The parashah begins with the words זאת התורה חקת, "This is the law of the Torah..." and it goes on to discuss the laws of tumah and taharah, related to the laws of parah adumah.
The Or HaChaim asks, "Why does the Torah refer to this mitzvah with a general name, התורה חקת, the law of the Torah? It should have stated... הטומאה חקת זאת or זאת הטהרה חקת, 'These are the laws of tumah,' or "These are the laws of taharah?"
The Kedushas Levi zt'l explains that here the Torah implies that the entire Torah is a chok.
The Kedushas Levi zt'l writes, "The reasons for the Torah and its mitzvos are concealed from every man... This is implied in התורה חקת זאת, the entire Torah with all its mitzvos are a chok, since its reasons weren’t revealed to us. The primary purpose we keep the mitzvos is because לאמר 'ה צוה, Hashem commanded us to do so."
And since we don't know the reasons for the mitzvos, it is impossible to rationalize or make exceptions. We do as we were commanded because this is Hashem's decree.
There is an ongoing battle between the neshamah and the body. The neshamah wants to serve Hashem while the body doesn't. The Kedushas Levi explains that this is because the neshamah knows the taamim for the mitzvos of the Torah, while the body doesn't. The body doesn't know the reasons for the mitzvos and, therefore, doesn't want to perform them.
When we don’t feel the need to understand everything, we will accept the halachah as Hashem told it to us. We won't try to make changes in the Torah, chalilah, to fit our opinions, worldviews, and the like. This is Hashem's decree, and we will keep it exactly as Hashem commanded it.
The first Rashi of the parashah states, "The Satan and the nations of the world taunt the Jewish nation, and they say, 'What is this commandment [of parah adumah]? What is its purpose?' Therefore, the Torah labels parah adumah a decree (חוק). I have decreed it; You have no right to question it."
The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabba 19:8) elaborates: "A non-Jew told Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai, 'The parah adumah process appears like witchcraft. You take a cow, burn it, crush it, and then take its ashes. If one became tamei to a human corpse, you sprinkle two or three drops on him and proclaim him pure.'"
Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai rebuffed the goy not to be so surprised by this procedure because goyim have similar methods to cure those who suffer from an evil spirit. When the goy left, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai told his students the real answer. He said, "I swear, death doesn't create tumah, and water doesn't purify. Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, התורה חקת זאת, this is My rule, which you must comply with."
In other words, parah adumah is a chok, a rule that we keep without understanding its reason, logic, or explanation.
The Midrash continues: "All korbanos are male. Why is the parah adumah female? It is a mashal to an infant, the child of a maidservant, who dirtied the king's palace with excretion. The king commanded, 'Let his mother come and clean up her son's mess.' Similarly, Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, 'Let the parah adumah come and atone for the egel.'"
An egel is a young calf. The parah adumah is like the mother who comes to clean up her calf’s mess.
The end of this Midrash seems to contradict the beginning of the Midrash. The Midrash begins by teaching that parah adumah doesn't have an explanation, and then the midrash brings down a reason for this mitzvah - to atone for the egel!
Rebbe Yitzchak of Vorke zt'l answers that parah adumah is a chok. We don't know the reason for this mitzvah, and we keep it solely because we believe in Hashem. And now that we have displayed our emunah in Hashem, the emunah atones for the egel. The egel was avodah zorah, a lack of emunah, which we rectify by demonstrating our emunah in Hashem.
