There is much in this world
We don’t understand.
Sometimes we must just say,
“Well, G-d has a plan.”
But we do have direction,
It’s a straight path, because
We were given a roadmap:
The Torah and its laws.
Mishpatim, the laws
By which we live,
Are rational and intuitive,
They appeal to our logic.
They feel correct,
They align with our morals
And intellect.
Conversely, a chok
Seems nebulous;
It doesn’t make much sense to us.
Why do some of Hashem’s commands
Defy explanation,
Subject us to the ridicule
Of the nations?
Their rationale is elusive,
But the discerning still attempt
To cull shards of insight,
To learn what is meant.
The discipline and commitment
To chukim instill
Pure obedience to G-d’s will.
At Y’tzias Mitzrayim
The whole world saw
Hashem’s existence,
His Might and Awe.
The world was G-d’s plaything
When He set the Hebrews free.
But this awareness
Was witnessed externally.
At Matan Torah, revelation
Reached each soul directly.
All who were there
Received prophecy.
The milkmaid, as well as
Forefathers of kings,
All gathered under,
The Sh’chinah’s Wings.
Beyond our boundaries
Of capacity,
Post-rational consciousness,
Veracity.
In every moment,
Of every season,
Truth resides in a realm
Beyond human reason.
Judaism does not reject
Rationale, when it’s shown.
But, it is seen as
A stepping stone
To something higher,
Extraordinary and sublime:
Something that eclipses
Space and time.
Nine red heifers
Were burnt;
Their ashes purified.
There will be a tenth
When Mashiach arrives.
HaKadosh Baruch Hu,
Your chukim elude us, yet
Your chesed always
Precedes emes.
Please forgive us
When we stumble
Through the challenges we face;
We turn to You,
For You receive us with grace.
As we struggle
To decipher life’s acronym,
Mysterious as the ways
Of your chukim.
By Sharon Marcus