was commanded three mitzvos at Marah: Shabbos; the red heifer, whose ashes purify a person from the impurity of the dead; and the laws between people.3 Why were these three mitzvos in particular given at Marah, before the giving of the Torah at Sinai?
וְהִנֵּה עַל הַכָּתוּב (טו, כה) ״שָׁם שָׂם לוֹ חֹק וּמִשְׁפָּט״, אִיתָא בחז״ל (סדר עולם זוטא פ״ד), שֶׁשָּׁלֹשׁ מִצְוֹת נִצְטַוּוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמָרָה, שַׁבָּת פָּרָה וְדִינִים. וְיֵשׁ לְהָבִין, לָמָּה דַּוְוקָא שָׁלֹשׁ מִצְוֹות הַלָּלוּ נִיתְּנוּ כְּבָר בְּמָרָה קוֹדֶם מַתַּן תּוֹרָה בְּסִינַי.
- Shemos 15:25. Marah is the place where Israel camped three days after crossing the Red Sea, and where Hashem made the bitter water sweet (Shemos 15:22–26). ↩
- Seder Olam Zuta, ch. 4. ↩
In shortShabbos, the red heifer and the laws between people were given at Marah; but why these three, and why before Sinai?
3aIn his holy words,4 my holy father and teacher, zt"l, cited a teaching of the holy Rebbe R' Bunim of Peshischa, zt"l, from his sefer Kol Simchah. R' Bunim explained the verse “And these are the laws that you shall set before them” as follows. A person's own existence must count for nothing in his eyes without Torah and mitzvos. That is the meaning of “that you shall set before them”: the laws of the Torah must come before a person's own existence. That is the gist of R' Bunim's words.
וכ״ק אאמו״ר זצללה״ה דִּיבֵּר בְּקָדְשׁוֹ (קדושת חלקת יהושע לב, ב) בְּשֵׁם הרה״ק רַבִּי בּוֹנִים מפרשיסחא זצללה״ה (בספרו קול שמחה), אֲשֶׁר הִגִּיד בְּפֵירוּשׁ הַכָּתוּב ״וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים לִפְנֵיהֶם״, שֶׁצָּרִיךְ שֶׁמְּצִיאוּת הָאָדָם לֹא יֵחָשֵׁב אֶצְלוֹ לִמְאוּמָה בְּלֹא תּוֹרָה וּמִצְוֹות, וְזֶהוּ ׳אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים לִפְנֵיהֶם׳, כְּלוֹמַר, שֶׁמִּשְׁפְּטֵי הַתּוֹרָה יִהְיוּ לִפְנֵי הַמְּצִיאוּת שֶׁל הָאָדָם, עכ״ד.
- Kedushas Chelkas Yehoshua 32b. ↩
3bWith this my holy father explained a passage in the early Midrash Tanna Devei Eliyahu:5 “As soon as Israel accepted the yoke of the kingship of Heaven with joy and said, ‘All that Hashem has spoken we will do and we will hear,’6 the Holy One, blessed be He, told Moshe to tell Israel to make Him a Mishkan, as it says, ‘Speak to Bnei Yisrael … and they shall make Me a Mikdash, and I will dwell among them …’”7 Saying “we will do and we will hear,” my holy father explained, means declaring that we give up our body in order to keep the Torah. That is why, as soon as Israel said it, Hashem said, “Let them take for Me an offering.”8 For the main place where Hashem dwells is “a beautiful dwelling, in his limbs,”9 within the person himself. When Israel put “we will do” before “we will hear,” they removed the screen that the body and its physicality set up, and holiness could rest deep within them. Those are his holy words.
