Vayikra, 26:3
We shall do and we shall hear!
Mishpattim are generally known as those Mitzvot that have clear rational explanations. Chukim are considered mitzvot without clear rationale. Examples of Mishpattim are Mitzvot like the laws of damages, charity, business transaction etc. Chukim would include laws such as Sha’atneiz, Kashrut and Tum’ah.
What about the Mitzvah to study the Torah: is that a Mishpat or is it aChok? Since there is rationale in studying the Torah, in order to know the Laws, it would appear to be a Mishpat. And yet the first Rashi onBechukotai makes it clear that when the Torah describes the positive outcomes that would flow from “your walking in My Chukim”, it refers specifically to Ameilus Batorah (toiling in Torah: applying oneself intensely to Torah study). The study of torah is a chok, therefore, not a mishpat.
There are two mitzvot with respect to learning. One is to know the Torah. But there is a second Mitzvah, to toil in the Torah even if you know it perfectly. Clearly then the intended outcome of the Mitzvah of Torah study, is not knowledge. It is something different.
We see the same idea with the glorious statement of Na’aseh veNishmah (we shall do and we shall hear) uttered by the Jewish Nation at Kabbalat Hatorah. Clearly to do, you need to have heard! So what did they mean by the “we shall hear” after the “we shall do”? Before doing they studied in order to know what to do. After doing, their studying was for some higher purpose other than the acquisition of knowledge.
The Rambam paskens at the end of Hilchot Chagigah that even people who do not understand Hebrew, even Chachamim who know the entire Torah already, and even people who cannot hear[1], still have to go to the Beit HaMikdash on Motzei first night Sucot in the year after Shemitta, to hear the King reading from the Torah (Mitzvat Hakheil). What is the purpose of their presence their if they either do not understand, cannot hear or know the whole Torah already?! Again we see, the Mitzvah of studying the Torah goes beyond the acquisition of knowledge and information.
What is a Chok really?
A chok is not a law without rational explanation. A chok is a law of causality whose outcome is neither linear nor measurable. For example, pharmacology is a science of measurable linear causality. You can explain and measure the effect of administering a specific drug to a patient. Homeopathy also has causality. Studies have been made that show that certain homeopathic remedies have specific results. But there is no linear relationship or measurable causality between the quantity and nature of the remedy and its outcome. Homeopathy is a chok of nature.
Every action has a reaction. Every cause gives rise to an effect. Whatever we do sets a process in motion that has consequence. Ultimately that consequence, whether positive or negative, comes back to us. We create our own reward and punishment. It is called consequence. Every one of our deeds, words and thoughts has consequence. The consequences of deeds are sometimes linear and measurable. If I drive my car into yours, there will be a measurable and predictable consequence. The consequences of words and thoughts are hardly ever linear or measurable, but they are there all the same. The law of cause and effect in the non-linear, non-measurable world is called a chok.
Learning that yields knowledge, is rational. Learning of Torah for a higher purpose is non-linear and non-measurable; it is a chok.
Linear causality depends on measurable action; the causality of a chok depends on intention too
Back to the example of driving my car into yours: The damage I do is a function only of measurables such as speed, weight etc. It will make no difference to the quantum of damage if I intended it or did not. However, the damage caused by a word or thought is dependent on intangibles such as intent. Two people can say the same thing yet cause different degrees of damage because of their differing intents. In the same way, the benefits we derive from a chok will differ according to the intention of the practitioner. The Rambam at the end of Hilchot Tumah gives an example of this principle: Immersing oneself in a Mikveh has no effect at all if it wasn’t accompanied by mindfulness. This is because Mikveh immersion is not the same as taking a bath. When you take a bath to remove dirt, the causality is linear and measurable. But Tumah is a chok, and so is Mikveh. The impact of the act of immersion is not linear, nor is it tangible. It depends therefore not only on the effectiveness of the act, but also on the focus of intention.
The Rambam extends that idea to the mental and spiritual cleansing and purification gained from immersing your mind in the study of Torah. That will only be effective though, if the act of studying is preceded by reflection, mindfulness and intent. For the Torah’s capacity to cleanse and purify, is a chok, not a mishpat.
How do you prepare yourself to receive the mental cleansing effect of Torah study?
The cleansing effect is not the function of your intellectual application to Torah. To experience the cleansing, you need to prepare yourself emotionally before you even begin. Some of that preparation is described by the Rambam when he teaches how people who cannot hear or understand the Torah need to prepare themselves for the Mitzvah of Hakheil: “Those who cannot understand should prepare their hearts and apply their ears to hear with awe, and fear, and joy and trembling just as the day it was given on Sinai… And those who cannot hear should apply their hearts to the reading”[2]. Note, this is heart work, not head work. This is about emotions: awe, fear, joy and trembling, not intellect. It is possible to access the cleansing, spiritual dimension of Torah from feeling it with your senses rather than from analyzing it with your head. (This is not too different from the Nefesh HaChayim saying that you can access the power of prayer without understanding the meaning of the words. You need to hear their sound, visualize their forms.) It is imaginative, emotional work, not an analytical process.
Shavuot
These ideas provide us with a new platform from which to experience Shavuot. Our consciousness, our minds and our thoughts are constantly bombarded with images and ideas that are often either violent, untrue, corrupt or immoral. We absorb these ideas and images. They affect us deeply in subconscious places. They pollute the beauty and purity of our souls. They obscure the clarity of our vision and defile the innocence of our spirituality. We cannot avoid these ideas and images. They are everywhere. Just as we cannot avoid breathing polluted air and eating polluted foods. But, just as our bodies have ingenious systems to purify our blood and filter our food, so too the soul has a purifying and filtering system. That is the system that G-d gave us at Sinai. That is the system we thank Him for and celebrate on Shavuot. Because, with mindful intent and emotional preparation, we can immerse ourselves in Torah thoughts. And, whether or not we fully understand them, we can experience their cleansing effect. Rejuvenated, vital, healthy and pure, we can emerge from our sessions of learning, and irrespective of who we are and where we have been, each of us can see the Truth and marvel at its glory.
Notes:
[1] Not because they are deaf, but possibly because of distance and surrounding disturbance
[2] Chagiga 3:6
