Chukas – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

ויראו כל העדה כי גוע אהרן ויבכו את אהרן שלשים יום כל בית ישראל

When the entire assembly saw that Aharon had perished, they wept for Aharon thirty days, the entire House of Yisrael. (20:29)

Chazal teach that following Aharon HaKohen’s passing, all male children were given the name “Aharon” after the holy man whose life was devoted to promoting peace among Jews and marital harmony among husband and wife. Many a family was acutely aware of the role that Aharon played in sustaining their marriage. Out of respect and appreciation — and probably as a sort of remembrance of the fragility of relationships and how this man saved theirs — they named their sons Aharon. Horav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Shlita, relates that he was once approached by a young couple who had undergone marital issues…

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והיה כל הנשוך וראה אתו וחי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5776

And it will be that anyone who had been bitten will look at it and live. (21:8)

The ungrateful slanderers who defamed the manna were treated to a unique form of punishment. They were bitten by serpents whose venom caused their victims to feel that they were burning. The nachash ha’kadmoni, primeval serpent, had slandered Hashem to Chavah and received a fitting curse that it would no longer experience the enjoyment of tasting food. The punishment was fitting, because the manna which these ingrates had slandered was multi-flavored; a person could, indeed, experience any flavor that his heart desired. The sinners repented and sought penance for their deed. Moshe Rabbeinu fashioned a copper serpent, which healed a…

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ויקחו אליך פרה אדומה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5775

And they shall take to you a Red Cow. (19:2)

The Parah Adumah, Red Cow (heifer), is considered the quintessential chok, mitzvah whose reason defies human rationale. There is an aspect to this mitzvah, which although paradoxical in nature, is symbolically perceivable. Indeed, at first glance, the Parah Adumah incorporates two opposites. On the one hand, it must be totally red: even two black hairs render it invalid. This is puzzling, since the color red is usually identified with sin. Red is the symbol of blood. The Navi Yeshayahu (1:18) says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are as red as…

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זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל כל הבא אל האהל וכל אשר באהל יטמא שבעת ימים... ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם... ויראו כל העדה כי גוע אהרן ויבכו את אהרן

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5775

This is the law when a man dies in a tent. Everyone coming into the tent and everything in it shall be tamei, ritually unclean, seven days… and Miriam died there and was buried there…and when all the people saw that Aharon had died, they wept for Aharon for thirty days. (19:14; 20:1,29)

The parsha addresses a number of pertinent issues, among which are the laws of tumah and taharah, ritual contamination and purity, following contact with death and the deaths of the righteous; namely, the death of Miriam HaNeviah and Aharon HaKohen. Life is filled with ambiguity, and death is the greatest paradox of all. This notion is perhaps underscored in the Torah’s order of the purification process for one who has come in contact with the deceased. On the third and seventh day, the ritually unclean person is sprinkled with a solution of pure water mixed with the ashes of the…

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וישב העם בקדש ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5775

And the people settled in Kadesh. Miriam died there and she was buried there. (20:1)

As a result of their involvement in the Mei Merivah, waters of strife, Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen were not permitted to enter Eretz Yisrael (Moshe hit the rock instead of speaking to it, as Hashem had instructed him. The reason that this was considered a breach in obedience which warranted his losing out on Eretz Yisrael is far too complex a topic to be addressed within the limitations of this paper.) Miriam HaNeviah also died in the wilderness. Why did she lose out on the opportunity of a lifetime? Horav Avigdor HaLevi Nebentzhal, Shlita, suggests that Miriam inadvertently played…

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ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5775

Miriam died there and was buried there. (20:1)

Rashi quotes the Talmud Bava Basra 17a, where Chazal teach that Miriam HaNeviah merited missas neshikah, death through Hashem’s kiss, as did her brothers, Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen. Rashi wonders why the Torah does not add al pi Hashem, by the mouth of Hashem, as it writes concerning the passing of her brothers. He explains that it would not have been derech kavod shel Maalah, appropriate respect for Hashem Yisborach to make such a statement. Horav Shimon Schwab, zl, asks the question that is probably posed by any student of Torah, anyone who has read and truly understood the…

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זאת חקת התורה... ויקחו אליך פרה אדמה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5774

This is the chok, statute/decree… take to you – red heifer. (19:2)

