Chukas – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

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)

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…

Home -> 5775 -> Chukas

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…

Home -> 5774 -> Chukas

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…

Home -> 5774 -> Chukas

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….

Home -> 5773 -> Chukas

וכל כלי פתוח אשר אין צמיד פתיל עליו טמא הוא

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5773

Any open vessel that has no cover fastened to it is contaminated. (19:15)

It is sad, but true: A person is most often judged by his external appearance. His manner of dress, be it conventional or “different,” determines our first opinion of him. We become caught up in the chitzonius, externals, and ignore the “real” Jew, the pnimius, internal essence of the person who stands before us. I have found this to be a reality, especially in dealing with individuals of both genders who are incarcerated for various felonies – some light, others serious, but felonies no less. At first glance, they might present themselves in an unsavory light, but, upon getting to…

Home -> 5773 -> Chukas

קח את אהרן ואת אלעזר בנו והעל אתם הר ההר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5773

Take Aharon and Elazar his son and bring them up to Har Hahar. (20:25)

Rashi teaches that Moshe Rabbeinu was instructed to console Aharon, to soothe him concerning the fact that his mortal life was coming to a close. It was a difficult blow. He did, however, achieve the tremendous nachas, satisfaction and pleasure, of seeing his son ascend to the High Priesthood – something which had eluded Moshe. We derive an important lesson from here. We must make people feel good – regardless of how painful it might be for us personally. Aharon had the true nachas for which every parent aspires: to see his offspring achieve an enviable spiritual plateau. Moshe, the…

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וימת אהרן שם בראש ההר...וישמע הכנעני...כי בא ישראל...וילחם בישראל.

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Chukas, 5773

Then Aharon died there on Har Hahar… The Canaanite (King) heard that (Klal) Yisrael had come… And he warred against Yisrael. (20:28, 21:1)

Rarely do we find a mitzvah in the Torah in which we are told not only to execute a certain deed, but never to forget that we are enjoined in this mitzvah. These mitzvos are zechiros mitzvos in which there is a specific duty to remember a specific occurrence. This act of perpetuating the occurrence will spur us to carry out a specific mitzvah or not to do a prohibited activity. For instance, we are enjoined to remember what Hashem did to Miriam HaNeviah, and how she was publicly censured for speaking ill of Moshe Rabbeinu. Although it was not…

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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

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)

וכל כלי פתוח אשר אין צמיד פתיל עליו טמא הוא

Any open vessel that has no cover fastened to it is contaminated. (19:15)

קח את אהרן ואת אלעזר בנו והעל אתם הר ההר

Take Aharon and Elazar his son and bring them up to Har Hahar. (20:25)

וימת אהרן שם בראש ההר...וישמע הכנעני...כי בא ישראל...וילחם בישראל.

Then Aharon died there on Har Hahar… The Canaanite (King) heard that (Klal) Yisrael had come… And he warred against Yisrael. (20:28, 21:1)

YEARS

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