Chukat Torah studies by Gaddi
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Chukat
Chukkat | חוקת | “Statute ” – One Ordinance for the Children of Israel and Stranger ( GER )
– Red Heifer, Connection with Feminine as Malchut (Kingdom) and red is indication as a passion for the husband in the context of life
– Oh! Listen! Servants of Most High and disciples of Messiah, Be as prudent as snakes and as harmless as doves
Chukat is the thirty-ninth reading from the Torah. Chukat means “decree” in Hebrew and the word chukat (חוקת) also means “statute.” “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded” -Numbers 19:2. Chukat presents the mysterious laws of the red-heifer ceremony for purification after contact with human death. This reading also contains the story of Moses striking the rock, the stories of the deaths of Aaron and Miriam and the wars with the Amorites.
Summary:
Numbers 19:1 – The Red Cow
Numbers 20:1 – Miriam’s Death
Numbers 20:3 – The People Complain for Lack of Water and Against the Manna
Numbers 20:7 – YHVH Commands Moses to Bring Water from the Rock
Numbers 20:9 – Moses Sins by Striking the Rock and Is Punished by Not Being Permitted to Lead the Israelites into the Promised Land
Numbers 21:1 -Amalek Attacks the Israelites
Numbers 21:4 -The Israelites Murmur Again; Complaining About the Manna and Lack of Water
Numbers 21:6 – Fiery Serpents Attack the Complainers
Numbers 21:8 – Moses Constructs a Serpent on a Pole and the People Are Healed of the Snake Bites
Now HaShem spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,”This is the ordinance of the Torah which HaShem has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come.’” -Numbers 19:1-2
Chukim (plural) are two levels; first one is, those decrees that could in principle be understood by human intelligence, but details of which are beyond comprehension, and second one is, those which are entirely beyond the scope of human understanding.
The law of the Red Heifer is alone in belonging to the second category. Even Solomon, who possessed great wisdom, said that the only part of G-d’s Torah that he could not explain were the commands concerning the red heifer.
The Chukim, Eidot , Pikudim and Mishpatim are not presented as distinct and separate in the Torah – they are dispersed throughout. G-d demands observance of and total commitment to all parts of His Torah, as the Torah is One – James 2:10.
It is our duty to obey HaShem not only in the things we understand (the mishpatim) but also in the things we do not understand (the chokim), and everything in between (the mitzvot).
I have inclined my heart to perform Your Chokim ( statutes ) forever, to the very end. -Psalms 119:54
HaShem, I hope for Your salvation, and I do Your mitzvot [commandments].
-Psalms 119:166
The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous mishpat ( judgements )endures forever. -Psalms 119:60
One Ordinance for the children of Israel and Stranger (Ger)
One ordinance shall be for you of the assembly and for the stranger (ger ) who dwells with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before HaShem. One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger ( ger ) who dwells with you. -Numbers 15:15-16
It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger ( ger ) who dwells among them. -Numbers 19:10
Serpent:
“The Kabbalists tell us that at one time the Hebrew word for “sin” was san which consists of two letters, samekh and nun. The samekh is for the word sam “poison” and the letter nun is for nahash “snake.” Thus sin was personified as “poisonous snake.”
– Rabbi S.Z. Kahana .
In Hebrew the word for Snake is nachash. This is related to the word for copper which nechoshet, which is a shiny metal. When G-d first gives Moses this instruction, the term found in the Hebrew text “serpent” is Saraph, a type of angel. Moses makes a physical representation of the Saraph in the form of a copper serpent. The word for serpent (nachash), is spelled Nun-Chet-Shin. The word for copper comes from the same three-letter root and is spelled Nun-Chet-Shin-Tav.
In Hebraic studies an important point is made that the gematria ( numerical value) of Mashiach (Messiah) and nachash (serpent) are both 358.
Yeshua directly compares His coming to earth and being “lifted up” to the actions of Moses lifting up the serpent on the stick – John 3:14
Just as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; – John 3:14
“And the people spoke against God and against Moshe, “Why did you bring us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, neither is there any water! And our soul loathes this worthless bread. And HaShem sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many people of Israel died.”
Numbers 21:5-6
G-d sent fiery serpents to afflict the people. He then gave Moses the curious instruction of placing a “serpent” on a stick for people to look upon in order to escape the punishment. In this sense, the Yetzer hara (evil inclination) that came with the fall of Adam (related to the serpent) will be transformed by the Messiah into a force which does good for G-d.
and I fear that somehow your minds may be seduced away from simple and pure devotion to the Messiah, just as Havah was deceived by the serpent and his craftiness. -II Corinthians 11:3
HaShem judged the people with the fiery serpents, and many died. This caused Israel to repent, and like the Targum says G-d will provide the cure in “the days of King Messiah,” .
so too here, HaShem provides the cure:
Therefore the people came to Moshe and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against HaShem, and against you. Pray to HaShem, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moshe prayed for the people. And HaShem said to Moshe, “Make yourself a fiery serpent , and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass, that whoever has been bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live. And Moshe made a serpent of copper, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of copper, he lived.”
Numbers 21:7-9
In truth, however, it was not the serpent that healed, but G-d, when an Israelite believed the word spoken to Moshe. It was by emunah (faith), as the Wisdom of Solomon states,
“For when the horrible fierceness of beasts came upon them, and they perished with the stings of crooked serpents, your wrath did not endure forever. Although they were troubled for a small season, that they might be admonished, they had a sign of salvation, to make them remember the commandments of your Torah. For he that turned himself toward it was not saved by the thing that he saw, but by You, because you are the Savior of all. . . . For you have power of life and death: You lead to the gates of Sh’ol, and bring up again.” –Wisdom of Solomon 16:5-13
In ancient Jewish literature records a belief of healing a fatal snake bite from another source:
“R. Eleazar b. Damah was bitten by a snake. And Jacob of Kefar Sama came to heal him in the name of Jesus ( Yeshua )…and R. Ishmael did not allow him [to accept the healing]. They said to him, “You are not permitted [to accept healing from him] ben Dama.” He said to him, “I shall bring you proof that he may heal me.” But he did not have time to bring the [promised] proof before he dropped dead.”
