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Home -> 5775 -> Chukas

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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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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Home -> 5775 -> Chukas

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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Home -> 5775 -> Chukas

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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