Parshat Chukat speaks about the Para Aduma, the red heifer used in the times of the Holy Temple. The ashes of the red heifer represented the ultimate paradox. The ashes purified someone who was impure, but they had the exact opposite effect as well. If someone was ritually pure, the ashes would make him impure.
King Solomon said that he was able to understand the logic behind all the Torah's commands, except for this one. So from here, Solomon deduced: While we can try to understand the reasons for the mitzvot, the bottom line is we do them "because G-d said so."
If that's true, we might ask: Why do so many of the mitzvot have an observable benefit, for instance, the weekly recharge that Shabbat provides or the lessons of discipline we gain from keeping kosher?
Actually, we could ask the same question about our physical health. For example, it is understandable that our bodies require Vitamin C, but why did G-d put Vitamin C into delicious oranges? Why didn't He simply make Vitamin C pills or put all the essential vitamins into something bland like oatmeal?
The answer is that G-d created us with a drive for meaning and satisfaction. So while Vitamin C is an essential requirement, G-d wanted to give it to us in the most pleasurable form possible. The orange flavor is a great reason to eat oranges, but not the real reason!
So, too, with our spiritual health. Although we enjoy the practical benefits of mitzvot, the real reason we observe them is "because G-d said so." In doing so, this raises our relationship with G-d to a much higher level of love and commitment. And ultimately, that is the best reason there could be.
RABBI SHRAGA SIMMONS