– Jerusalem Talmud, Shabbat 1:4, Ecclesiastes Rabbah 1:24, 7:39
In the book of Acts : Rabbi Shaul experienced something similar on the island of Malta,
“The natives showed us uncommon kindness; for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said one to another, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped from the sea, yet Justice has not allowed to live.However he shook off the creature into the fire, and wasnt harmed.” –Acts 28:2-5
THE ROD OF MOSHE
In the Torah, the staff of Moshe becomes the instrument of salvation for the Hebrews. HaShem changes the staff of Moshe into a snake:
“And the HaShem said unto him, “What is that in your hand? And he said, “A rod.” And he said, “Cast it on the ground.” And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from before it. And the HaShem said to Moshe, “Put forth your hand, and take it by the tail.” And he put forth his hand and caught it and it became a rod in his hand.” -Exodus 4:2-4
In Zohar comments: the rod of Moshe to “Metatron”, who is the Divine Angel of the HaShem : “The rod of the G-d” is Matatron, who has life on one side and death on the other, AS HE CHANGES FROM A SERPENT TO A ROD AND FROM A ROD TO A SERPENT.” -Zohar, Vol I:262, Beresheet A, Kabbalah Centre
MaTeh is MeTat (Staff), from whom comes life and also death.
Rebbe Nachman comments: “If he violates the Torah, he drinks from the bitterness of the Tree of Evil, which is the Evil Inclination…but if he repents, it is said of him: “G-d showed him a tree” – the Tree of Life – through which “the water turned sweet” (Exodus 15:25). This is Moshe-Mashiach, of whom it is said: “with the mateh (staff) of G-d in my hand ” -Exodus 17:9
“And Moshe and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and they did as HaShem had commanded. Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers. Now the magicians of Egypt also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up (vayivla) their rods.” -Exodus 7:10-12
“He will swallow up (bila) death in victory! The Lord HaShem will wipe away tears from all faces, and shall take away the rebuke of his people from all the
earth, for HaShem has spoken it.” -Isaiah 25:8
The Midrash Rabbah : “…when G-d created His world, there was no Angel of Death in the world…Messiah would arise, and in his days G-d would cause death to be swallowed up, as it says, He will swallow up death forever.” -Exodus Rabbah 30:3, Soncino Press Edition
Gardener in the Garden: Our Melech Messiah defeated death. And He arose from the dead.He first appears to Miryam of Magdala as the Gardener in the Garden.
“Yeshua said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?”
She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
-John 20:15
Why she supposed him as a Gardener, We can find the answer in Genesis:
“The HaShem G-d planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.” -Genesis 2:8
and I fear that somehow your minds may be seduced away from simple and pure devotion to the Messiah, just as Havah was deceived by the serpent and his craftiness. -II Corinthians 11:3
As Adam is formed from the dust of the earth, so is the Son of Man raised from the dust. The Messiah is the ‘Gardener’ who desires to be close to us, and walk with us again. The Messiah speaks with the woman alone in the garden to bring Tikkun for the snake speaking with the first woman in the garden.
Now The Holy Mashiach has reversed the curse and will return us to the Garden of Eden. The Holy Snake has crushed the head of the primeval serpent, and he has destroyed death.
“I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from G-d, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, G-d’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and G-d himself will be with them as their G-d. He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away. He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
-Revelation 21:2-5
Holy Snake:
Moshe’s staff that became a snake swallows up the snakes of Egypt, which is an earthly pattern of things in the Heavenly Realm.
Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburg of the Gal Einai Institute states: “Just as Amalek represents the epitome of evil, so does the positive snake represent the epitome of good. Mashiach himself is referred to as “the holy snake,” as alluded to by the phenomenon that the numerical value of Mashiach (358) is the same as that of the word for “snake” (nachash). In the Zohar it is told that when the holy snake, Mashiach, will kill the evil snake (overcome the fear of insanity), he will thereby merit to marry the Divine princess, to unite with the origin of the souls of Israel and so to bring redemption to the world.”
Pay attention! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves, so be as prudent as snakes and as harmless as doves. -Matthew 10:16
Torah
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Numbers 19:1-22:1
Numbers 15:15-16
Numbers 21:5-6
Numbers 21:7-9
Exodus 4:2-4
Haftarah Portion
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Judges 11:1-33
Psalms 119:54
Psalms 119:166
Ha-Berit ha-Hadashah
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Matthew 21:1-17
John 3:14
II Corinthians 11:3
Acts 28:2-5
Notes:
This week’s Torah reading, Chukat begins with a discussion regarding the laws of the Red Heifer. The death of Miriam and Aaron. Moses is given the unusual ritual law(chukat hatorah) of the red heifer ( parah adumah), whose ashes purify those contaminated by contact with death.
RED HEIFER – PARAH ADUMAH :
The red heifer mitzva is an eternal statute – Numbers 19:10.
The red Heifer illustrates this idea:
From the time when the Red Heifer Mitzva was first given to the Jewish people until the destruction of the Second Temple, there were nine Red Heifers burned altogether. The first one was brought by Moshe, and its ashes were used during the entire existence of the First Beit HaMikdash with a little remaining, after its destruction. The second was brought by Ezra HaSofer (Ezra the Scribe); and the remaining seven were brought from Ezra until the destruction of the Second Beit HaMikdash (Temple). The tenth will be brought by the Mashiach, who will come speedily in our days.
