Knowledge is Power -- G-dly Knowledge is Super Power.
Rambam/Maimonides writes; “Although all of the statutes of
the Torah are decrees, as we explained in the conclusion of Hilchot Me'ilah, it
is fit to meditate upon them and wherever it is possible to provide a reason,
one should provide a reason. The Sages of the early generations said that King
Solomon understood most of the rationales for all the statutes of the Torah.
It appears to me that the verse Leviticus 27:10: "It
and the animal to which its holiness will be transferred shall be
consecrated" shares a similar motivating rationale as the verse ibid.:15:
"If the one who consecrates it shall redeem his house, he shall add a
fifth of the money of the redemption valuation to it."
The principle behind these laws is that the Torah descended
to the bottom of a person's thoughts and the scope of his evil inclination. For
human nature tends to increase his property and attach importance to his money.
Even though he made a vow or consecrated something, it is possible that he will
reconsider, change his mind, and redeem it for less than its worth. Hence the
Torah states: "If he redeems it for himself, he must add a fifth."
Similarly, if he consecrated an animal in a manner that its
physical person becomes consecrated, he might reconsider. In this instance,
since he cannot redeem it, he will exchange it for a lesser one. If he was
given permission to exchange a superior animal for an inferior one, he will
exchange an inferior one for a superior one and claim that it was superior.
Therefore, the Torah removed that option, forbidding all exchanges and
penalized him that if he made an exchange, "It and the animal to which its
holiness will be transferred shall be consecrated."
All of these ordinances are to subjugate one's evil inclination
and improve one's character. Similarly, most of the Torah's laws are nothing
other than "counsels given from distance" from "He Who is of
great counsel" to improve one's character and make one's conduct upright.
And so it is written Proverbs 22:20-21: "Behold, I have written for you in
the Torah prominent matters, to inform you of the veracity of the words of
truth, so that you will respond truthfully to those who send to you."
(Temurah Chap 4 Hal. 11)
In his introduction to ethics of our fathers, “Eight
Chapters” Maimonides writes; When it comes to rational commandments, those
directives that any human mind can and does appreciate they are no good, like
killing and stealing, a person should always strive to have no attraction to
those behaviors, and should always come to the knowledge and feeling of saying
“I don’t find it possible to act that way”.
As far as the supra rational commandments that we observe,
only because we are commanded to observe them in the Torah, like keeping the
dietary laws of eating kosher, the proper mentality and attitude is to say, “oh
how I wish I could do those (forbidden) things, however I will not, only
because my Father in Heaven told me to keep away from them.”
However, according to the law mentioned at the beginning of
this article, once a person discovers and ascertains a rational and purpose for
the observance of ALL commandments, even for the statues in the Torah, he/she
would be intellectually satisfied and will feel detested by all those things
G-d told us not to do, and will not feel like he wants to do any of those
detestable behaviors.
How will he be able to approach the statutes as Maimonides
recommends, feeling as if he would do the transgression, but is not, ONLY
because G-d commanded?
In His guide to the perplexed, Maimonides explains; Although
there are commandments that do make rational sense, since it is G-d who is
beyond human intellect commanding us, there are always going to be details in
law that is beyond comprehension. As far as the commandments that are known as
decrees and statutes, the entire foundation and many of the details of the
commandment doesn’t lend itself to logic even when some of the details can and
should be understood.
In both types of commandments, there is the aspect that requires
obedience and acceptance of G-ds authority, and there is the area where humans
can and therefore should find a personal satisfying rational and
self-empowerment. "Logical commandments should be observed with the
obedience of statutes, and statutes should be observed with the enthusiasm and
personal connection of the rational commandments."
This allows us to
enjoy even those statutes that don’t really make much logical sense, and
appreciate that even rational commandments are in truth part of our lives only
because they are "counsels given from distance" from "He Who is
of great counsel" to improve one's character and make one's conduct
upright. Elevating & connecting us to a place higher than our finite
identities.
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