פרשת האזינו - כל דיוק שבתורה אינו סתם

For this is not a trifling thing for you: it is your very life; through it you shall long endure on the land that you are to possess upon crossing the Jordan.

In like manner there is a good reason for every passage the object of which we cannot see. We must always apply the words of our Sages: “It is not a vain thing for you” (Deut. 32:47), and if it seems vain, it seems your fault.

As Theologians are divided on the question whether the actions of God are the result of His wisdom, or only of His will without being intended for any purpose whatever, so they are also divided as regards the object of the commandments which God gave us. Some of them hold that the commandments have no object at all; and are only dictated by the will of God. Others are of opinion that all commandments and prohibitions are dictated by His wisdom and serve a certain aim; consequently there is a reason for each one of the precepts: they are enjoined because they are useful. All of us, the common people as well as the scholars, believe that there is a reason for every precept, although there are commandments the reason of which is unknown to us, and in which the ways of God’s wisdom are incomprehensible. This view is distinctly expressed in Scripture; comp. “righteous statutes and judgments” (Deut. 4:8); “the judgments of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether” (Ps. 19:10). There are commandments which are called ḥuḳḳim, “ordinances,” like the prohibition of wearing garments of wool and linen (sha‘atnez), boiling meat and milk together, and the sending of the goat [into the wilderness on the Day of Atonement]. Our Sages use in reference to them phrases like the following: “These are things which I have fully ordained for thee: and you dare not criticize them”; “Your evil inclination is turned against them”; and “non-Jews find them strange.” But our Sages generally do not think that such precepts have no cause whatever, and serve no purpose; for this would lead us to assume that God’s actions are purposeless. On the contrary, they hold that even these ordinances have a cause, and are certainly intended for some use, although it is not known to us; owing either to the deficiency of our knowledge or the weakness of our intellect. Consequently there is a cause for every commandment: every positive or negative precept serves a useful object; in some cases the usefulness is evident, e.g., the prohibition of murder and theft; in others the usefulness is not so evident, e.g., the prohibition of enjoying the fruit of a tree in the first three years (Lev. 19:73), or of a vineyard in which other seeds have been growing (Deut. 22:9). Those commandments, whose object is generally evident, are called “judgments” (mishpatim); those whose object is not generally clear are called “ordinances” (ḥuḳḳim). Thus they say [in reference to the words of Moses]: Ki lo dabar rek hu mi-kem (lit.” for it is not a vain thing for you, “Deut. 32:74); “It is not in vain, and if it is in vain, it is only so through you.” That is to say, the giving of these commandments is not a vain thing and without any useful object; and if it appears so to you in any commandment, it is owing to the deficiency in your comprehension. You certainly know the famous saying that Solomon knew the reason for all commandments except that of the “red heifer.” Our Sages also said that God concealed the causes of commandments, lest people should despise them, as Solomon did in respect to three commandments, the reason for which is clearly stated. In this sense they always speak; and Scriptural texts support the idea.

In sum: One must take care to fulfill the words of the Torah, both those things between man and his Maker and those things between man and his neighbor. For they are all the word of the L-rd, as it is written (Devarim 32:46-47): "…which you are to command your children to keep and to do — all the words of this Torah. For it is not an empty thing for you. For it is your life." For just as with the body there is life in every limb, and all [of the limbs] are required by it, so, in every mitzvah there is life for a man's soul and all [the mitzvoth] are required by it. This is the intent of Koheleth 12:13: "The end of the matter — all has been heard. Fear G-d and keep His mitzvoth. For this is the whole man." That is, through the fear of G-d, not to transgress any negative commandment and to fulfill all of His positive commandments — this is the whole man. That is, then the man is called "complete," which is not so if some mitzvah is minor in his eyes, G-d forbid, in which instance he is lacking in his soul.