Moshe prepared the first one,
Ezra prepared the second. “The Sages say,’Seven Parot Adumot since Ezra. And who prepared them,,,,,,,
Simeon the Just
Simeon the Just prepared two
Johanan the High Priest
Johanan the High Priest prepared two
Eliehoenai the son of Hokkof (Caiaphas) and
Hanamel the Egyptian and
Ishmael ben Piabi prepared one each.”
Since all aspects of Torah are precise, it follows that there is a conceptual relationship between the laws of the Parah Adumah and the coming of Mashiach.
This is why the Rambam mentions the awaiting of Mashiach’s arrival in the laws of Parah Adumah, although the Mashiach is mentioned in Yad HaChazakah before the laws of the Parah Adumah. The ashes of the Parah Adumah, offering purification from the defilement of death, allude to the time of Mashiach’s coming, the time of redemption from exile, when all the Israel sunder their bonds with spiritual death, for they then all cleave to HaShem and are thus vitally alive.
May Mashiach come and redeem us speedily in our days. In the words of the Rambam: “May he be speedily revealed, Amen. May He so will it.
This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke.” -Numbers 19:2
The ritual of the Red Heifer described in Numbers 19:1-22 is considered to be one of the most mysterious concept in torah and has troubled interpreters throughout the ages.
Moshe was the humblest of men. He and only he understood that really, compared to G-d, none of us really understand anything at all. And that is the secret of the Red Cow. It is the deep awareness that we really understand nothing. When one understands that, one has understood a very great thing. As long as a person is not completely humble, and still tries to understand things with his own limited head, he cannot understand the Red Heifer. Even the wisest of men, Shlomo, said about the Red Heifer, “I tried to grow wise [regarding it] and it remained far from me.” As long as you are trying to figure it out, it remains a step away.
The main difficulties are (1) the special power of a red cow’s ashes to purify someone who came in contact with a dead body; and (2) the seeming paradox that while the ashes are able to purify. The Midrash reveals the wise King Solomon to have been incapable of solving the mystery of the Red Heifer (Kohelet Rabbah 8:5).
The Rabbis noted a link between the Golden Calf and the Red Heifer: “A maid’s child once dirtied the royal palace. Said the king: “Let his mother come and clean up her child’s filth.” By the same token, G-d says: “Let the Heifer atone for the deed of the Calf.”
The Sacrifice of the Red Heifer, and the Original Sin: “Mortality was the price that man was to pay for Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden. Had Adam not eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, the human lifespan would have been endless. Because of this grave transgression, Adam and his progeny were sentenced to death. This said, the Red Cow acts to repair the world and to restore it to its former glory of before the Original Sin.”
This is the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef: “The need for the mission of Mashiach ben Yosef came about as result of the sin of Adam. In theory, had Adam not sinned and brought about tremendous spiritual damage to himself and the world, there would not have been a need for the tikun olam efforts of Mashiach ben Yosef, in every subsequent generation. Mashiach ben Yosef thus comes to rectify that damage and return mankind to the state of Adam before the sin.”
-Yonah the Navi as Mashiach ben Yosef, Daniel Krentzman
The Ramchal writes:“And from then onwards this characteristic of appearing in the mystical capacity of a snake is given to the Messiah, especially to MBY, who is the mystical embodiment of the left…Since then the tikkun has been prepared in the mystical mission of the two Messiahs…for the Messiah ben Joseph mystically represents the left, and he bears the character of the exterior which needs all these tikkinum, and the Messiah ben David mystically represents the right which needs to be joined to it [the left], and the Redemption will be complete.”
-R’ Moshe Hayyim Luzzato, Kinat HaShem Tzevaot
In tal-mudic literature, the Red Heifer is viewed as the quintessential example of a hok, a rule that cannot be understood through logic and reason (TB Yoma 67b).
Rashi, at the end of his commentary to Numbers 19:22, cites a midrashic reading from Rabbi Moshe ha-Darshan, which states that the Red Heifer ritu-al is an atonement for the worship of the Golden Calf. It is as if the mother cow seeks to expiate the sin committed through her offspring. This also ex-plains why the scriptures states that Aaron’s son Eleazar was to perform this service, his father being unworthy of the task due to his involvement with the Golden Calf. The color red is associated with sin (Isaiah. 1:18), so a red cow symbolised the ultimate sin of the Israelites, worshiping the Golden Calf.
In order to grasp the significance of the Red Heifer, we must first under-stand the meaning behind the Golden Calf. Why did the Israelites choose that particular animal as an object of worship? According to Ezekiel 20:7, the enslaved Israelites defiled themselves with the idols of Egypt, a land where rites associated with bulls and cows were widespread. Some scholars identify the Golden Calf with worship of the goddess Hathor, one of the leading Egyptian deities. Hathor was worshipped throughout Egypt, had many functions and was depicted either as a beautiful woman with bovine ears and horns or as a red cow. Hathor was sometimes referred to as “Nub the gold-en” or as “heifer with the golden neck”.
Rabbi Moshe ha-Darshan explains that the rite of burning the Red Heifer was a reenactment of the destruction of the Golden Calf at the foot of Mount Sinai. Thus, it would also be a symbolic destruction of the cow-goddess Hathor which the Golden Calf represented. This explains why a red cow was needed for the ritual. The association with cleansing from impurity as a result of contact with a dead body is understood, in light of the midrash in TB Avodah Zarah 22b, to mean that the Israelites attained a state of immortality at Mount Sinai, but lost it due to the sin of the Golden Calf. Purification from death thus involves rejection of the Golden Calf, demonstrated by the ashes of the Red Heifer. This is especially powerful considering that Hathor was associated in Egypt with life and reproduction.