וּבֵיאֵר בָּזֶה מַה שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּתַנָּא דְּבֵי אֵלִיָּהוּ (רבה פרק יז), וְכֵיוָן שֶׁקִּיבְּלוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם בְּשִׂמְחָה וְאָמְרוּ ״כֹּל אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר ה׳ נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע״, מִיָּד אָמַר הקב״ה לְמֹשֶׁה שֶׁיֹּאמַר לְיִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁיַּעֲשׂוּ לוֹ מִשְׁכָּן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (כה, ח) ״דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגוֹ׳ וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם״ וְגוֹ׳, ע״כ. וּבֵיאֵר, שֶׁאֲמִירַת נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע עִנְיָינָהּ לוֹמַר שֶׁאָנוּ מַפְקִירִים אֶת הַגּוּף כְּדֵי לְקַיֵּים אֶת הַתּוֹרָה, וְלָכֵן אַחַר שֶׁאָמְרוּ כֵּן, מִיָּד אָמַר הקב״ה ״וְיִקְּחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה״, שֶׁכֵּן עִיקַּר הַמָּקוֹם שֶׁיִּשְׁכּוֹן ה׳ הוּא בְּדִירָה נָאָה בְּאֵיבָרִים דִּילֵיהּ (תיקוני זוהר תי״ו כד, ב), וְכַאֲשֶׁר הֵסִירוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַמָּסָךְ הַמַּבְדִּיל מִצַּד הַגּוּף וְהַחוֹמֶר בַּמֶּה שֶׁהִקְדִּימוּ נַעֲשֶׂה לְנִשְׁמָע, יוּכַל לִהְיוֹת אֶצְלָם הַשְׁרָאַת הַקְּדוּשָּׁה בִּפְנִימִיּוּת, עכדה״ק.
- Tanna Devei Eliyahu Rabbah, ch. 17. ↩
- Shemos 24:7. ↩
- Shemos 25:2, 8. ↩
- Shemos 25:2. ↩
- Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 6, 24b. ↩
In shortR' Bunim set the Torah's laws before one's existence; the Rebbe's father added: “we will do” removed the body's screen, so the Mishkan followed.
4To understand all this, we may say the following. Among the Torah's mitzvos we find some that are a chok, a decree with no reason we can understand, like the mitzvah of the red heifer. Others are mishpatim, laws such as the rules between a person and his fellow, whose reason any sensible person understands. And there is a third kind: mitzvos that have both sides, partly rational and partly chok. One example is resting from labor on Shabbos. The basic idea of resting once a week, on Shabbos, and refraining from work on that day because on it “He rested from all His work,”10 makes sense to everyone. But some kinds of labor that the Torah forbids involve no effort or toil. One is lighting a fire. Another is carrying from one domain to another, for which a person is liable even if he carries no more than the size of a dried fig. Why these labors are forbidden is beyond our understanding. The right way to keep all of Hashem's mitzvos, the way He desires, is to do every one of them solely because Hashem commanded it, and not because our minds grasp and understand it. This holds even for the mitzvos that we do understand.
וּבִכְדֵי לְהָבִין אֶת כָּל הַנִּזְכָּר אֶפְשָׁר לוֹמַר, כִּי הִנֵּה בְּמִצְוֹת הַתּוֹרָה מָצִינוּ מִצְוֹות שֶׁהֵם בִּבְחִינַת חֹק לְלֹא טַעַם וַהֲבָנָה, כְּמוֹ מִצְוַת פָּרָה אֲדוּמָּה, וְיֶשְׁנָם מִצְוֹות שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת מִשְׁפָּטִים, כְּמוֹ הַדִּינִים אֲשֶׁר בֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵירוֹ, אֲשֶׁר כָּל בַּר דַּעַת מֵבִין אֶת טַעְמָם שֶׁל דְּבָרִים. וְיֵשׁ גֶּדֶר שְׁלִישִׁי בָּזֶה, וְהֵם מִצְוֹות שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהֶם אֶת שְׁנֵי הַבְּחִינוֹת, שֶׁחֶלְקָם הוּא מִצְוָה שִׂכְלִית וְחֶלְקָם הוּא מִצְוָה חוּקִּית, כְּגוֹן הַשְּׁבִיתָה בְּשַׁבָּת מִמְּלָאכוֹת, שֶׁעֶצֶם עִנְיַן הַמְּנוּחָה פַּעַם אַחַת בְּשָׁבוּעַ בְּשַׁבָּת וְהַשְּׁבִיתָה בּוֹ מִמְּלָאכָה מִפְּנֵי שֶׁבּוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ, הוּא דָּבָר שִׂכְלִי הַמּוּבָן לַכֹּל, אַךְ יֶשְׁנָם כַּמָּה מְלָאכוֹת הָאֲסוּרִים מִן הַתּוֹרָה שֶׁאֵין בָּהֶם טוֹרַח וְעָמָל, וּכְגוֹן הַבְעָרַת אֵשׁ, וְהוֹצָאָה מֵרְשׁוּת לִרְשׁוּת שֶׁחַיָּיב כְּשֶׁמּוֹצִיא אֲפִילּוּ בְּשִׁיעוּר כִּגְרוֹגֶרֶת, וּבִמְלָאכוֹת אֵלּוּ אֵין מוּבָן טַעַם אִיסּוּרָם. וְהִנֵּה הָאוֹפֶן הַנִּרְצֶה וְהָרָאוּי לְקַיֵּים בּוֹ כָּל מִצְוֹות ה׳, הוּא לַעֲשׂוֹתָם כּוּלָּם אַךְ וְרַק מֵחֲמַת צִיוּוּי ה׳, וְלֹא מִצַּד הַשָּׂגַת וַהֲבָנַת הַשֵּׂכֶל, וַאֲפִילּוּ בְּאוֹתָם הַמִּצְוֹות שֶׁכֵּן מֵבִין בְּשִׂכְלוֹ.
