Chukkim

Chukkim is the plural of chok, a Hebrew noun from a root meaning to engrave or inscribe, and in Rabbinic it describes the commandments that are obeyed regardless of whether their reason is understood. Based on Leviticus 18:4, Rabbinic tradition assigned to mishpatim the commandments that reason would have discovered without revelation, and to chukkim the commandments that are confusing or archaic, such as the red heifer, the scapegoat, mixed fibers, and dietary restrictions. This category reflects lost context rather than deliberate obscurity, since many of these commands were based on ancient Near Eastern practices that were lost to time. Some rabbinic traditions interpreted the lack of explanation as God intentionally not revealing the reasons for them to test Israel's obedience, and medieval interpretation recognized that the reasons for these commands were lost because the practices the Torah opposed had been forgotten.