Seen in this light, the Red Heifer ritual is a total rejection of Egyptian idolatry and its symbols. The ritual includes burning a crimson thread (Num. 19:6), which may likewise be a negation of the magic scarlet ribbon worn by the cow-goddess that was thought capable of binding evil spirits.
The sacrifice of the Red Heifer is thought to atone for the sin of the Golden Calf.
Rabbi Richman said: “The Institute continues its research and preparation in anticipation of locating a perfect red heifer in the near future, for the soon rebuilding of the Holy Temple and the resumption of purity, and the restoration of honor of the G-d of Israel,”
The sages’ words, “‘If you shall go in My statutes , You shall toil in Torah.” One must “go” in the Torah, walk in it and tread the path of effort in order to reach the level of the middos of love, fear, and dveikus and see Hashem’s attributes in everything around him. The final destination is the redemption itself, when Hashem’s presence is completely revealed in the lower worlds and the land.
The very interesting here is that a calf appears in one story in connection with a great sin of Israel and, ultimately, the death of those involved before they could reach the Promised Land, and then it appears in another story, the story of the Red Heifer, in the context of life. However, there is a parallel in the Talmud where we encounter an interesting passage on how the Torah can bring either life or death depending upon how one uses it.
“R. Hananel b. Papa said, ‘What is meant by, “Hear, for I will speak princely things?” Why are the words of the Torah compared to a prince? To tell you that just as a prince has power of life and death, so have the words of the Torah potentialities of life and death.’ Thus Raba said, ‘To those who go to the right hand thereof, it is a medicine of life. To those who go to the left hand thereof, it is a deadly poison.’” -B. Shabbat 88b
Hence, just as the Torah can be used for either life or death, so can something as mundane as a calf also be used to either enhance life or to hasten death.
Red Heifer – Connection with Feminine:
According to the Zohar, based on Rebbe Levik, the Red Heifer is the malchut. It might have consider that the Heifer is the mother principle, the עילאה אימא corresponding to understanding because it comes to make amends for the calf (the Golden Calf). And it is red because of the harsh judgments.
Red is a symbol for passion, for passion for one’s husband. This is a very good thing when in holiness, as we say that if the husband and wife merit, the Divine Presence is between them.
In Maayan Hachochmah from Moshe Rabbeinu there are five levels of learning the words of Torah, the joy of the letters in Torah is malchut. The one who enjoys the meaning of the Torah is Rabbi Abba, Binah, understanding.
Now let’s begin to explore the deeper symbolism of the Red Heifer and its connection with the feminine. One of the first things to note is that a heifer is a young, female calf that has not given birth. Hence, we have an immediate connection with the feminine.
The next follows that the calf be should be red, and the answer is found in passages like Deuteronomy 12:23, “The blood is the life.” In other words, the ritual of the Red Heifer is meant to counteract the impurity that results from contact with death, and what better antidote to death is there than life? Additionally, blood is also connected with the female via menstruation, and thus, in Kabbalah we have that the color red is associated with the female while the color white is associated with the male, and these colors are both derived directly from female and male sexuality, i.e. the red menstrual blood of the woman and the white semen of the man.
The Zohar comments on the Red Heifer: “Sin is red, as it says, “Though your sins be as scarlet”; man puts the sacrificial animal on the fire, which is also red; the priest sprinkles the red blood round the altar, but the smoke ascending to heaven is white. Thus the red is turned to white. The attribute of Justice is turned into the attribute of Mercy. . . R. Issac said: ‘Red (blood) and white (fat) are offered for sacrifice, and the scent ascends from both. The spices of incense are in part red and in part white – frankincense is white, pure myrrh is red – and the scent ascends from red to white.” -Zohar, Volume III, Shemoth 20b.
Consequently, we again have a strong connection between the Red Heifer and the feminine. If we now delve into the Hebrew itself, we see that the word for heifer is (peh-resh-hey) and the word for red is (aleph-dalet-mem-hey).
What is interesting about the Hebrew word for heifer is that it can also be translated as “to be fruitful.” Furthermore, if we permute the letters to obtain (resh-peh-hey), then this gives us a word in Hebrew that can be translated as “to heal.” Similarly, the word for “red” noted above can also be translated as “land” or “earth.” Thus, the Hebrew phrase for Red Heifer could also be rendered in English as “the generative, healing earth.”
Furthermore, the earth is often seen by cultures as feminine since, just as new human life emerges from a female, new plant life, likewise, emerges from the soil.
Additionally, this is also reflected in the fact that the Hebrew word for earth, (aleph-dalet-mem-hey), is a feminine noun. To summarise, life emerges from the feminine, and the Red Heifer symbolises the generative power of the female that serves as an antidote to its antithesis, death.
The thing we learn from looking at the Hebrew in this chapter is that the word for calf that appears in Exodus 32 is spelled ayin-gimmel-lamed, and this is a masculine word that denotes a male calf. Hence, we might say that in the incident of the Golden Calf, the female principle was absent, and thus, strife ensued. On the other hand, in the story of the Red Heifer, the female principle is present, and it is used to restore balance.
Notice, too, that the story of the Red Heifer is found between two stories of rebellion, the rebellion of Korach and the rebellion at the water of Meribah, and in each instance of rebellion it can be argued that the female principle is missing.
This strongly highlights once again the importance of maintaining a balance between our male and female natures.
Zohar of the Torah with the feminine. “The voice of Jacob, which is the Torah, is thus attached to two females, to this inner voice which is inaudible, and to this outer voice which is heard.” -Zohar I:50b
The story of the Red Heifer once we understand the story’s references to the generative earth. Furthermore, while the male principle (our analytical side) can direct the focus of the female principle (our spiritually connected, generative, intuitive side), without the female principle the male principle has no life, no inner voice to guide its ship by, and ultimately it comes to ruin.
