Laws are an essential part of humanity dictating how society functions in our day-to-day lives. At the beginning of Parashat BeChukotai the Torah opens up by saying, “Im BeChukatai Telechu Ve’Et  Mitzvotai Tishmoru VeAsitem Otam” (Vayikra 26:3). Shockingly, the Torah describes the need to follow Hashem’s laws, before stating the need to follow His Mitzvot! Generally, the most important aspects of a list are listed first, in order to  truly get the point across. Thus, since chukim are quoted before all other mitzvot, there seemingly is some special significance the torah gives to these chukim.What is the nature of a Chok and why does it have such significance that it would be placed before all other Mitzvot?

Vayikra 19:19 also opens with a pasuk describing the need for Bnei Yisrael to observe these Chukim: “Et Chukotai Tishmoru”. Rashi comments on this Pasuk by stating that a Chok is a law where the reason behind the law being given to us, is not explicitly revealed by Hashem. Alternatively, one can read Rashi’s comment in a different light: there is no reason for the Mitzvah except the fact that it is Hashem’s will for Bnei Yisrael to perform this Mitzvah. According to this reading, doing these Chukim strengthens our relationship with Hashem as we are just conforming to Him to appease Hashem without necessitating a reason. This is comparable to a husband conforming to the will of his wife for the sake of Shalom Bayit. Ramban, when quoting Rashi, seems to understand Rashi like the second reading, but disagrees entirely. Ramban holds that the reason why these Chukim are given without a reason is that the logic behind these Chukim are so complex, that the human mind would not be able to truly grasp their logic and thus the Yetzer HaRah would fight back hard arguing that other nations would make fun of us. To clarify, the Ramban is saying that there is a reason for these Chukim, (unlike Rashi’s second approach where there is no reason for these Chukim), but the reason they are not revealed to us is because they are too difficult for our brains to truly understand. The Gemara (Kiddushin 61b), in fact, establishes a direct linkage between following Chukim and receiving a Bracha as well as not following them and receiving a curse. This demonstrates the great importance of these Chukim. Furthermore, Parashat BeChukotai continues on by stating the sizable reward for following these Chukim: One’s enemies will no longer be a threat, we will receive a great deal of rain, and lastly that Hashem will be among us. Why does following these Chukim result in this type of a blessing? Because the fact that we would do Chukim, something that we do not have the capability to understand, for the purpose of serving Hashem, yields benefits. We receive a lot of rain to improve our bodies, so that we can do the spiritual work and serve Hashem correctly without any worries about one’s body and its needs getting in the way. Our enemies will be scattered so that we will be at peace and have no worries to distract us from Torah. Lastly, Hashem will be among us as a result of our deeping our spiritual relationship with Him.