Shabbat Gathering: "Because I say so."

Gud Shabbos Khaveyrim, as is our custom, we will gather tonight at 5.45p ct to welcome Shabbat. These are the coordinates:

Zoom
Meeting ID: 883 8469 4181
Password: 822665
Phone: +1 312 626 6799

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Here we go.

In this week’s Torah portion, readers come face-to-face with some commandments that just don’t make sense to us mere humans. Specifically, we read about the laws concerning the selection of the red heifer and what ends up being done with it. And it doesn’t make much sense, just like some other commandments in Torah.

Over the ages, the rabbis have come to agree that not all of the commandments make the same type of sense as commandments to honor your mother and father and not to kill other people. Some of the commandments just seem to be made up out of nothing. For example, there’s the admonition against eating catfish because it doesn't have scales, a commandment that this son of the south has problems swallowing.

Down through the ages, the rabbis have come to accept that some of the commandments are simply beyond human understanding. Rashi, a medieval French rabbi, said that people aren’t even permitted to question these type of commandments. My favorite Torah commentary quotes a rabbi named Rambam and says, “It is axiomatic, however, that since all laws of the Torah are the products of God’s intelligence, any human inability to comprehend them indicates the limitation of the student, not the teacher. As the sages expressed it, there is nothing meaningless or purposeless in the Torah, and if it seems so, it is only a product of our own deficiency.”

Why?

Based on my own life experience, particularly that of being a father, I get it. In dealing with children, sometimes we want to patiently explain why we have a rule and why the rule ought to be followed. We want to turn it into a learning moment. But sometimes, especially in moments of frustration, a parent (me) might revert to, “Because I say so.” When I’m the one hearing, “Because I say so,” I frequently react like a surly kid who replies, “Why?”

I don’t keep kosher and I’m certainly am not going to check a cow for stray white hairs. But this doesn’t mean I don’t have faith in the authority of Hashem’s commandments. Instead, I make well informed compromises. I drive to shul on Shabbat. I try to remember to say the morning prayers but frequently forget. And I eat catfish. Noticing these gaps between my faith and my practice keeps me humble.

And may it be for all of us a blessing.

See you tonight!
Mit vareme grusn,
(With warm regards,)

All my love,
brian.

PS

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