One of the strangest commandments in the Torah involves a completely red cow. Its ashes were used in a purification ritual connected to contact with death. But the most puzzling part is this: the very person who performed the purification would himself become impure. Because the details of this ritual are so unusual and difficult to understand, it has long been considered the classic example of a commandment in Judaism that we follow simply because God commanded it, even if we don’t fully understand why. In other words, the person helping someone else regain purity would temporarily lose that same purity. Rav Yosef Salant suggests that this paradox may actually be the real lesson. The Torah is teaching us that not everything in life will make perfect sense to us. Just as there are commandments whose full meaning we cannot grasp, there are also things that happen in the world—events in history, personal struggles, or tragedies—that we may never fully understand. The ritual of the red cow reminds us that part of faith is learning to live with questions and recognizing that our understanding is limited. As someone once quipped, “if I could explain everything, I’d be G-d.” And that leads us directly to a topic discussed in this week’s Parsha. What is the greatest challenge for someone who believes in God? I would suggest the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people, and why do bad people prosper?” According to the Talmud, Moses asked this question when he said to G-d, “Please let me know Your ways.” (Ex. 33:13). What was the response? “You will see My back, but My face will not be seen” (Ex. 33:23), which means you will only be able to see Divine justice in retrospect—looking backward at what has already occurred—but we will never be able to see how G-d acts in real time. Sometimes we can see how things worked out for the best just a short time later. Sometimes it takes years, and sometimes there are events we will never understand in this lifetime. We live inside the story, not reading it from a comfortable distance. Maimonides, in his Guide for the Perplexed, suggests that Moses presented the following challenge to the Almighty: You told me that the nation is stiff necked but at the same time, You asked me to lead them. The only way I can do that is if I have a better understanding of how You act. G-d’s answer was clear: You don’t need to know. You can lead without knowing the exact way I run the world. This is perhaps the most relevant message for our current moment. Moses—the greatest prophet who ever lived, the man who spoke with Hashem “face to face”—was told that he could fulfill his leadership role without understanding the complete picture. If Moshe could lead without knowing everything, surely, we can navigate our own lives and responsibilities without having all the answers. It’s easy to say that we’re living in times that feel very much like the Purim story and all the pieces are falling into place. Could this conflict lead to greater things? Could we be witnessing the End of Days? The honest answer is, of course, we don’t know. More than that, we don’t need to know. Instead of obsessively refreshing news sites trying to predict what comes next, we can focus on what we can do and what we should do. Instead of trying to decode every headline or predict how events will unfold, we should focus on what has always been within the Jewish response to uncertainty. We can daven for the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel. We can support the IDF soldiers who risk their lives defending the Jewish people. We can strengthen our Torah study, deepen our mitzvah observance, give tzedakah, and support those around us who feel anxious or afraid. Moses led the Jewish people through the wilderness without knowing exactly how every event would unfold. He led with faith, courage, and commitment—even without having all the answers. One day we may look back and see the pattern clearly. Only then will we fully understand what Hashem meant when He told Moses, “You will see My back, but My face will not be seen.” We may not understand the story while we are living it, but when we look back, we may finally recognize the Hand that was guiding it all along. Until then, our task is not to know everything. Our task is to live as Jews have always lived—with faith, with responsibility, and with the quiet confidence that even when we cannot see the full picture, Hashem does. Good Shabbos |
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