Rashi (19:2) writes, "The Satan and the nations of the world ask the Yidden, 'What is this mitzvah (of parah adumah)? What are the reasons for it? The Torah writes חוקה, it is a law. It is My decree, and you don't have permission to think about it." We don't understand the mitzvah, but we keep it without understanding. This is the meaning of emunah peshutah: to believe in Hashem and His mitzvos, even when we don't understand.
Wouldn't it be wise to add a drop of honey so the ketores have this most wonderful scent? The answer is 'לד אשי ממנו תקטירו לא דבש וכל שאור כל כי אמרה שהתורה מפני, "Because the Torah says, 'Do not sacrifice leaven and honey to Hashem.'"
These words exemplify that we do not follow what our common sense dictates. Our only consideration is, "What did Hashem command? What is His will?" and that is what we do. We follow the Torah with temimus, knowing that Hashem knows what's best for us.
An alcoholic had a strong liking for strong 96% vodka. His friends rebuked him. "Why do you drink? You are ruining your health and shalom bayis. All your friends are leaving you. Why don’t you stop?" The man answered, "You are right. There are ninety-five taamim (good reasons) for me to stop drinking. But this ninety-six percent drink has a taam (taste) that overrides all your ninety-five taamim."
When keeping the Torah, there may be ninety-five reasons and explanations to do things differently. Our common sense may advise in a specific direction, but we accept what Hashem commands us to do with temimus. We follow His will over human logic and all other considerations.
Perhaps this is hinted in the words תמימה אדומה פרה; we keep the mitzvah of parah adumah, and all mitzvos of the Torah, תמימה, with temimus, exactly as Hashem taught us, without adjusting anything to make the mitzvos compatible with what we think or want.
When clocks were invented, a villager traveled to the city and returned with a clock. He proudly showed it off to all his friends and neighbors, and everyone was very impressed. One of the other villagers also wanted a clock and began saving up for one. His family told him, "Why do you want a clock? It will only cause you trouble. You will be obligated to live by the clock. Let's say you are hungry, but the clock says it isn't noon yet, so you won't be able to eat lunch! If you are tired, but the clock says it is still too early, you won't be able to go to sleep! What do you need it for? Forget about the clock."
The man agreed. He quickly went to his friend who bought the clock and said, "I pity you because you bought the clock. I'm certain your life has become so much harder because of it. Now you can't eat and go to sleep when you desire. You are bound to the dictates of the clock. I truly feel bad for you." The man replied, "I thought about this problem too and found a solution. If I'm hungry, and it isn't yet noon, I just move the hands of the clock to 12:00, and then I can eat. If I'm tired, and it isn't yet 10:00 P.M., I move the clock to 10:00 and go to sleep."
This is how it appears when people try to adjust the Torah to their needs. They change things here and there to fit their schedule, desires, and priorities. But when we embrace the Torah as it was taught, we don’t change it to fit our personal needs.
Psoriasis is a painful skin condition that causes a rash and itchiness.
Reb Menachem Weiss Shlita from Elad tells that his four-year-old son suffered from Psoriasis for a long time. Reb Menachem brought his son to doctors, but they couldn't find a cure. Their only advice was to go to the Dead Sea, where his pain would be alleviated a little.
Before Shavuos (this year), his son came home from cheder and told his father that he would be healed from his Psoriasis very soon. His father asked him how he knew this, and the boy replied that his rebbe in cheder spoke to them that day about the yom tov Shavuos, which was approaching. Their rebbe told them that when Hashem gave the Torah, all the ill were cured. The boy told his father, "Our Rebbe said that it will be Shavuos and matan Torah again in a few days. At matan Torah, everyone is healed. This is how I know that I will be cured."
His father remained silent. He didn't say anything. Wondrously, during the yom tov day meal on Shavuos, the boy rolled up his sleeve and showed everyone that he was healed. The Psoriasis had disappeared. (Generally, Psoriasis becomes worse in the hot summer months. But for this boy, instead of becoming worse, it was totally healed.) We learn from this the power of emunah peshutah, the power of temimus. The boy believed that he would be healed on Shavuos, and this is what occurred.
We were all young, once upon a time. We should cast away all the "chochmos" that we acquired over time, and return to believing in Hashem with temimus, like a young child.
Rebbe Shlomke Zvhiller zt'l said that Shlomo HaMelech was אדם מכל חכם, the wisest man in the world (see Malachim 1, 5:11), yet Shlomo said (Koheles 2:9) לִּי עָמְדָה ח ָכְמָתִי אַף, "also my wisdom remained with me"
ף"א is roshei teivos for פשוטה אמונה. This means that although he was extremely wise, his power and specialty were his simple, pure emunah. He pushed aside all his wisdom and believed in Hashem with simplicity, like a young child – and that is the greatest wisdom!
We can also say that אף is roshei teivos for פשעטלאך אן, "without explanations and pilpulim". He didn't tell himself, "This case is different... It wasn't referring to this situation..." and so on. Rather, he believed in Hashem with emunah peshutah.
Every year, on Parshas Parah, Rebbe Henoch of Alexander zy"a told a story that the Chozeh of Lublin zy"a related:
During the era of the Rishonim, it was common for the Catholic priests to summon Yidden to a religious debate in front of a tribunal. Their motive was to prove their religion and legally force the Yidden to accept it.
A priest once came into a Jewish village and, with permission from the local government, announced that someone should come forward to debate with him. This time, the loser of the debate would be thrown into a river and face their death. The court said, "There will be no second chances and no appeals. Whoever loses the debate will be drowned immediately."
The Yidden were very afraid and davened to Hashem for salvation. The date of the debate was quickly approaching. No one wanted to be chosen to challenge the priest because everyone was scared that the Yid would lose the debate and be thrown into the river.
A simple tailor volunteered to take on the contest. This tailor was unlearned, which made his chance of success against the scholarly priest slim, but since no one wanted to take on the challenge, the community had no choice other than to accept his offer and pray for his success.
When the priest saw the tailor standing before him, he was confident that he would easily win this debate, and so he said to the tailor, "You can ask the first question." The tailor fearlessly said, "What does יודע איני mean?"
The priest replied, "I don't know." The jury promptly lifted the priest and drowned him in the nearby river. They didn't listen to the priest's shouts and excuses because the instructions were that there be no appeals. The loser was to be drowned immediately. He admitted that he doesn’t know, so he lost the debate.
The Yidden rejoiced. Their tefillos were answered. They asked the simple tailor how he thought of this clever question. The tailor replied, "I studied a Yiddish translation of Rashi. Rashi writes יודע איני, and the translator writes 'ich veis nisht' (I don't know). So I figured that if the learned author of this sefer didn't know the meaning of יודע איני, then this goy won't know the answer, either."
The Chozeh told this story to show how a simple, unlearned tailor can win a debate against a learned priest because for emunah, one doesn't need wisdom. Simplicity is the key factor for emunah.
