Chukas – Page 11 – Peninim on the Torah

“This is the decree of the Torah… and they shall take to you a completely red cow.” (19:2)

The Mishnah in Meseches Parah 3:7 states: If the Parah Adumah refuses to go out, they should not take a black cow to accompany it. Some people might claim that the black one had been slaughtered. Likewise, they should not take out another red cow, for some people might assert that two cows had been slaughtered. The Mishnah addresses the problem of how a “stubborn” Parah Adumah might be “coaxed” to come along. The halachah seems to be clear; one may do nothing which would give grounds for the non-believer to ridicule and disclaim the validity of the Parah Adumah…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5756

“And Moshe raised his arm and struck the rock.” (20:11)

A number of explanations are offered for the sin which Moshe Rabbeinu committed by hitting the stone rather than speaking to it. Horav Mordechai Ilan, zl, approaches the pasuk homiletically. As leader of Am Yisrael, Moshe Rabbeinu was responsible to handle the scepter of leadership in a pleasant manner. He needed to reach out, encouraging the people to follow in the right path, never admonishing them harshly or using physical force to emphasize a point. True, in their stubbornness, Bnei Yisrael may seem to have had hearts of stone. Their facade, however, could have been more successfully penetrated with verbal…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5756

“He sent an emissary and took us out of Egypt.” (20:16)

Rashi comments that Moshe used the word “ltkn” — which also means angel — because the prophets are referred to as angels. It seems slightly out of character for Moshe Rabbeinu, the “anav mikol adam,” the paragon of humility, to chose a word that alludes to spiritual superiority. Horav Zalmen Sorotzkin, zl, cites a response from his father- in-law, Horav Eliezer Gordon, zl. Horav Gordon recounts an incident in which a famous gaon, one of the most prominent rabbanim in Vilna, met a villager driving a wagon that was being pulled by a horse and a cow simultaneously. When the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5755

“This is the decree of the Torah … and they shall take to you a completely red cow …” (19:2)

Although the mitzvah of Parah Adumah is difficult to comprehend, a number of lessons can be derived from its unique halachos. The Midrash takes note of the fact that only a female is acceptable for this korban. For other sacrifices, in contrast, a male or female are equally eligible. Chazal explain that the Parah Adumah serves to cleanse Klal Yisrael from the sin of the Golden Calf. This concept has given rise to the saying, “Let the (mother) cow atone for the defilement created by the (golden) calf.” Thus, only a female is accepted for the Parah Adumah. In expounding…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5755

“And they shall take to you a completely red cow, which is without blemish, and upon which a yoke has not come.” (19:2)

“And they shall take to you a completely red cow, which is without blemish, and upon which a yoke has not come.” (19:2) The Parah Adumah, Red Heifer/cow, symbolizes two seemingly conflicting concepts. On the one hand, the Parah Adumah should be completely red in color. Indeed, if only two hairs are not red, it is rendered invalid. The color red traditionally represents sin in an allusion to blood and murder. This idea is consistent with the pasuk in Yeshayah 1:18, “Though your errors will be like scarlet, they will become white as snow; though they will be red as…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5755

“And they shall take to you a completely red cow.” (19:2)

The laws of Parah Adumah are shrouded in mystery. Chazal teach us that the Parah Adumah served as an atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf. How does this take effect, and what relationship do the two have with each other ? Another paradoxical aspect of the law is that the one who had prepared the ashes of the Parah Adumah became spiritually defiled, while the unclean person became purified. How could the parah be me’tameh tehorim and simultaneously be me’tahar tema’im? How could the same substances defile those handling them and yet purify those who were spiritually unclean?…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5755

“And strip Aharon of his vestments and dress Elazar his son in them.” (20:26)

In the Midrash, Chazal recount a fascinating story about the transfer of Aharon’s vestments to Elazar, his son. It is forbidden to dress the Kohen Gadol in any manner other than the prescribed order: He first dons the undergarments, followed by the outer garments. In order to dress Elazar properly, Moshe would have had to remove all of Aharon’s clothes. What was he to do? Hashem performed a great miracle for Aharon. Whenever Moshe removed one of Aharon’s priestly garments, he found him clothed underneath with a corresponding Heavenly garment, so that Aharon’s body was actually never bared. Another miracle…

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Sruly Schnair In Chukas, 5754

“This is the decree of the Torah… and let them take to you a completely red cow.” (19:2,3)

The Divine command to take a red cow which is unblemished, burn it, mix its ashes with water, and sprinkle it on one who is tameh meis (spiritually contaminated because of contact with a dead body) defies explanation. Indeed, this is why it has been classified as a “chok,” a mitzvah whose underlying rationale is inaccessible to human comprehension. Nonetheless, a variety of commentators provide us with insight into this mitzvah. Horav S.R. Hirsch z.l. opines that issues which deal with contamination and purification, ideas associated with the spiritual realm, are inherently difficult for the human intellect to grasp. In…

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Sruly Schnair In Chukas, 5754

“And the people dwelt in Kadesh, and Miriam died there and was buried there.” (20:1)

Rashi cites the Talmud in Moed Katan 28a which explains the juxtaposition of Miriam’s death upon the laws of parah-adumah. This combined message informs us that, just as korbanos effect atonement, so too, the death of tzaddikim effects atonement. This statement is perplexing. In Parashas Beshalach, Rashi asserts that the laws of parah- adumah were conveyed at Marah, or, at the latest, during Bnei Yisrael’s second year in the desert. Miriam’s death, however, took place during the fortieth year! If the actual span between these two incidents was so long, why then does the Torah link them? Second, according to…

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Sruly Schnair In Chukas, 5754

“And they wept for Aharon thirty days all the house of Yisrael.” (20:29)

Regarding Moshe’s death, in Sefer Devarim 34:8 the Torah states, “And Bnei Yisrael wept for Moshe.” It does not assert that “all the house of Yisrael wept,” as it says in response to Aharon’s death. Rashi explains that Aharon’s passing generated a greater outpour of grief among the people. Aharon was rodef shalom; he pursued peace. He constantly sought ways to bring peace among men of strife, as well as between husband and wife. His passing was, therefore, felt more strongly by the common Jew. The Ohr Ha’Chayim responds to this perplexity in a number of ways. After citing Rashi’s…

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“This is the decree of the Torah… and they shall take to you a completely red cow.” (19:2)

“And Moshe raised his arm and struck the rock.” (20:11)

“He sent an emissary and took us out of Egypt.” (20:16)

“This is the decree of the Torah … and they shall take to you a completely red cow …” (19:2)

“And they shall take to you a completely red cow, which is without blemish, and upon which a yoke has not come.” (19:2)

“And they shall take to you a completely red cow.” (19:2)

“And strip Aharon of his vestments and dress Elazar his son in them.” (20:26)

“This is the decree of the Torah… and let them take to you a completely red cow.” (19:2,3)

“And the people dwelt in Kadesh, and Miriam died there and was buried there.” (20:1)

“And they wept for Aharon thirty days all the house of Yisrael.” (20:29)

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