Chukas
בדיו 'ה לא השמ לאו ןרהא רמאל תאז תקח הרותה רשא הוצ 'ה .רמאל רבד לא ינב לארשי וחקיו ךילא הרפ המדא המימת .'וגו םתתנו התא לא רזעלא ןהכה איצוהו התא לא ץוחמ הנחמל .'וגו חקלו ץע זרא בוזאו
(זי-א ,טי).'וגו תאז הרותה םדא יכ תומי להאב .'וגו לכו ילכ חותפ רשא ןיא דימצ ליתפ וילע אמט אוה .'וגו וחקלו אמטל רפעמ תפרש תאטחה ןתנו וילע םימ םייח ילכ לא
Hashem spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying: “This is the law of the Torah which Hashem commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the Children of Israel and they shall take unto you a wholly red cow… and you shall give it to Elazar the Kohen and he shall remove it to outside of the camp… and he shall take cedar wood and hyssop… This is the law of a man who dies in the tent… And any open vessel which does not have a stopper fastened upon it, it is impure… And they shall take for the impure one from the ash of the burning of the sin-offering, and he shall place upon it fresh water into a vessel.’”
There is a plethora of questions that one can ask about this passage: 1) Why is it initially addressed to Moshe and Aharon, while only Moshe is told to relate it to the People? 2) What is the function of the word לאמר here? 3) Why is the preamble of זאת חקת התורה not included in the body of the communication to the nation? 4) How is Parah Adumah “the law of the Torah”? Are there not many others? 5) The Midrash* derives from the word אליך that the secret meaning of the Parah Adumah was revealed only to Moshe; for all others it was to remain a mystery. Why specifically this mitzvah? 6) Why is the Parah Adumah red, which symbolizes sin? The Midrash** teaches us that its function is to “clean up the mess” left by the Golden Calf. If so, would it not have been more appropriate to make it white, a color of purity? 7)Why is specifically Elazar described as performing the service? More so, the Talmud*** states that only this first Parah Adumah needed to be serviced by the deputy Kohen Gadol; all subsequent ones could be done through the Kohen Gadol himself. Why is the template for this service for all time cast in the mold of an exception? 8) Why is the service performed outside of the camp? 9) Rashi**** quotes a rationale for the inclusion of cedar wood and hyssop in the service: to teach that if Man becomes arrogant like the tall cedar, he should lower himself like the lowly hyssop. That seems reasonable regarding the hyssop, but why include the cedar? If anything, the cedar ought to be excluded for that reason. 10) Why “any open vessel”? What does the “any” add? 11) Rashi***** quotes from the Sages******* that Satan and the gentile nations taunt Israel over this mitzvah, saying, “What is this mitzvah? What reason does it have?” Why are they so hung up over this mitzvah in particular? And what are the Sages communicating with the double question? 12) Notably mysterious is the Parah’s ability to both purify the impure and render the pure impure. The Sages cast this as relating to the unfathomable nature of the Divine, citing the verse מי יתן טהור מטמא לא אחד, Who can produce something pure from something impure – is it not the One?******** But what does that mean? 13) Considering the absence of the Parah Adumah in our day and age, of what relevance is this passage? This is particularly glaring considering the Torah’s declaration that והיתה להם לחקת עולם, and it shall be for them for an eternal statute.*********
In order to unpack all of this, let us begin with the following midrash:********** When Moshe was informed of the prohibition for the Kohanim to contaminate themselves to a corpse, he asked Hashem how such impurity could be rectified in the event that it does occur. Much to Moshe’s consternation, Hashem did not respond. Later, when our parashah was taught, Hashem pointed out to him that this is the answer to his question of long ago. What is the meaning of this exchange?
Let us also dwell on the mishnah at the end of Chullin,*********** which provides two teachings about the mitzvah of Shiluach HaKein, sending away the mother bird before seizing its young: First, one may not seize the mother bird even to facilitate the mitzvah of purifying a metzora. Second, if regarding this mitzvah, which is cheap and easy, the Torah promises longevity for its fulfillment, all the more so for the fulfillment of the more difficult mitzvos in the Torah. What is the significance of these details?
