Overview of
the Weekly Reading: Chukat (in
Israel)
Korach
outside Israel To
be read on 5 Tamuz 5766 (July 1) Torah:
Numbers 19:1-22:1
Haftorah: Judges 11:1-23 (Messengers to Edom)
Pirkei Avot: Chapter
5 in Israel (Chapter 4 outside
of Israel)
Chukat is
the 6th Reading out of 10 in Numbers and 39th overall,
and 39th out of 54 in overall length
Chukat
(Numbers 19:1-22:1) opens with G-d's command to slaughter a red heifer whose ashes
purify those who had contact with the dead. The water the Jews had in the desert
came in the merit of Miriam the prophetess, Moshe's sister. After her passing,
the Jews complain about the subsequent lack of water. G-d then tells Moshe to
speak to a certain rock; when Moshe instead hits the rock to bring forth water,
Moshe and Aharon are punished with a decree that they will not merit to enter
the Land. Next, the Jews request to pass through the Land of Edom, but the Edomites
refuse, and the Jews must go around. Following this, Aharon passes away on Mt.
Hahar. When the Cana'anite king of Arad hears that the Jews are nearing his land,
he wages war with them. G-d fulfills the Jews' request to allow them to defeat
the Cana'anites and conquer their land, which they dedicate to G-d in return for
their victory. The Jews complain to Moshe again, and G-d sends poisonous snakes
to bite them. Moshe prays on the Jews' behalf, and G-d tells him to make an image
of a snake; Moshe makes a copper snake, places it on a pole, and those that gaze
up at the copper are cured of their snake bites. Next are details about some of
the places where the Jews traveled and also the Song of the Well. The parsha concludes
relating the Jews' defeat of Sichon and Og, two very powerful kings, and the conquest
of their lands.
FROM
THE MASTERS OF KABBALA (K:3966/Chukat)
From the holy
Zohar, teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
(Z:3966/Chukat) And
when the wicked became more numerous in the world [and were not worthy of using
this revealed secret as method of proving a transaction] a different way of attesting
to a transaction was chosen. This was in order to conceal the higher secret behind
the symbolism.
For
the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on our KabbalaOnline
site.
* * * * * From
the holy Ari, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed
(A:3966/Chukat)
Regarding the essence of the [rite of
the] red heifer, King Solomon, of blessed memory, said, "I said, 'I will
become wise,' but it was far from me" (Ecclesiastes 7:23), as our sages explained.
( Bamidbar Rabba 19:3) Know that [this is because] the basis of the [rite
of the] red heifer is [that it expresses] how malchut receives from the back of
the Holy Names, and not from their front. For
the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on our KabbalaOnline
site. * * * * * From
Rebbeinu
Bachya
(O:3966/Chukat)
Some Kabbalists answered these questions
by saying that indeed the entire Red Cow was "Holy of Holies" and that
the reason it conferred impurity on its handlers was that any pure person on earth
will automatically become impure through contact with extra-terrestrial purity
i.e. celestial purity [or sanctity]. This concept is reflected in the Torah phrase
"anyone touching the Altar will become holy" (Ex. 29:37), i.e. will
be burnt [as had happened to the two sons of Aaron Nadab and Abihu]. For
the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on our KabbalaOnline
site.
FROM
THE CHASSIDIC REBBES (V:3966/Chukat) "Speak
to the Children of Israel, that they bring to you a completely red cow on which
there is no blemish, that has never borne a yoke." (19:2)
"It
should be perfect in redness; if there were two black hairs upon it, it would
be disqualified." Rashi
In the same way a red heifer is prevented from
being "perfect" by the appearance of two black hairs, so too is a Jew's
perfection disqualified by even the slightest "hairsbreadth" of dishonesty
or deception, as it states, "You shall be perfect [whole] with the L-rd your
G-d."