- Bereishis 2:3. ↩
In shortSome mitzvos are chukim, some rational mishpatim, and some, like Shabbos, both; yet all, even those we understand, should be done only because Hashem commanded.
5This explains why the mitzvos of Shabbos, the red heifer and the laws between people were given at Marah. The mitzvos given at Marah were a preparation and an introduction to the giving of the Torah, so Hashem gave all three kinds of mitzvos in advance. There was a chok beyond understanding, the red heifer. There were rational mitzvos, the mishpatim between a person and his fellow, which the mind understands and requires. And there was Shabbos, which has both sides together, as we saw with its labors. About these it says, “There He set for them a chok and a mishpat, and there He tested them.”11 This was a test of whether they would keep the whole Torah, as the Ramban explains on that verse, following Rashi's view.12 That is, the test was whether they would keep even the mishpatim that the mind understands as a chok.
וּבָזֶה יְבוֹאַר הַטַּעַם שֶׁנִּיתְּנוּ בְּמָרָה מִצְוֹת שַׁבָּת פָּרָה וְדִינִים, כִּי נְתִינַת הַמִּצְוֹות בְּמָרָה הָיָה הֲכָנָה וְהַקְדָּמָה לְמַתַּן תּוֹרָה, וְעַל כֵּן הִקְדִּים ה׳ לִיתֵּן כָּל שְׁלוֹשֶׁת מִינֵי הַמִּצְוֹות, מִצְוָה שֶׁהִיא בְּתוֹרַת חוֹק לְלֹא הֲבָנָה וְהִיא מִצְוַת פָּרָה אֲדוּמָּה, וְכֵן מִצְוֹות שִׂכְלִיּוֹת שֶׁהֵם הַדִּינִים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים שֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵירוֹ שֶׁהֵם דְּבָרִים שֶׁהַשֵּׂכֶל מֵבִין וּמְחַיֵּיב, וְכֵן מִצְוַת שַׁבָּת שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהּ שְׁנֵי בְּחִינוֹת אֵלּוּ גַּם יַחַד, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר. וַעֲלֵיהֶם נֶאֱמַר ״שָׁם שָׂם לוֹ חֹק וּמִשְׁפָּט וְשָׁם נִסָּהוּ״, שֶׁהָיָה זֶה בְּתוֹרַת נִסָּיוֹן עַל קִיּוּם כָּל הַתּוֹרָה, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁפֵּירֵשׁ הרמב״ן שָׁם (בדעת רש״י), וְהַיְינוּ שֶׁהַנִּסָּיוֹן הָיָה הַאִם גַּם אֶת עִנְיְנֵי הַמִּשְׁפָּט שֶׁיֵּשׁ לָהֶם הֲבָנָה בַּשֵּׂכֶל יְקַיְּימוּ בְּתוֹרַת חוֹק.
In shortHashem gave one mitzvah of each kind at Marah, preparing Israel for Sinai and testing whether it would keep even understood mishpatim as a chok.