Elsewhere, I have addressed the Akeidah’s************ difficulty with the mishnah in Avos************* that one should focus on Man’s ignoble origins as a means of engendering an aversion to sin. To the contrary, the lowlier Man is, the greater the argument to exempt him from responsibility for his deeds.************** My resolution is that both perspectives are correct: both nobility and ignobility can be catalysts for sin. The former can prompt arrogance in a person; its antidote is to focus on Man’s less-sublime aspects as a way of prompting humility. The latter can prompt low self-esteem, depriving one of his drive to accomplish; its antidote is to focus on Man’s loftiness.
These two challenges and their solutions are alluded to a verse in Tehillim: ויקנאו למשה במחנה ולאהרן קדוש ה', And they elicited the ire of Moshe in the camp, and of Aharon, the holy one of Hashem.*************** The first part of the verse refers to humility (“in the camp” = a man of the people). The people wrongly usurped this trait for evil purposes, as a way of justifying passivity in the service of Hashem. The second part refers to arrogance (“the holy one of Hashem” was adorned in clothing of honor and splendor), which, when usurped, can be used for self-glorification.
This, then, is the meaning of the opening words of our sidra. וידבר ה' אל משה ואל אהרן לאמר, the לאמר indicates that they should instruct the people to emulate the qualities of Moshe and Aharon – humility and pride – using them appropriately to counteract any negative qualities. זאת חקת התורה, this – the strategy outlined here – is applicable to all of the Torah, equipping one to overcome his yetzer ha-ra in every sphere of life. If he appears in the guise of humility, whispering to you that you’re unworthy of some spiritual accomplishment, respond with a healthy dose of pride, owing to your lofty soul. And if he appears as pride, convincing you that you have already achieved holiness and need not push yourself to grow, respond with a healthy dose of humility, owing to your earthly body.
With this understanding of Parah Adumah, we can appreciate why it is that the Satan and the Nations taunt Israel over it. Satan’s personal name is סמא"ל, which has the same numerical value as ענו"ה, humility.**************** When he sees the Jewish People utilizing the lesson of the Parah Adumah to develop humility, he attempts to dissuade them, citing the importance that Judaism places on a healthy self-confidence. The Nations have a similar reaction when they see Israel develop pride. Characterized as they are by arrogance,***************** they attempt to convince us that a Jew need be humble and self-effacing.
Thus, when the Midrash says that the rationale for this mitzvah was revealed to Moshe alone, it doesn’t mean that literally. Rather, Moshe was the personification of the trait of Da’as, cognizance, or, more specifically in this context, self-awareness. To anyone who possesses this trait, the function of the Parah is understandable – as we have laid it out above. Someone who is in touch with himself and recognizes that his self-esteem or lack thereof is dragging him down, will work on developing the opposite, corrective quality. For whom, then, is the Parah a mystery? As the Midrash continues – לאחרים, for others. This can be taken as אחוריים, the back side, which, in kabbalistic terminology, refers to the spiritually weak side of Man and Creation. Specifically, it is the back of neck, the furthest point on the head from the seat of Man’s intellect. It is there that the absence of Da’as figures most prominently. For those who live without Da’as – such as the Satan or the Nations of the World – the Parah, indeed, remains a chok, a closed book.
Now, to get to the particulars. ויקחו אליך, if one faces the challenge of being imbued with the specific trait associated with Moshe, that of humility, his solution is the פרה אדומה, which is imbued with pride. It is in that sense that this ceremony revolves around a cow. As the mishnah says,****************** all horns are fit to be used for the mitzvah of shofar, except for that of a cow, because it is referred to as a קרן, which is a synonym for pride and power.****************** It therefore follows that which the cow is red, a symbol of sin. For, as the Chassid Yavetz writes,******************* arrogance is the root of all sin. It’s also very understandable that which the Parah cleans up the mess of its offspring: it is symbolic of arrogance being responsible for the sins which it generates. And as the verse continues: אשר לא עלה עליה עול, the sin does not have the yoke of Divine sovereignty upon it.