As Rav Huna suggested centuries ago, in order to be sound, we must all find the balance between our inner male and female natures. Not only our personal survival, but also the survival of humanity ultimately depends upon finding this balance within.
Process of Purifying:
Rashi explains: “‘This is the Torah’s decree’—I have engraved My decree [Note: the words for decree and engraving share the same root ח”ק ] and you have no right to question it.” The Arizal revealed that the purification process of the red heifer parallels the elevation of the sefirah of Malchus, which itself relates to the mouth.
The purification of Malchus is accomplished by the “pure man who gathers.” One must elevate Malchus to the lofty level of the chotem, the “nose,” which is the source of Da’as, Divine awareness. The Arizal writes in Sefer Halikutim, Parshas Chukas: “‘And the pure man will gather the ashes of the heifer.’ This is the secret of the chotem, the ‘nose’ of Ze’ir Anpin, into which one gathers the five gevuros, judgements. [This is why the heifer is called the פרה —it is the ‘ פר ה , the ‘cow of five.’] Because the man gathering is pure, it says that he will be defiled until the evening, since there are husks which correspond to him. But when the ashes are placed in the chotem, this elevates Binah to the chotem in an aspect of ruach—wind or spirit. This is the deeper meaning of the parallel usage in the verses: ” מי אסף רוח בכפניו…וכבס האוסף את אפר הפרה “—‘Who gathered the wind [ruach] in His wings?’—‘And a man that is pure shall gather up the ashes of the heifer…’”
In terms of our own Divine service, this means that one must join Malchus to the light of Da’as, understanding. At times a person feels spiritually aroused through praying with devotion or from being in proximity to a tzaddik. When one feels such an arousal his main task is to reconnect his fervor and feeling to Hashem.
“And he [Moshiach] will smell [or ‘sniff out’] , the fear of Hashem, and he will not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears.” –Yeshayah 11:3; Likutei Moharan I:2
This interpretation of the Red Heifer may enable us to fathom a seeming paradox: that while purifying the afflicted, contact with the ashes of the heifer defiled those who were themselves ritually clean (Numbers 19:21). One explanation could be that since the Red Heifer represented Egyptian idolatry, the state of impurity resulted from contact with an idol. In the Bible we find Jacob instructing his family to cleanse themselves after discarding the idols they had with them (Gen. 35:2), and impurity due to contact with idols is mentioned in the Mishnah (Shabbat 9:1). The impurity contracted by dealing with the Red Heifer is therefore associated with the idolatry that it represent-ed.
The slaughtering and preparation process for the red-heifer purification offering, given by G-d as “a lasting ordinance both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.” -Numbers 19:10
“The G-d of Israel determined through His wisdom that the ashes of the Red Heifer is the secret to the restoration of purity in the world,” red-heifer expert and Temple -Institute director Rabbi Chaim Richman
“There is a tradition that all throughout history there were nine perfect red heifers that were used for the cleansing and the purification, and that the appearance of the tenth red heifer is associated with the advent of the messianic era, and the rebuilding of the Temple,” Rabbi Richman said. “We look forward to the fulfillment of the verse in Ezekiel 36:25–26:
“Then I shall sprinkle pure waters upon you and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you. I will also give you a new heart and I will place within you a new spirit.” -Ezekiel 36:25–26
The priest would then watch as the cow’s “hide, flesh, blood and intestines” were burned into ashes, throwing onto the offering “some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool.” -Numbers 19:5–6
In fact, the three men conducting the red-heifer purification offering became unclean from being in contact with death, and had to cleanse themselves before returning to the camp.
For those who failed to purify themselves after touching a dead person or grave would “defile the Lord’s tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean.” -Numbers 19:13
The priest and the one conducting the heifer’s burning would have become impure through these tasks, and each would have had to wash his clothes and bathe in water before reentering the camp, remaining unclean until evening—the new day.
Finally, a third man, who was clean until touching the ashes, would “gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin.” -Numbers 19:9
During the sacrifice of the Parah Adumah, cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool were thrown onto the burning sacrifice. Each of these items still remain necessary ingredients for purification from death for Jews who are awaiting the Messianic era.
“The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer.” -Numbers 19:6
We see these same ingredients mentioned in Leviticus 14. In this passage, they are paired with the blood of a clean bird for the purification of a person .
the Psalmist cites the aromatic cedars of Lebanon as “the trees of the Lord … that He planted,” while the hyssop carries both the symbolic and the actual characteristics of cleansing. – Psalm 104:16,
Hyssop was also used in Egypt to help save the firstborns from death.
“Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning.” -Exodus 12:22
Death of Righteous ones:
The Talmud brings down the principle, מיתתן של צדיקים מכפרת, “the death of the righteous atones,” : “Said R. Ammi, ‘Wherefore is the account of Miriam’s death placed next to the [laws of the] red heifer? To inform you that even as the red heifer afforded atonement [by the ritual use of its ashes], so does the death of the righteous afford atonement [for the living they have left behind]. R. Eleazar said, “Wherefore is [the account of] Aaron’s death closely followed by [the account of the disposal of] the priestly vestments? [To inform you] that just as the priest’s vestments were [means] to effect atonement, so is the death of the righteous [conducive to procuring] atonement.”
Rabbienu Yeshua our Mashiach is the ultimate Tzaddik.
“My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Yeshua the Messiah, the Tzaddik. And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.” -1 John 2:1-2
Now, the Zohar says, that if there was even one tzadik who would do real teshuvah, for real, immediately the Mashiach would come.