6In this light we can explain Rashi's words, “Just as the earlier ones were from Sinai, so these too are from Sinai.” The laws between a person and his fellow are mitzvos that make sense to us, so it is about them in particular that the words “these too are from Sinai” are said. They teach that we must keep the whole Torah not because of our own reasoning but because this is what Hashem commanded at Sinai. The laws between people, too, must be kept solely because Hashem commanded us.
וְעַל פִּי זֶה יֵשׁ לְפָרֵשׁ דִּבְרֵי רש״י הַקָּדוֹשׁ ׳מָה הָרִאשׁוֹנִים מִסִּינַי אַף אֵלּוּ מִסִּינַי׳, שֶׁמֵּאַחַר וְהַדִּינִין שֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵירוֹ הֵם מִצְוֹת עִם שֵׂכֶל, לָכֵן דַּוְוקָא לְגַבֵּיהֶם נֶאֱמַר אַף אֵלּוּ מִסִּינַי, לְלַמֵּד שֶׁאֶת כָּל הַתּוֹרָה צְרִיכִים לְקַיֵּים לֹא מֵחֲמַת הַשֵּׂכֶל שֶׁל הָאָדָם, אֶלָּא מֵחֲמַת שֶׁכֵּן צִיוָּה ה׳ בְּסִינַי, וְגַם אֶת הַדִּינִים צְרִיכִים לְקַיֵּים אַךְ וְרַק מִפְּנֵי שֶׁה׳ צִיוָּה אוֹתָנוּ.
In short“These too are from Sinai” is said of the logical laws between people, to teach that even they are kept only because Hashem commanded.
7aThis brings us to the words of the holy Zohar on the verse “And these are the laws”: “These are the arrangements of gilgul,” the return of souls to this world.13 First let us explain the saying of Chazal: “If you have learned much Torah, do not claim credit for yourself, for that is what you were created for.”14 We can explain it along the lines we have set out: we should keep the Torah's mitzvos not because we understand them, but solely because Hashem commanded them. That is the meaning of “do not claim credit for yourself,” or more literally, “do not hold the good to yourself”: do not do the mitzvos because they are good in your own eyes, that is, because your reason demands it, but do them because Hashem commanded. “For that is what you were created for”: it may be that your whole coming into this world is for this very reason. In an earlier lifetime you may have kept the whole Torah, yet you kept it not because He spoke and His will was done, but because you understood and grasped it. That is why you were created and sent down to the world again, to set this right.
וּבָזֶה נָבֹא לְבֵיאוּר דִּבְרֵי הַזּוֹהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ (משפטים דף צד, א) שֶׁאָמְרוּ עַל פָּסוּק ״וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים״, ׳אִילֵּין אִינּוּן סִדּוּרִין דְּגִלְגּוּלָא׳. בְּהֶקְדֵּם לְפָרֵשׁ מַאֲמָרָם ז״ל (אבות ב, ח) אִם לָמַדְתָּ תּוֹרָה הַרְבֵּה אַל תַּחֲזִיק טוֹבָה לְעַצְמְךָ כִּי לְכָךְ נוֹצָרְתָּ, וְיֵשׁ לְבָאֵר עַל דֶּרֶךְ הַמְּבוֹאָר, שֶׁבְּקִיּוּם מִצְוֹות הַתּוֹרָה אֵין לְקַיְּימָם מֵחֲמַת הֲבָנָתוֹ אֶלָּא אַךְ וְרַק מִפְּנֵי מִצְוַת ה׳, וְזֶהוּ ׳אַל תַּחֲזִיק טוֹבָה לְעַצְמְךָ׳ לַעֲשׂוֹת הַמִּצְוֹות מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא טוֹבָה לְעַצְמְךָ, דְּהַיְינוּ מִפְּנֵי שֶׁכָּךְ מְחַיֵּיב שִׂכְלְךָ, אֶלָּא תַּעֲשֶׂה הַמִּצְוֹת מִפְּנֵי צַו ה׳, ׳כִּי לְכָךְ נוֹצָרְתָּ׳, הַיְינוּ שֶׁיָּכוֹל לִהְיוֹת שֶׁכָּל בִּיאָתְךָ לָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה אֵינָהּ אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי זֶה, שֶׁבַּגִּלְגּוּל הַקּוֹדֵם הֲגַם שֶׁקִּיַּימְתָּ כָּל הַתּוֹרָה, מִכָּל מָקוֹם כֵּיוָן שֶׁלֹּא קִיַּימְתָּ אוֹתָם מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאָמַר וְנַעֲשָׂה רְצוֹנוֹ אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי הֲבָנָתְךָ וְהַשָּׂגָתְךָ, מֵחֲמַת כֵּן נוֹצָרְתָּ וְיָרַדְתָּ שׁוּב לְעוֹלָם, לְתַקֵּן עִנְיָן זֶה.
