(4) My rules alone shall you observe, and faithfully follow My laws: I the LORD am your God. (5) You shall keep My laws and My rules, by the pursuit of which man shall live: I am the LORD.
ת"ר (ויקרא יח, ד) את משפטי תעשו דברים שאלמלא (לא) נכתבו דין הוא שיכתבו ואלו הן עבודת כוכבים וגלוי עריות ושפיכות דמים וגזל וברכת השם את חוקותי תשמרו דברים שהשטן משיב עליהן ואלו הן אכילת חזיר ולבישת שעטנז וחליצת יבמה וטהרת מצורע ושעיר המשתלח ושמא תאמר מעשה תוהו הם ת"ל (ויקרא יח, ל) אני ה' אני ה' חקקתיו ואין לך רשות להרהר בהן
The Gemara cites another baraita related to the scapegoat. The Sages taught with regard to the verse: “You shall do My ordinances, and you shall keep My statutes to follow them, I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 18:4), that the phrase: My ordinances, is a reference to matters that, even had they not been written, it would have been logical that they be written. They are the prohibitions against idol worship, prohibited sexual relations, bloodshed, theft, and blessing God, a euphemism for cursing the Name of God. The phrase: And you shall keep my statutes, is a reference to matters that Satan and the nations of the world challenge because the reason for these mitzvot are not known. They are: The prohibitions against eating pork; wearing garments that are made from diverse kinds of material, i.e., wool and linen; performing the ḥalitza ceremony with a yevama, a widow who must participate in a levirate marriage or ḥalitza; the purification ceremony of the leper; and the scapegoat. And lest you say these have no reason and are meaningless acts, therefore the verse states: “I am the Lord” (Leviticus 18:4), to indicate: I am the Lord, I decreed these statutes and you have no right to doubt them.
(א) את משפטי תעשו. אֵלּוּ דְּבָרִים הָאֲמוּרִים בַּתּוֹרָה בְּמִשְׁפָּט, שֶׁאִלּוּ לֹא נֶאֶמְרוּ הָיוּ כְדַאי לְאָמְרָן: (ב) ואת חקתי תשמרו. דְּבָרִים שֶׁהֵן גְּזֵרַת הַמֶּלֶךְ, שֶׁיֵּצֶר הָרַע מֵשִׁיב עֲלֵיהֶם לָמָּה לָנוּ לְשָׁמְרָן? וְאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם מְשִׁיבִין עֲלֵיהֶם, כְּגוֹן אֲכִילַת חֲזִיר וּלְבִישַׁת שַׁעַטְנֵז וְטָהֳרַת מֵי חַטָּאת, לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר אני ה', גָּזַרְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם, אֵי אַתָּה רַשַּׁאי לִפָּטֵר (יומא ס"ז): (ג) ללכת בהם. אַל תִּפָּטֵר מִתּוֹכָם, שֶׁלֹּא תֹאמַר לָמַדְתִּי חָכְמַת יִשְׂרָאֵל אֵלֵךְ וְאֶלְמַד חָכְמַת הָאֻמּוֹת (ספרא):
(1) את משפטי תעשו YE SHALL DO MY RULES — Matters prescribed in the Torah which are in conformity with the human feeling of justice such as one feels ought to be ordained if they had not been already ordained by the Torah. (2) ואת חקתי תשמרו AND KEEP MY LAWS — matters which are decrees of the King (promulgated without any reason being stated) against which the evil inclination raises objections: "Why should we observe them and against which also the nations of the world raise objections, as e. g., the prohibition of eating swine’s flesh, of wearing clothes of a mixture of wool and linen, the purgatory power of "water mingled with the ashes of the Red Heifer" (טהרת מי חטאת) — therefore it is stated: "I", the Lord, have enacted this for you — you are not at liberty to evade the obligation (Yoma 67b).
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
Hence the only meaningful life worth living is the life dedicated to an ideal more significant than any one human life, and such an ideal is the Divine concept of morality. Yes, live by my laws, but in order to live a meaningful life and eventually to become indelibly connected to eternity is to live your life within the backdrop of ideals more important than one individuals' life, i.e. the eternal ideals of the Kingship of the Divine.
Other tanna’im debated this same issue. Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Yehuda, says that it is stated: “But keep my Shabbatot” (Exodus 31:13). One might have thought that this applies to everyone in all circumstances; therefore, the verse states “but,” a term that restricts and qualifies. It implies that there are circumstances where one must keep Shabbat and circumstances where one must desecrate it, i.e., to save a life. Rabbi Yonatan ben Yosef says that it is stated: “For it is sacred to you” (Exodus 31:14). This implies that Shabbat is given into your hands, and you are not given to it to die on account of Shabbat. Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya said: It is stated: “And the children of Israel shall keep Shabbat, to observe Shabbat” (Exodus 31:16).The Torah said: Desecrate one Shabbat on his behalf so he will observe many Shabbatot. Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: If I would have been there among those Sages who debated this question, I would have said that my proof is preferable to theirs, as it states: “You shall keep My statutes and My ordinances, which a person shall do and live by them” (Leviticus 18:5), and not that he should die by them. In all circumstances, one must take care not to die as a result of fulfilling the mitzvot.
ולא והתניא ר"מ אומר מנין שאפילו נכרי ועוסק בתורה שהוא ככהן גדול ת"ל (ויקרא יח, ה) אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם כהנים ולוים וישראלים לא נאמר אלא אדם
The Gemara asks: But isn’t it taught in a baraita that Rabbi Meir says: From where is it derived that even a gentile who engages in Torah is considered like a High Priest? The verse states with regard to the mitzvot: “Which if a person does, he shall live by them” (Leviticus 18:5). It is not stated: Which if priests and Levites and Israelites do, they shall live by them, but rather: A person, indicating that all people are included.