That there is something more about teshuvah under the divine mandate of Mashiach ben Yosef ( Deut 30: 1 -10) than there is about Mashiach. We want Mashiach now, but as the sages say, greater is one moment in teshuvah in this world than all the life of the World to Come. Why? Because teshuvah reveals G-d’s essential pleasure and that by itself will bring down the essential will—the Mashiach.
The Yearning for the Red Heifer and the Third Temple
It is thought that the ninth and last Red Heifer to be sacrificed occurred about 2,000 years ago in AD 15. Maimonides (1135–1204), a preeminent Medieval scholar and sage, claimed that the 10th red heifer would herald the coming of the Messiah.
For the Temple to be rebuilt in fulfillment of Bible prophecy and Temple practices to be reinstituted, a spotless red heifer is the necessary precursor, since its ashes must be mixed with the purification water necessary for restoring ritual purity or ceremonial cleanliness.
“The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.” -Haggai 2:9
He then recited a verse from Psalms (Psalms 8:2), “O L-rd, our Master, how mighty is Your Name throughout the earth. You who have placed Your majesty above the heavens.”
When Israel went out of Egypt, G-d wanted to take them into the Land and make them entirely spiritual like the holy angels above. And He intended to build for them a Holy Temple in Heaven, and then bring it down from the heavenly firmament and plant it in Israel in the same form as above, and this is what is written (Exodus 15:17), “You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance, in the Dwelling Place that You alone made, O L-rd, the Holy Temple that Your hands have established.”
The first part of the verse says, “You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance.” This refers to bringing the Children of Israel into the land and planting them [as spiritual beings] on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem where Abraham brought his son Isaac as an offering. The Temple Mount is the mountain of G-d’s inheritance.
he second part of the verse is, “In the Dwelling Place that You alone made O L-rd.” This is the Temple made by G-d in Heaven. The third and final part of the verse is, “the Holy Temple that Your hands, O L-rd, have established.” This is the heavenly Temple brought down to earth. The verse uses the metaphor of “Your hands, O L-rd” to indicate that this earthly Temple is also made by G-d alone. It is completely spiritual and constructed exactly the same as the Temple in heaven. These two spiritual Temples were to be the original First and Second Temples, one in heaven and the other on earth. Both were to be built by G-d and not by man. This is the true meaning of this verse in the Song of the Sea, the only verse in the Torah explicitly referring to the Holy Temple.
The Temples referred to in that verse are not the physical First and Second Temples at all, but the two spiritual Temples that originally were to be built by G-d and not by human beings.
In the future, however, it will be different. G-d alone will build the Holy Temple, and it is for this Temple we are waiting. It will not be built by humans, for if it were, it could not be everlasting. And it is written in the Book of Ezekiel 37:26, “Then the nations will know that I am the L-rd Who sanctifies Israel when My sanctuary will be among them forever.”
The two spiritual Temples will be brought down from Heaven by G-d Himself. The First Temple, the one built in Heaven, will be concealed for it corresponds to the Sephirah of Binah (Understanding), a spiritual level that transcends the world and is therefore concealed. The Second Temple, the earthly Temple built by the hands of the L-rd, will be revealed in its place on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, for it corresponds to the Sephirah of Malchut (Kingdom) which is revealed. The entire world will see that this Holy Temple is made by G-d Himself and there will be limitless joy and the fulfillment of every heart’s desire in all its permanence, for this Temple will never be destroyed. Thus it is written in the Zohar of Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai.
Indeed, there is also a traditional connection between the Third Temple and the Coming of the Prince of Peace. Even Israel’s sages state that when the Messiah comes, He will stand on the roof of the Temple and cry out: “Humble ones! The time of your redemption has arrived!”
The search for the Red Heifer, therefore, is intimately linked to the desire for redemption, the Messiah, and the Messianic Era.
Purification with the red heifer reminds us that man has the potential to rise above his transitory physical existence, with all its false sense of hopelessness and misery … the ‘impurity’ of death,” states the Temple Institute.
Temple Institute states: “The Divine ordinance of the heifer, beyond the grasp of man’s frail intellect, with all the details of its preparation and ceremony, calls out to Israel and to all who seek to cling to the living word of the G-d of Israel: ‘Purify yourselves! Shake off your despair! Death is an illusion!’ Thus it is written, ‘… but all of you who cling to the Lord your God are all alive today.’” -Deuteronomy 4:4
“Therefore you shall do My statutes and keep My rules and perform them, and then you will dwell in the land securely.” Leviticus 25:18
R’ Shneur Zalman, the author of the Tanya, writes: “This is what man is all about; this is the purpose of his creation and of the creation of all the worlds, higher and lower – that there be made for G-d a dwelling in the lower realms.”
“This is the role of the Third Temple for all mankind, and this is the Messianic vision of the future: The call for the true joy of living life to the fullest—with the knowledge of G-d.”
CHUKAS – By Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum
THE BEGINNING OF THE END
Now that we have passed the summer solstice, the days are still long but imperceptibly they are starting to get shorter, as we move inexorably closer to the end of the year and the coming New Year and Days of Awe. The Hebrew letters of the present month, Tammuz, are the initial letters of the phrase Z-MAN T-ESHUVAH M-MASHMESH U-VA, “the Time of Teshuvah is getting closer”. The letters of next month, AV, are the initial letters of ELUL BA – “Elul (month of repentance) is on the way”. After the month of Av comes Elul itself, and soon afterwards, Rosh HaShanah, Simchas Torah and the conclusion of the annual reading of the Torah.