Continuing with this theme, והוציא אותה אל מחוץ למחנה, the Parah needed to be taken outside of the camp. This is because positive pride needs to be kept external, to allow one to be productive; internally, one cannot allow it to conceit him at his core. ושחט אותה לפניו, the slaughtering is the rectification of this bad trait for holy purposes through that which it balances a Jew’s psychological equilibrium. ולקח עץ ארז, representing the arrogance, ואזוב, the inner humility, והשליך אל תוך שריפת הפרה, and fuses them together within the inferno of the Parah.
We can now understand the midrashic exchange between Hashem and Moshe. לנפש לא יטמא בעמיו, the soul, due to its natural holiness, ought not defile itself with the base qualities of the masses. When Moshe inquired as to how one who is defiled – specifically with a lack of self-esteem – should rectify himself, Hashem was silent, for the solution lay in Aharon, who was absent at that time. Now that he was present, the response was ולקחו לטמא מעפר שריפת החטאת, he should imbibe the message of holy arrogance which the Parah Adumah symbolizes.
This brings us back to the mishnah in Chullin. The image of the “mother bird over its young” is one of power and arrogance. By instructing us “not to take it,” the mishnah is giving us limits in our use of pride for holy purposes. When used as a temporary corrective for disproportionate lack of self-esteem, it is a potent and proper weapon against the Yetzer ha-Ra. Otherwise, it is deleterious and must be avoided. This is so even when one attempts to use it “to purify a Metzora.” A Metzora is tasked with developing humility to rectify the arrogance that prompted his predicament, as the Talmud tells us.******************** If he would go overboard in that project, with his newfound humility expressing itself in a modest outward demeanor, it would be an abuse of humility. Most people are not truly that humble, their conduct as such but a show – which, perversely enough, is but another expression of one’s ego. Thus, this quality is “the value of an issar,” that is, arrogance is an issur, a prohibited substance. “About it the Torah states, in order to lengthen your days.” Length of days is associated with doing something for the right reason. As Mishlei says, ארך ימים בימינה, length of days is in her right hand,********************* which the Sages********************** take to mean, למיימינים בה סמא דחיי, this longevity is rewarded to those who are righteous without ulterior motives. Thus, one can only adopt such outward humility when done earnestly.
The verse that the Midrash connects with Parah Adumah – מי יתן טהור מטמא לא אחד – can be understood it this light as well. In order to transform something impure into something pure, i.e., to balance one’s ego so as to be impervious to the suggestions of the Yetzer ha-Ra, there is no one approach. It depends on one’s flaw. If one is too meek, it must be corrected with pride; if one is too proud, it must be corrected with humility.
This balanced approach applies to correcting one’s speech as well. Sometimes the challenge is in reigning in slander and gossip; one needs to clamp a lid on one’s gab. On occasion, though, the challenge lies in refining positive speech, such as words of Torah. By way of example, the Talmud*********************** says that if one sees that divrei Torah are not properly appreciated, one is better off not sharing them with such people. This, then, is the allusion in the verse וכל כלי פתוח אשר אין צמיד פתיל עליו. Any open vessel, i.e., any open mouth, even for good purposes, needs, at times, to be stopped up, that is, regulated.
_________________________________________________
* Bamidbar Rabbah 19:6. ** Tanchuma, Chukas 8.
*** Yoma 42b. **** Bamidbar 19:22.
***** Ibid., 2.
****** Tanchuma, ibid., 7-8.
******* Bamidbar Rabbah 19:1. ******** Iyov 14:4.
********* Bamidbar 19:21.
********** Bamidbar Rabbah 19:4. .*********** 12:5
************* Acharei 364.
************** 3:1 *************** See Midrash Shmuel, Avos 3:14 for a similar observation.
**************** 106:16
***************** Sha’ar ha-Yichudim.
****************** As it says in Israel’s favor (Devarim 7:7): לא מרובכם מכל העמים חשק ה' בכם, which the Talmud (Chullin 89a) takes to mean that Israel minimizes itself, unlike the Nations who aggrandize themselves. ******************* Rosh HaShanah 3:2. ******************** See Tehillim 75:11. ********************* Avos 3:1.
********************** Erechin 15b. *********************** 3:16
************************ Shabbos 63a. ************************* Berachos 63a.