(Chidushei HaRim)
A
MYSTICAL CHASSIDIC DISCOURSE from
the Chabad Master series, produced by Rabbi
Yosef Marcus for www.ascentofsafed.com
and www.kabbalaonline.org
MOSHIACH
THIS WEEK (M:3966/Chukat)
"…Speak to the Israelites and have them bring you a completely red
cow, which has no blemish…" (Num. 19:2) The mitzva of the
red cow was practiced at the time of the Temple. Its function was to purify (through
the sprinkling of the ashes of the red cow on the person) anyone who had been
in contact with a deceased person, an impurity as a result of which he would not
be able to enter the Temple. There is a strong connection between the mitzva
of the red cow and the redemption.
In exile, not only is the Jewish People
impure from a halachic (Jewish law) point of view from being in contact
with the deceased without means to be purified, also from a spiritual point of
view they are impure. The exile, after all, is caused by "because of our
sins were we exiled from our land." Sins are an obstacle to our connection
to
G-d. The connection to Him is what purifies the person. Just as the
ashes of the red cow purify the Jew according to halacha, so will the redemption
purify him from a spiritual point of view. Pniney Geula
An
essay from Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, director of Ascent
(for a free weekly email subscription, click
here) (W:3966/Chukat) The
week's reading opens, "This is the statute of the Torah which G-d commanded..."
(Num. 19:2) and then goes on to describe the laws of the Red Heifer and the purification
process from defilement incurred through contact with the dead. This mitzvah
is the classic supra-rational command.
Rashi explains that the specific
wording in the verse addresses the taunts of the Adversary and the Nations of
the World who question us regarding the reason for this mitzvah. "This
is the statute" answers that the Red Heifer is a divine decree that cannot
be comprehended. Rebbe Yechiel Michel notes that there is, in fact, a known Midrashic
explanation for the Red Heifer: Just as a mother must clean the mess of her child,
so, too, this heifer comes to repair the damage done through the sin of her child,
the Golden Calf. When scoffers approach the Jews asking about the heifer, they
are actually intending to remind us of our transgression. This is what the verse
answers them: "This is a statute...which G-d commanded" and there is
no reason for it. Nevertheless, we must remind ourselves that we must still improve
our relationship to G-d. The mitzvah of the Red Heifer is connected
to the Redemption. Exile causes "impurity" on a spiritual plane, impeding
the proper service of G-d. This impurity comes from our sins. The difference between
mitzvot and sins is that mitzvot connect us to G-d, eliciting positive
spiritual energy; sins, on the other hand, occlude this spiritual channel to G-d.
This lack of spiritual connection leads to the spiritual impurity of the exile.
The ashes of the Red Heifer and the Redemption both purify the Jewish people.
Sprinkling the ashes of the red heifer on a defiled person purified him, enabling
him to enter the sanctuary. The Redemption purifies everyone, even those who are
technically impure, from even a hint of alienation from our Father in Heaven.
The prophet Ezekiel used the analogy of the red heifer when speaking about the
Final Redemption: "And I will throw upon you pure waters and purify your
impurities." (Ezekiel 36:25) * * * Wednesday night - Thursday
day, the 3rd of Tammuz, is the sixth anniversary of the passing of the Lubavitcher
Rebbe. During his final years, he often challenged us, asking: What have we done
until now to hasten the redemption? He would exhort his disciples:
A person
must ponder when the last time was that he honestly thought about Mashiach
in a way that was personally meaningful; that all of the above is truly referring
to him and not to someone else; that, through Mashiach, the Holy One Blessed
Be He is about to take him out of this exile and he himself, with Mashiach,
will go to the Land of Israel! Each person should seclude himself to a place where
he will be alone and there make a true account. Doing so will lead us to
thoughts of returning to G-d. Through this we can bring the Final Redemption immediately,
since these sincere thoughts will bring us, and the whole world, merit in the
eyes of Heaven, and thereby precipitate the Redemption. If we accept upon ourselves
to serve as "illuminators", to lead and to enlighten all of those around
us, then through our shining forth with the "candle of the mitzvot and the
light of the Torah" (Proverbs 6:23), we will dispel the darkness of exile
and bring the light of the Redemption. This must be undertaken with genuine effort
and self-sacrifice.
Shabbat Shalom, Shaul
P.S.
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