Kefel (the laws of double restitution for theft) or the like. They all have great reasons, but the laws of kefel were given by Hakadosh Baruch Hu with revealed reasons, and we surely feel their sweetness; מַ חְ כִּ ימֵ י פּ ֶ תִ י וּמֵ אִ ירֵ י עֵינַיִם – they make the simple wise and enlighten the eyes! מְתוּקִים מִדְּ בַשׁ וְנֹפֶת צוּפִים – they are sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb! But then Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave chukim without revealing their reasons, only because it is a decree from Him, and you have no permission to question them. For the ultimate purpose of the entire Torah, whether chukim or mishpatim, is to do His will. This is the entire purpose!
Thus, Rav Yerucham of Mir tells us, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the Educator. He does not want everything to be explained, because then the mind would stop working. There would be no incentive to activate one’s “engine” and contemplate more than the base principle. Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives you the foundation, and you continue from there. But if you explain nothing, the student will understand nothing, because he needs something to draw him in. And how do you draw him in? You give him some beautiful ideas, tailoring the topic to our times – don’t tell him about an ox goring an ox; in his life, he’s never seen an ox! Instead, tell him about a bus crashing into a bus, or a passenger who went to take a suitcase from the bus’s luggage compartment and the door closed on him. Tell him it took two stops for the driver to realize and then open the compartment for him to get out – then ask if he needs to pay for those two stops or not! Suddenly, the student realizes that the Gemara is not ancient history but has practical relevance for tomorrow morning!
I saw someone ask a rav the following question: “Instead of saying Morid HaTal in my Amidah, I said Morid HaTil (He who brings down a missile). I got confused because of the siren. Do I need to repeat my Amidah?” You make him engage his mind. If you don’t give him a reason, he won’t come to learn. Therefore, Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave some Mitzvot with explanations and some without, so you understand that the Torah is structured in a way that not everything is revealed.
The sefer Mesilot Bilvavam adds that this is how one should act in raising children at home as well. Your child says he wants to go downstairs, and you immediately say no. The child asks, “Why not?!” And you quickly declare, “Because that’s what I decided!” Later, when he asks for Bamba, you immediately refuse, saying, “No!!!” “Why not?!” “Because that’s what I decided!!!” In the end, what will happen? He won’t listen to you for much longer. But if you explain the reason why not, he will accept it.
The same applies to spouses. During the Sheva Brachot, your wife asks, “Where are you going?” “I don’t have a reporting obligation!” You’re not even married yet, and you’ve already turned her into an income tax agent. But if you explain nicely, she’ll let you go happily. If you immediately respond harshly – “I’m not telling you where!” – you’re blowing up your married life! From the Torah’s Mitzvot, you learn life lessons and ethical ways for your personal life, both with your children and with your spouse.