In the previous parshah, KORACH, we passed the mid-point of the book of Numbers (Numbers 17:20). Korach’s conspiracy is not explicitly dated in the Torah narrative, but is considered to have taken place early on during the wanderings of the Children of Israel in the wilderness. The Torah passes over the 38 years of wandering after the sin of the Spies in almost complete silence — except for a list given later on of the stopping points on the journey, Numbers ch. 33, parshas MAS’EI. In our present parshah of CHUKAS, we move almost imperceptibly from the initial period in the wilderness following the Exodus and the Giving of the Torah, right to the end of the 40 years of wandering and the first stages of the conquest of the Land of Israel.
Parshas CHUKAS begins with the commandment of burning the Red Heiffer and using its ashes for purification from defilement from the dead. This commandment was among the first given to the Children of Israel directly after the Exodus and the Crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15:25, see Rashi there). The section about the Red Heiffer as we have it in CHUKAS (Numbers ch. 19) is also listed in the Midrash (Sifra) as one of those given to Moses on the 1st Nissan one year after the Exodus, the day the on which the Sanctuary was erected.
The positioning of the section of the Red Heiffer here — as we move into the latter part of the book of Numbers and on towards the end of the Torah — is bound up with its thematic relationship with other sections of our parshah. The commandment of the Red Heiffer, which comes to purify from defilement from contact with the dead, is followed immediately by the narrative of the death of Miriam. (“The death of Tzaddikim atones like the sacrifices” — Rashi on Numbers 20:1). The death of Miriam took place in the last year of wandering in the wilderness, on the 10th Nissan, exactly a year before the crossing of the Jordan and the entry into the Land. This is the first clue to dating the events in this parshah. The ensuing lack of water in the wilderness caused Moses and Aaron to strike the rock, leading to the decree that they would not enter the Land but die in the wilderness. Moses takes Aaron up Mount Hor to die, while Elazar, his son succeeds him as High Priest. We suddenly have to confront the loss of the elders and leaders of the generation. How do we deal with death?
Without our even noticing the transition, the older generation are leaving one by one, having been replaced by a whole new generation. The new generation — who are actually the old generation in new bodies — are now moving inexorably forward to the end and the goal – the Land of Israel. The Generation of the Wilderness have passed on, and the Generation of the Conquest now begin their advance.
As the Torah directs our eyes to the end goal of the wandering in the wilderness — entry into the Land to fulfill the Torah there — it first focuses our eyes upon the end goal of man, which is death: “This is the Torah: when a man dies.” (Numbers 19:14). For unless we come to terms with death, we cannot truly live. Death is a fact, perhaps the main fact, of life. We are forced to confront it at some time or another. In order to come to terms with it, we have to learn how to look at it.
Thus parshas CHUKAS takes its place in the series of parshas read during the bright summer months of Tammuz, time of Teshuvah, that teach us how to look at various different aspects of life in the correct perspective. BEHAALOSCHAH taught about the purity of vision in general. SHELACH LECHA taught about viewing the world — and our own selves — with the eyes of faith despite outward appearances. KORACH taught about how we look at others who may be better than ourselves. CHUKAS now comes to teach us how to look at our mortality, death, the end goal of life, in the right perspective — for with the right perspective, we can transcend death.
Today, only a decade after we were promised a new order of peace, the world has been plunged before our eyes into an era of global war. Every day we are bombarded with gruesome and horrific images of bloodied, burned, mutilated bodies. It has long ceased to be surprising to hear of new daily outrages in locations far and near. We are hardly aware of how dulled our sensitivities have become to injury, death and suffering. If we were to start weeping as we should, would we have enough tears for all the suffering in the world?
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov teaches that the only way we can transcend suffering is by trying to focus our vision on the faraway, ultimate goal of the entire creation, which is surely completely good. Rabbi Nachman says we must even close our eyes to this world — close them tight — so as to keep focussed on this ultimate, transcendent goal, which is to bring the entire universe to perfect unity and completeness through G-d’s hidden guidance and providence. (Likutey Moharan 1:65 “Garden of the Souls”.)
While no-one can fathom the depths of meaning of the Red Heiffer — any more than we can fathom the real meaning of death and of life — we are free to search for hints of meaning in this fascinating commandment, which is the key to complete redemption. This depends upon the restoration of the ashes of the Red Heiffer, because only when we are able to be purified from impurity from contact with the dead can we go up to the Temple, source of LIFE, and carry out all its rituals in the proper way.
What causes defilement from contact with the dead is not the soul of the dead person. It is the physical remains of his or her body. The death and decomposition of the body are very repugnant: they threaten us, both as health hazards and because they undermine our pride and dignity as living human beings. They remind us of our mortality — “You are earth, and to the earth you will return” — but we cannot live with such intense awareness of the vanity of the physical world. We are commanded to cover the body, bury it in the earth, put it out of sight. We should not pre-occupy ourselves with the dead (as did the Egyptians). Our job is to keep living, to keep marching to the end goal — “the Land of Israel”.
Thus the priest (son of Aharon, signifying light and vision) takes the pure Red Heiffer — its redness signifying the harshness of DIN, Strict Judgment, and GEVURAH, Might. The priest sheds the heiffer’s blood — breaking its power. The priest gazes towards the the Holy of Holies and sprinkles the blood of the heiffer towards it. This sprinkling of the blood of the Red Heiffer towards the Holy of Holies was integral to the whole ceremony, which was performed on the Mount of Olives at a spot directly aligned towards the gates of the Temple. The body of the heiffer was then burned on a woodpile and minute quantities of its ashes were mixed with water from a living source to be sprinkled with hyssop on people and utensils that had become defiled.
