Giving alms to the poor seems to us a very noble deed of philanthropy, but the Torah paints a very different view of things. When Hashem chooses to support a poor person by means of a rich person, it is not his own money the rich person is bestowing, he is merely revealing the true owner of the money. This is the 'Chok' of the poor man, just as the priestly offerings belong to the priests.
The word ‘Chok’ is normally understood to mean a statute, a rule that we can not readily understand. Its usage in our Parsha, however, is inconsistent with this translation. When Hashem commands certain parts of the offerings to be given to the priests, he calls their ration ‘Chok’. Careful attention to the end of the Parsha will also reveal that when the same portion is given to Moshe Rabbeinu, who served as a priest for the inauguration of the holy Tabernacle, it is no longer called a 'Chok', but a portion, ‘Manah’, instead.
The meaning of the word ‘Chok’ stems from the word ‘Chakak’, to carve out. When a sculptor chisels away at a piece of stone, he is not trying to ‘make’ a specific form; he is trying to find the hidden structure concealed in the rock. By chipping away the fragments of stone that conceal the underlying figure, he unveils the beautiful shape inside. Hashem's commandments are not just dictums. They are methods of revealing the True Order that governs Creation. By stripping away all the veils of this world we can achieve a certain proximity to the eternally perfect World Above. When we fulfill His Divine Will it is not to make ourselves into 'saints', it is to reflect that Perfection that is always waiting to be actualized in a material state.
Animal fats that were offered on the Holy Altar are forbidden to eat. So elevated are they, that when an animal dies they do not become Tamei with the rest of the meat. Even their white color reflects their spiritual source, the Attribute of Chesed, kindness. Yet they are forbidden to eat, because that which is offered before the King of Kings must not be eaten by mortals. Even now, when we have no altar and no sacrifices, these fats may not be eaten. There is an eternal Holy Altar and on it offerings are being burnt. Although we do not merit having it express itself in a physical form, by not eating these fats we can reflect the presence of that Altar Above in this world as well, thereby meriting its future materialization in a concrete physical structure, speedily in our days.
Even without understanding the underlying reason for every commandment, by living in these holy ways we come closer to reflecting Heavenly Order, allowing Divine blessing to reside.
Adapted from Rabbi Vali's book on Vayikra. Questions and subscriptions can be mailed to: the Yeshiva