Machshavot HaLev - Yeshivat Lev HaTorah

185
בלה תובשחמ
understanding, returns at the end of the section of para aduma to explain, from
beginning to end, the symbolic meaning of this mitzva and all its details! Didn’t
he already point out that we cannot comprehend this enigmatic mitzva?
We may be able to glean insight into this question based upon a mishna that
appears in Berachot (33b) and Megilla (25a). The mishna discusses a shaliach
tzibbur who inserts the phrase, “Your mercy extends to birds’ nests” into the tefilla
in the modim section, where we praise various aspects of God’s involvement with
the world. The reference is to the mitzva of kan tzippor, which is that one must
send away a mother bird before taking her eggs (Devarim 22:6-7).
What is wrong with adding this extra praise? One opinion in the Gemara explains
that this formula assumes that the reason for this mitzva is mercy, while it is but
a Divine decree. What does this mean? The Tosafot Yom Tov explains that it is
not a problem to give a reason for the mitzva of kan tzippor, but to express that
reason as part of tefilla. When one praises God for His mercy toward birds as
manifested by the mitzva of kan tzippor, and inserts that praise into tefilla, that
is an expression of the person’s confidence that this is definitely the correct and
comprehensive reason for the mitzva. Searching for ta’amei ha-mitzvot is entirely
valid (see Pesachim 119a), but only when it is done with the right perspective. We
must recognize our human limitations and realize that we may not comprehend
the entirety of what God had in mind when He commanded a particular mitzva.
Once we have that perspective, we are encouraged to delve into the meaning of
mitzvot, a process which can enhance our mitzva observance.
This perspective on the search for ta’amei ha-mitzvot has an important
ramification which can help us understand the beginning of our parsha. When
we approach ta’amei ha-mitzvot with the understanding that all we can offer
are suggestions that do not necessarily encompass the full significance of the
mitzvot, it is obvious that our observance of a mitzva cannot be dependent upon
the reason for the mitzva (as Rambam points out explicitly in Hilchot Me’ila 8:8
and in other places). Since we can never be entirely sure that we have properly or
fully understood the mitzva, it would be ludicrous to base our observance upon
those questionable understandings. Furthermore, this approach is based upon a
measure of humility which also would make it ludicrous to question the viability