Halakhah su Ecclesiaste 7:23

It is well-known and famous among us - the people that accepted the commandments - that there are seventy faces to the Torah. And in each one of them, there are many great and numerous roots, and to each and every root, [is there] branches - each one supports a great cluster of fruits that are pleasant for hearts to ponder. Each day they put out a flower for those that are constant over them - flowers of wisdom and good reasoning. The depth of its wisdom enlightens the eyes, [it] is broad and surrounding, to the point that a man does not have the power to grasp its end; as the wise king testified (Ecclesiastes 7:23), "I said that I would fathom it, but it is far from me." And with all of this, the hands of the one who is involved with it should not tire, for whether he eats little or much, it is all sweet. And if there are many whose hand will not reach the fruit to take it, let them take the leaves for themselves as medication. And I - with the knowledge of its great value and enormous depth and that 'it is a wonder and sublime for me' - have opened my mouth to speak about it. And I will rely upon what my teachers have taught me (Avodah Zarah 19a), "Let a person recite (ligris), and even though he does not know what he said, as it is stated (Psalms 119:20), 'My soul is crushed (garsah) for desire.'"

From the roots of the commandment, [we need to] preface [that] anyone who has intelligence will not have a doubt that there was never a man that grasped to know all wisdom to its end, that nothing of it be hidden from him. As behold even about our teacher Moshe, peace be upon him, they, may their memory be blessed, said (Rosh Hashanah 21b), "There are fifty gates of understanding, and they were all given over to Moshe, except for one." And likewise, the wise King Shlomo said about himself (Ecclesiastes 7:23), "I said, 'I will be wise,' but it is distant from me." And also any one with a brain in his skull will not have a doubt that God, may He be blessed, is the Father of wisdom and it is from Him - it comes out that it is all included in Him. And there is also not any doubt that the Father of all good would only command something to His creatures for their good and for their benefit, and to distance any injury from them. And therefore, when we grasp some of the commandments with our wisdom, to know the benefit that accrues to us from them, we shall rejoice about it. But when we do not grasp the benefit to us from them, with our wisdom, we must nonetheless think that with the extra wisdom that God, may He be blessed, has over every creature, He knows the benefit to us in that commandment. And therefore, He commanded us about it.

The commandment of the red heifer: That Israel was commanded to burn the red heifer so that its ashes will be ready for anyone who needs it to be purified from the impurity of the dead, as it is stated (Numbers 19:2), "Speak to the Children of Israel and they shall take to you a red heifer," and it is written below this (Numbers 19:9), "It will be a safeguard for the Children of Israel." Even though my heart has given me the gumption to write hints of the simple reasons for the previous commandments, with the excuse that [this] work is to instruct my son and his young friends, may God protect them; on this commandment my hands are weak and I am afraid to open my mouth about it at all, since I have seen that our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, spoke at length regarding the depth of its secret and greatness of its content; to the point that they said (Bemidbar Rabbah 19, Midrash Tanchuma 4:6:6) that King Solomon was able through his great wisdom to understand all the reasons of the Torah, except for this - as he stated about it (Ecclesiastes 7:23), "I have said that I will understand, but it is far from me." They also said in the Midrash Tanchuma 4:6:8, "Rabbi Yose BeRebbi Chanina says, 'The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe, "To you I will reveal the reason for the red heifer, but not to others."'" And there are many other similar statements. And now, the listener should not think that the matter of its secret and the matter of its being an arational commandment (chok) is that the ashes affect purification, as one will find a similar [process] with other sacrifices for the person with a discharge or a new mother, whose purification is completed by the offering of their sacrifices.