In breaking the power of Strict DIN, the priest had to look towards the Holy of Holies, because this is the ultimate goal of all creation, the place of complete unit, peace and perfection. Defilement from the dead is very depressing. (The chapters on this subject in Rambam’s Mishneh Torah can also be somewhat depressing, as they deal in detail with different parts of the body in varying stages of decomposition, etc.) In order to live we cannot occupy ourselves with death. We must be aware of our mortality, but we must separate ourselves from physical death. The souls of the dead go on living on their plane, and so must we on ours. The seven days of purification from defilement with the dead are seven days of separation from what ought to be the abnormal — the decaying dead body, which has to be buried and put away — in order to return to the Land of the Living. It is necessary to be sprinkled with the ashes of the Red Heiffer on the third and seventh days of the week in order to draw renewed strength by repeatedly looking toward the Holy of Holies.
Like the priest breaking the force of severe DIN by gazing towards the Holy of Holies, we too, in order to keep living, must keep our gaze focussed on the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies in our lives should be our times of prayer and Torah study, and, in the family context, quality time with our dear ones and especially spouses. These are the best support through all the vicissitudes of life.
“ARISE, O WELL.” (Numbers 21:17)
The living waters with which the ashes of the Red Heiffer are mixed are one of several references to water in our parshah. Notable among the other references are the “Waters of Strife” — the waters that Moses and Aaron extracted from the Rock, which cost them the privilege of leading the Children of Israel into the Promised Land. This section of the Torah is of course no less profound than the preceding section about the Red Heiffer. Rabbi Nachman saw his explanation of Moses’ striking the rock (Likutey Moharan I:20) as being the key to all of his Torah discourses. The bare essence of Rabbi Nachman’s teaching is that even the saintly Moses should not have sought “water” — Torah insight and inspiration — “by force”, i.e. in the merit of his good deeds, his “rod”, as a “right”. Rather, he should have wept and begged for the waters of Torah as a gift, through prayer. Thus Moses had to atone for his error with the 515 prayers that he offered in the hope of entering the Land of Israel.
It was the death of Miriam that led to the lack of water which made Moses strike the rock. For throughout the forty years of wandering, a miraculous well accompanied the Israelites in the merit of Miriam. Miriam (having the connotation of bitterness) symbolizes the soul of the suffering true Torah scholar (“eat bread with salt, drink water by measure”) through whose merit Torah insight comes into the world to inspire the generation. When this soul departs the world, there is a terrible thirst for water, with no one having the power to enlighten and inspire. Each generation needs to dig for the waters of the Torah anew.
The history of Miriam’s well is not written explicitly in the Torah text but only allusively. The allusions are brought out in the Aramaic Targum and in Midrashim brought by Rashi on certain verses in our parshah — such as Numbers 20:10-11 and 21:15ff. This well of the waters of inspiration accompanied the Israelites on all their journeys in the wilderness and provided water for the camp at each of their stopping places. When Miriam died, it disappeared, but it returned in the merit of Moses and traveled with the Israelites on the last stages of their journey through the wilderness. When they entered the Land under Joshua (on 10 Nissan, anniversary of the death of Miriam), the well also entered the land. It traveled to the Kinneret (Sea of Gallilee), where it is said to be visible from mountains to the east as a kind of “sieve” on the surface of the sea. From the depths of the Kinneret, the well is said to feed the waters of Israel’s most important water reserve. (The ARI is said to have taken R. Chayim Vital on a boat and given him a cup of this water to drink, after which R. Chayim Vital understood the teachings of his master.
The final stages of the journey of the Israelites through the wilderness and the first stages in the conquest of the Land of Israel are recounted in our parshah. Their geography is somewhat obscure to many, as they took place in what is today the kingdom of Jordan, which for political reasons remains temporarily out of bounds for Torah lovers. The Israelites were headed to ARVOS MO’AV, the “plains of Moab” east of the River Jordan facing Jericho. There they assembled prior to the entry into the Land in order to hear the final discourses of Moses, which make up the book of Deuteronomy.
Our present parshah describes their journey there. From the wilderness, they advanced around Edom (S.E. of Yam HaMelach, the “Dead” Sea) and Moab (to the east of the southern part of Yam Hamelach), crossing the River Arnon, which flows into the Yam HaMelach from the east, midway from north to south. The Arnon, which meets the sea via a spectacular mountain gorge, is the boundary between Moav, which the Israelites were forbidden to conquer, and the territories to the north, which had been conquered by the Emorites. The narrative of the Israelite conquest of the latter territories begins in our parshah.
The parshah relates that the miracles of the crossing of the Arnon were comparable with the miracles of the crossing of the Red Sea (Numbers 21:14ff.). The Emorites were waiting for the Israelites in caves in the gorge below, but the two sides of the gorge miraculously came together, allowing the Israelites to walk safely above. The Well of Miriam, which traveled with the Israelites, flushed the blood of the dead Emorites out of the gorge so that the Israelites could see the miracles performed for them.
Thus, forty years after the Generation of the Exodus had sung to G-d when they came up from the Red Sea, the Generation of the Conquest sang again as they witnessed the first miracles of the conquest. “That was the well of which HaShem said to Moses, gather the people and I will give them water. Then Israel sang (lit. WILL SING) this song: Arise, O well.!” (Numbers 21:16-17).
The conquest of the Land depends upon Miriam’s well — the well of Torah insight and inspiration. May we soon hear the song of the conquest of the Land for the Torah, for the Holy of Holies and for the glory of HaShem — quickly in our days!
Shabbat Shalom!!! – Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Greenbaum
Haftarat Chukat – Ordinance – Judges 11:1-33
Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together and went out against Israel in the wilderness, and he came to Jahaz and fought against Israel.
-Numbers 21:21-23
Haftarah Portion:
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah. Gilead’s wife bore sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him. -Judges 11:1-3
It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel. And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. Then they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.” So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned again to you now, that you may go w