Touched by Transcendence
When G-d is consistent we are in touch with and touched by an aspect of G-d that conforms to our level. When, however, we encounter a paradox and accept it as G-d’s will, we then access a “higher” and more essential aspect of G-d that transcends human comprehension.
The Enigma of Purity and Impurity
One of the most enigmatic areas of Jewish law is the subject of Tumah (usually translated as impurity) and Taharah (purity). One of the ways a person becomes Tamei (ritually impure) is by coming in contact with the dead. This week’s Parsha characterizes the laws of purification from this impurity as a Chukah, a law that defies rational comprehension.
According to the Midrash, not only is this specific area of law beyond our understanding, but, indeed, all the laws of purity and impurity are an enigma because of their paradoxical nature. The Midrash cites the following examples:
Paradoxes
If a person develops a leprous blotch the size of a dime, he is rendered ritually impure. However, if that blotch spreads and covers his entire body, he is ritually clean!
A midwife who delivers a stillborn baby is ritually unclean because she touched a dead body, while the mother who is actually carrying the baby remains ritually pure until the child has emerged.
The people who were involved in the rite of the Parah Adumah-Red Cow (the ritual that purifies the person who had come in contact with the dead and his garments) must purify their garments, yet the Parah Adumah-Red Cow ritual itself purifies impure garment These and other paradoxes illustrate the elusive nature of these laws of impurity. This is why these laws are distinguished from others and referred to as Chukim, because they derive from an aspect of G-d that transcends logic. Hence, they are not less important than the rational practices of Judaism, but, on the contrary, they reflect an aspect of G-d that transcends nature. By performing these laws, one creates a relationship with a transcendent aspect of G-d.
The Paradox of Life
Upon deeper reflection it will be apparent that all of life is an enigma, a paradox. Life is punctuated with both happiness and sorrow. Many, If not all, of life’s positive experiences have negative consequences? Conversely, there is hardly a negative action or experience that does not lead to something positive.
Take for example the person who breaks his leg and as a result cannot go on a trip. Later he discovers that the plane he was supposed to take crashed. The negative experience of breaking a leg — a real negative experience — is the indirect cause of this person staying alive.
Often evil people beget good children, while some exceptionally good parents may bear evil children.
We have all heard the frequently asked question why good people suffer while evil people prosper? If everyone would suffer equally, we would also find it difficult to grasp why G-d allows the innocent to be included. But, it is doubly hard to fathom the paradox as to why the good suffer while the evil prosper? Why is there so much inconsistency in G-d’s universe?
The truth of the matter is that there is no acceptable rational answer to this question. If there was, why has every generation of great Jewish leaders repeated the question? It is obvious that no matter how many attempts we take at comprehending the paradoxical nature of the universe, we cannot really say that it makes complete sense to us.
The reason we cannot rationally understand these paradoxes is because they come from an aspect of G-d that transcends logic. Logic, after all, is also one of G-d’s creations. By definition, a creation is finite and we cannot demand that the infinite G-d be measured by a finite receptacle called logic.
Chukim: Coping Mechanism
When one confronts one of life’s paradoxes, our appreciation for the transcendent aspect of G-d that is responsible for the Chukim-trans-rational commandments can help us deal with it. We are reminded that G-d expresses Himself most eloquently through the Chukim, the trans-rational commandments, because they alone reflect a level of divinity that transcends logic and nature.
By reflecting on these special commandments and the unique relationship with G-d that they forge, we can find some solace — not understanding — in life’s paradoxes and enigmas. When G-d is consistent we are exposed to an aspect of G-d that “fits in” to our rational receptors. So we are in touch with and touched by an aspect of G-d that conforms to our level. When, however, we encounter a paradox and accept it as G-d’s will, we then access a “higher” and more essential aspect of G-d that transcends human comprehension.
The Ultimate Paradox
The ultimate goal, however, is to have G-d express His essence to us in a way that can be appreciated by all our faculties, our minds included.
This will happen when Moshiach ushers in a new age concerning which the prophet says “Thank you G-d for having shown your wrath to me.” Only then will we fathom the unknowable. Only then will the paradoxes be resolved.
In truth, that is the ultimate paradox; we will understand things that are inherently above and beyond understanding!
While we are waiting, our task is threefold: do everything in our power to alleviate suffering and pain from others, realize that G-d’s ways cannot be fathomed and respectfully demand of G-d to bring an end to suffering by bringing Moshiach.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Chukas by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