Parah Adumah, the Red Heifer, is from its very beginning, a paradox. It is used to purify one who has become spiritually defiled by coming in contact with a human corpse. This is done by burning the cow and mixing its ashes with pure water, with the mixture then being sprinkled on the defiled person. What is the meaning of tumah, impurity, and how is it purified by means of sprinkling water? The paradox goes deeper. The Kohen who burnt the Parah Adumah and sprinkled the water on the defiled person – himself becomes tamei, impure, while the subject of…

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זאת חקת התורה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5774

This is the chok/statute/decree of the Torah. (19:8)

The term chok is used to describe a mitzvah which, for all intents and purposes, seems inexplicable. While Hashem certainly has a rationale for this mitzvah, our little finite minds have difficulty understanding that which is infinite. We are instructed to serve Hashem out of love and awe – not because it makes sense, it seems the right thing to do, or we understand it. We serve Hashem because He is the Almighty, and, on Har Sinai we accepted to be His People, with a resounding declaration of Naase v’Nishma, “We will do and we will listen,” thereby affirming our…

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יען לא האמנתם בי להקדישני לעיני בני ישראל לכן לא תביאו את הקהל הזה אל הארץ אשר נתתי להם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5774

Because you did not believe Me, to sanctify Me, in the eyes of Bnei Yisrael, therefore you will not bring the Congregation to the Land that I have given them. (20:12)

The error of mei merivah, waters of strife, cost Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen the opportunity to enter Eretz Yisrael. The various commentators are troubled with coming to grips with this definitive error. How did Moshe make such a mistake? Hashem instructed him to speak to the rock – not hit it. Rashi explains that had Moshe spoken to the stone, he would have magnified the miracle of water flowing from a stone. While this may be true, it does not explain what Moshe, Hashem’s eved neeman, true servant – who would never do anything on his own – did….

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אדם כי ימות באהל ...כל הבא אל האהל וכל אשר באהל יטמא שבעת ימים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5773

A man who would die in a tent: Anything that enters the tent and anything that is in the tent shall be contaminated for seven days. (19:14)

We view a rasha, wicked person, with disdain, when actually it is the sin that we should hate, not the sinner. We do not realize that regardless of a person’s transgressions, his neshamah, soul, is endowed with kedushah, holiness. Horav Tuvia HaLevi, zl, one of the talmidei Arizal, applies this idea to explain why a Jewish corpse is metamei, ritually contaminates, anyone who comes in contact with it, more so than the corpse of a gentile. A Jewish corpse is metamei both b’ohel and b’maga, by standing over it or touching it, while a gentile corpse does not defile b’ohel….

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ויראו כל העדה כי גוע אהרן ויבכו את אהרן שלשים יום כל בית ישראל

When the entire assembly saw that Aharon had perished, they wept for Aharon thirty days, the entire House of Yisrael. (20:29)

והיה כל הנשוך וראה אתו וחי

And it will be that anyone who had been bitten will look at it and live. (21:8)

ויקחו אליך פרה אדומה

And they shall take to you a Red Cow. (19:2)

זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל כל הבא אל האהל וכל אשר באהל יטמא שבעת ימים... ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם... ויראו כל העדה כי גוע אהרן ויבכו את אהרן

This is the law when a man dies in a tent. Everyone coming into the tent and everything in it shall be tamei, ritually unclean, seven days… and Miriam died there and was buried there…and when all the people saw that Aharon had died, they wept for Aharon for thirty days. (19:14; 20:1,29)

וישב העם בקדש ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם

And the people settled in Kadesh. Miriam died there and she was buried there. (20:1)

ותמת שם מרים ותקבר שם

Miriam died there and was buried there. (20:1)

זאת חקת התורה... ויקחו אליך פרה אדמה

This is the chok, statute/decree… take to you – red heifer. (19:2)

זאת חקת התורה

This is the chok/statute/decree of the Torah. (19:8)

יען לא האמנתם בי להקדישני לעיני בני ישראל לכן לא תביאו את הקהל הזה אל הארץ אשר נתתי להם

Because you did not believe Me, to sanctify Me, in the eyes of Bnei Yisrael, therefore you will not bring the Congregation to the Land that I have given them. (20:12)

אדם כי ימות באהל ...כל הבא אל האהל וכל אשר באהל יטמא שבעת ימים

A man who would die in a tent: Anything that enters the tent and anything that is in the tent shall be contaminated for seven days. (19:14)

YEARS

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