This week's Torah portion, Chukas, features the law of the red heifer, which is considered the quintessential illogical law in the Torah. The ashes of the red heifer were used to purify one who was ritually impure, yet these very same ashes would defile one who started off in a state of ritual purity. Although the law of the red heifer has not been in practice since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, there are other seemingly inexplicable laws in practice nowadays, such as the kosher dietary laws and the prohibition of wool and linen combinations in our clothing.

Why would G-d give us laws that make no apparent sense? What purpose does this type of commandment serve?

Perhaps we can gain some insight from the following incident. One of the great Torah sages of the last century was R' Meir Simcha of Dvinsk (1843-1926). He had a faithful assistant who did everything exactly as he was instructed by R' Meir Simcha. On one occasion, R' Meir Simcha told him to do something, but he disagreed. R' Meir Simcha said to him, "You never listen to what I say!" The assistant was taken aback by this sharp rebuke and responded, "How could you say such a thing? After all, this is the first time I've ever disagreed with you!" R' Meir Simcha replied," While that may be true, this time proves that all the other times you followed my directions it was because you agreed with them, not because I was instructing you to do it, for if that were the case, you'd carry out my instructions whether you agreed with them or not!"

Likewise, we can easily appreciate sound logic and reasoning behind the vast majority of G-d's commandments.  But if that were to constitute the totality of our observance, it would leave room to doubt whether our motivation was to fulfill the will of G-d, or merely do what makes sense to us. When we are confronted by commandments that don't appeal to our logic and reasoning and we still faithfully observe them, it clearly shows that our commitment to observe all of the commandments is based upon the fact that the mitzvos are an expression of the Divine will.

As Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch writes in his introduction to Horeb, his work that explores the philosophy behind Jewish law and observances, "Whatever command or prohibition of G-d it may be that prompts one to ask why one should do this and not do that, there is but one and the same answer: Because it is the will of G-d. This answer is not only adequate; it is essentially the only one possible, and it would remain so even if we were able to penetrate into the reason for every commandment, or if G-d himself had disclosed to us the reasons for His commandments. We should have to perform them, not because there was such-and-such a reason for any commandment, but because G-d had ordained it. How else could we be servants of G-d?"

Let us appreciate the value of all of G-d's commandments, particularly those that do not make sense to us, because at the end of the day, it's those apparently illogical commandments that declare loud and clear that we are not engaging in self-serving Judaism, but rather G-d-serving Judaism.