신명기 4:6의 인용 해설

The first - and it is most of what I have seen and of the compositions that I have seen and of what I have heard about - believes them according to their simple meaning, and does not reason that they have any sort of esoteric meaning. And for them, the impossible things must correspond to reality. However they do this as a result of their not understanding wisdom; and they are far from the sciences and they do not have wholeness so that they be aroused on their own and they did not find someone to arouse them. [These people] hold that the sages, may their memory be blessed, only intended in all of their straight and sweet words what [this group] understood according to their intellect from them, and that they are according to their simple meaning - and even though that which appears in some of their words is repulsive and that which pushes the intellect away. To the point that if it would be recounted to the unlettered - and all the more so to the wise - they would wonder in their pondering over them and say, "How is it possible that there is someone in the world that thinks like this or believes that it is a correct belief - all the more so, that it is good in their eyes?" And one should be pained about the foolishness of this group of simple-minded ones. As according to their opinion, they are honoring and raising the sages; but they are [in fact] lowering them to the lowest depths - and they do not understand this. And as God, may He be blessed, lives, this group destroys the beauty of the Torah and darkens its splendor, and makes the Torah of God the opposite of its intention. As God, my He be blessed, said in the perfect Torah (Deuteronomy 4:6), "that they should observe all of these statutes and they shall say, 'This is certainly a wise and understanding people, this great nation.'" And this group recounts the simple words of the sages, may their memory be blessed, such that when the other nations hear it, they say, "This is certainly a foolish and silly people, this small nation." And the ones that do this the most are the preachers that explain inform the masses of the people about that which they [themselves] do not know. And were it only that since they did not know and understand, they would be quiet, as it is said (Job 13:5), "Were it only that you would be silent, and it will be considered wisdom for you"; or that they would say, "We do not understand the intention of the sages in this statement and not how it is to be explained." But [instead], they think that they understand it and attempt to inform [about] it, to explain to the people what they understood according to their weak intellects - not that which the sages said - and they preach at the heads of the people the homilies from Tractate Berakhot and from the chapter [entitled] Chelek and from others, according to their simple meanings, word for word.

And what is written in Parashat Va’etchanan (4:6): For this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, who shall hear all these statutes. Yet here it implies the opposite, that they mock the statutes. The answer to this is that there are statutes whose reasoning human intellect can grasp, besides those whose reasons are hidden from the general populace and revealed only to exceptional individuals, the rare remnants of the generation. But this red heifer — its reason is hidden from all people, for even Solomon, peace be upon him, who understood everything, could not understand the red heifer, saying about it, it is far from me (Ecclesiastes 7:23). Therefore, the nations who hear only about the statute of the red heifer certainly mock it. However, in the verse cited earlier it says all these statutes, because when they hear all the statutes together, including those that have revealed reasoning, then they will testify and declare that even the concealed statute must have a secret meaning, and they will attribute the deficiency to the limited understanding of the seeker rather than to the statute itself.

And he said: See, I have taught you statutes and judgments, etc. The statutes [chukim] are the commandments whose reasons are not revealed, and the judgments [mishpatim] are from the logical ones. And about them he said since twice, giving a reason for each one separately. About the statutes, which he mentioned first, he said: Since this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people” (Deuteronomy 4:6).
The explanation of the matter is that if it should come into your hearts to say that since the nations mock Israel for observing the statutes, therefore there is no substance to them — for sometimes a person refrains from doing something because of those who mock — to this he says, on the contrary, the nations will praise you for observing the statutes. For there are statutes that are hidden from the eye of all living, such as the red heifer, about which it is said: They shall bring to you a red heifer (Numbers 19:2). For all of them it is a statute. Even King Solomon said about it: I said I would be wise, but it was far from me (Ecclesiastes 7:23). But to Moses the secret of the heifer was revealed, which implies that the other statutes are revealed to the unique individuals of the generation to whom God has given wisdom.
And what Rashi explained in Parashat Chukat (19:2) that Satan and the nations mock it — indeed it is true that one who hears only this statute, the nations ask, “What is this statute to you?” and you have no answer to reply to them. Obviously, they will mock and ridicule. But the peoples who hear all these statutes — most of which have a reason — will certainly not mock, because most of them will testify about the minority, saying that just as these statutes have a hidden pleasantness, so too the [red] heifer and all like it have a reason. And even if it is not revealed to the majority of the common people, nevertheless, “the secret of the Lord that is with those who fear Him” is revealed.