Why did the Parah Adumah elude Solomon’s understanding?
The Extraordinary Restaurant
A traveler once found himself in a distant city and stumbled upon an elegant restaurant. But this was no ordinary restaurant. No menu, no prices. Just a sign hanging by the door that read: “In this house, you will find whatever you desire. Here we serve every dish!”
Naturally intrigued, the traveler stepped inside and, after some thought, ordered the fanciest thing he could imagine: roast duck, sautéed in vintage wine. But when he made his request, the maitre d’ looked at him with a mix of sympathy and pity.
“Sorry, sir,” the maitre d’ said. “That dish is unavailable.”
“Unavailable?” the traveler shot back, bewildered. “But your sign says you serve every dish!”
“That’s true,” the maitre d’ agreed, “but recently, a law was passed forbidding that particular dish. Since no one will ask for it, why bother stocking its ingredients?”
Solomon's Special Wisdom
The book of Kings tells us that "God gave Solomon wisdom... like the sand on the seashore" (I Kings 4). But in what way was Solomon’s wisdom “like the sand”? The Sages explained that it was like the Jewish people. God provided Solomon with vast wisdom so that he would be able to answer the questions of every Jew.
And yet, when faced with the laws of Parah Adumah, Solomon found himself stumped. Why? Because this law was never meant to be understood. It was not a matter of logic, or reason, or intellect. It was a chok—a decree beyond comprehension. God had commanded it, and that was enough.
We often think of insight into mitzvot as the pinnacle of understanding. But sometimes, the mitzvot themselves remind us that there are limits to human intellect. Parah Adumah teaches us that our connection to the Torah and its laws goes beyond reason—it is rooted in trust and faith, in the essence of our relationship with God.
Solomon’s wisdom could solve mysteries. But this mitzvah wasn’t a mystery to be solved. It was a law to be accepted. Just as the restaurant in the parable served every dish except the one forbidden by the king, there are some things in life that are not meant to be explained, but simply embraced.