7bSo it is precisely in this verse, “And these are the laws,” about the mitzvos between a person and his fellow, that gilgul is hinted at: “These are the arrangements of gilgul.” With these mitzvos a person can easily slip and keep them because his mind understands and grasps them, and he needs extra strength to keep them solely because Hashem commanded. If a person keeps the laws because his mind understands them, he may come back to the world in another gilgul, since he has not made himself whole.
וְעַל כֵּן בַּכָּתוּב זֶה שֶׁל ״וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים״ בְּמִצְוֹות שֶׁל בֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵירוֹ, אֲשֶׁר בָּהֶם יְכוֹלִים בְּנִיקֶל לְהִיכָּשֵׁל וּלְקַיְּימָם מִצַּד הֲבָנַת וְהַשָּׂגַת הַשֵּׂכֶל, וְצָרִיךְ חִיזּוּק לְקַיְּימָן אַךְ וְרַק מִפְּנֵי צִיוּוּי ה׳, דַּיְיקָא כָּאן נִרְמַז עִנְיַן הַגִּלְגּוּלִים ׳אִלֵּין אִינּוּן סִדּוּרִין דְּגִלְגּוּלָא׳, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁבְּאִם מְקַיְּימִים אֶת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים מִפְּנֵי הֲבָנַת הַשֵּׂכֶל, יָכוֹל הָאָדָם לָשׁוּב לְעוֹלָם בְּגִלְגּוּל שֵׁנִית מִפְּנֵי שֶׁלֹּא הִשְׁלִים אֶת עַצְמוֹ.
In shortLogical laws are easily kept for our reasons, and a soul that kept the Torah so may return; that is the Zohar's hint of gilgul.
8May Hashem grant that we be privileged to serve Him only in the way of “before them,” giving up the body solely to do the will of our Maker, and through this may we keep the whole Torah. Then the words of Chazal will be fulfilled in us: “The son of Dovid will not come until all the souls in the guf have been used up,”15 the guf being Heaven's storehouse of souls. The souls of Israel will then no longer need to come back to this world in another gilgul. May it be His will that we be privileged to see this speedily. Amen.
יְהִי רָצוֹן שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה לַעֲבוֹד אֶת ה׳ רַק בִּבְחִינַת ׳לִפְנֵיהֶם׳, שֶׁנַּפְקִיר אֶת הַגּוּף אַךְ וְרַק לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹן קוֹנֵינוּ, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה נְקַיֵּים אֶת כָּל הַתּוֹרָה, וְאָז יְקוּיַּים בָּנוּ מַה שֶׁאָמְרוּ חז״ל (עבודה זרה ה, א) אֵין בֶּן דָּוִד בָּא עַד שֶׁיִּכְלוּ כָּל נְשָׁמוֹת שֶׁבַּגּוּף, שֶׁלֹּא יִצְטָרְכוּ נִשְׁמוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל לָשׁוּב עוֹד בְּגִלְגּוּל לְזֶה הָעוֹלָם, יְהִי רָצוֹן שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה לָזֶה בִּמְהֵרָה, אָמֵן.
- Avodah Zarah 5a. ↩
In shortMay we serve Hashem with His will set before our own existence, so that souls need not return and the son of Dovid will come.
Takeaway
The laws between a person and his fellow make sense to us, and that is exactly why they are the real test: we are to be honest and fair not because our reason demands it, but because Hashem commanded it at Sinai. When we set His will “before” our own existence, even in the mitzvos we understand, we complete what our soul came into the world to do.
Learn this in the merit of Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz. His yahrzeit and life ›
English translation, notes and summaries © Zechusam.