Parshat Chukat In-Depth with the Chassidic Masters

Bamidbar (Numbers) 19:1-22:1

Moses is taught the laws of the Red Heifer, whose ashes purify a person who has been contaminated by contact with a dead body.

After 40 years of journeying through the desert, the people of Israel arrive in the wilderness of Zin.

Miriam dies and the people thirst for water. G-d tells Moses to speak to a rock and command it to give water. Moses gets angry at the rebellious Israelites and strikes the stone. Water issues forth, but Moses is told by G-d that neither he nor Aaron will enter the Promised Land.

Aaron dies at Hor Hahar and is succeeded in the High Priesthood by his son Elazar. Venomous snakes attack the Israelite camp after yet another eruption of discontent in which the people "speak against G-d and Moses"; G-d tells Moses to place a brass serpent upon a high pole, and all who will gaze heavenward will be healed. The people sing a song in honor of the miraculous well that provided the water in the desert.

Moses leads the people in battles against the Emorite kings Sichon and Og (who seek to prevent Israel's passage through their territory) and conquers their lands, which lie east of the Jordan.

Chok of the Torah

The Parshah of Chukat ("the decree of") opens with the law of the Red Heifer, which purifies a person from the tumah (ritual impurity) engendered by contact with death.

And G-d spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: This is the chok of the Torah which G-d has commanded.

Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring to you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and upon which never came a yoke.

This phrase can be understood in two ways. On one level it means that this--the law of the Red Heifer--is the ultimate "decree", the most supra-rational of all the Torah's precepts. A deeper meaning is that all of Torah is, in essence, divine decree.

It is only that with many of the mitzvot, the supra-rational divine will come "clothed" in garments of reason. (Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi)

In everything that G-d taught Moses, He would tell him both the manner of contamination and the manner of purification. When G-d came to the laws concerning one who comes in contact with a dead body, Moses said to Him: "Master of the universe! If one is thus contaminated, how may he be purified?" G-d did not answer him. At that moment, the face of Moses turned pale.

When G-d came to the section of the Red Heifer, He said to Moses: "This is its manner of purification." Said Moses to G-d: "Master of the universe! This is a purification?" Said G-d: "Moses, it is a chok, a decree that I have decreed, and no creature can fully comprehend My decrees." (Midrash Rabbah)

In reference to what did King Solomon say (Ecclesiastes 7:23), "I thought to be wise to it, but it is distant from me"? He said: All of

the Torah's commandments I have comprehended. But the chapter of the Red Heifer, though I have examined it, questioned it and searched it out--I thought to be wise to it, but it is distant

from me. (Midrash Rabbah)

heifer: A red heifer (19:2)

A maids child once dirtied the royal palace. Said the king: "Let his mother come and clean up her childs filth." By the same token, G-d says: "Let the Heifer atone for the deed of the Calf." (Midrash Tanchuma)

Everlasting Decree

And you shall give her to Elazar the priest, that he may bring her outside the camp, and she shall be slaughtered before him.

And Elazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood towards the front of the Tent of Meeting seven times.

The entire heifer--"her skin, her flesh, her blood, even her dung"--is burnt, together with a piece of cedar wood, andbundle of hyssop, and a scarlet thread. The ashes are then collected.

This is the law: when a man dies in a tent, all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days...

They shall take for the impure person of the ashes of the burnt purification offering, and living water shall be put upon it in a vessel.

And a ritually pure person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon .... the impure person on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day

he shall... wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be pure at evening...

This shall be to you an everlasting decree.

Commentary From the Master Sages

tent: This is the law (torah): When a man who dies in a tent... (19:14)

Resh Lakish said: From where do we learn that words of Torah endure only in he who kills himself for it? Because it says, "This is the Torah: when a man dies in the tent..." (Talmud, Berachot 63b)

living water: Water from an ever-flowing spring. Fallacious springs which run dry even once in seven years are disqualified. (Sifri; Talmud, Parah 8:9)

In other words, a spring which runs dry once in seven years is "fallacious" even when there is water flowing in it.

This is lesson in the meaning of truth: something which exists under certain circumstances but ceases under other is not "true", even when it does exist. (The Chassidic Masters)

everlasting decree: Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring to you a red heifer (19:2)

Nine Red Heifers were prepared from the time that the Jewish people were commanded this mitzvah until the Second Temple was destroyed. The first was prepared by Moses, the second by Ezra, and another seven were prepared from Ezra until the Temple's destruction. The tenth Heifer will be prepared by Moshiach, may he speedily be revealed, Amen, may it so be the will of G-d. (Mishneh Torah)

The Mishneh Torah is a purely legal work. As he explains in his introduction, Maimonides included only the final rulings of Torah law, leaving out the reasoning and deliberations behind them, in order to make it a readily accessible guide to daily life for all. Also in those rare cases in which Maimonides appears to "digress" and interject a philosophical insight or some background information, upon closer examination these always prove to be a statement of law and a practical instruction on daily living.

The same is true of the above quoted passage. At first glance, it appears to be a brief piece of history concerning the Red Heifer, followed by a prayerful appeal to the Almighty to send Moshiach.

But Maimonides is demonstrating to us the true definition of "belief in Moshiach." To believe in Moshiach is not just to believe that he will someday come, but to expect his coming on a daily, hourly, and momentary basis. It means that no matter what you are discussing, the subject turns to Moshiach at the slightest provocation. It means that in the midst of arranging the laws of the Red Heifer, a spontaneous plea erupts from the depths of your heart: "May he speedily be revealed, Amen, may it so be the will of G-d!" (The Lubavitcher Rebbe)

He that sprinkles: The clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean person... and he shall be clean at evening... [But] he that sprinkles the water of sprinkling... shall be unclean (19:19-21)

All who are involved in the preparation of the Heifer from beginning to the end, become impure, but the Heifer itself purifies the impure! But G-d says: I have made a chok, decreed a decree, and you may not transgress My decrees. (Midrash Tanchuma)

The fact that the ashes of the Heifer "purify the contaminated and contaminate the pure" carries an important lesson to us in our daily lives: If your fellow has been infected by impurity and corruption, do not hesitate to get involved and do everything within your power to rehabilitate him. If you are concerned that you may became tainted by your contact with him, remember that

the Torah commands the Kohen to purify his fellow Jew, even though his own level of purity will be diminished in the process. (The Lubavitcher Rebbe)

40 years: And the entire congregation arrived in the wilderness of Zin in the first month (20:1)

The perfect congregation. For the generation decreed to die in the desert had already died out, and these were the ones who were destined to live [and enter the Land]. (Rashi)

All the events and prophesies which the Torah relates [pertaining to the time that the people of Israel were in the desert], are either of the first or of the fortieth year. (Ibn Ezra)

Miriam: And Miriam died there... And there was no water for the congregation (20:1-2)

Three great providers arose for the people of Israel--Moses, Aaron and Miriam--through whom they received three great gifts: the well, the clouds [of glory], and the manna. The well was in the merit of Miriam, the clouds in the merit of Aaron, and the manna in the merit of Moses.

When Miriam died, the well was removed, as it says, "And Miriam died there..." and, immediately afterward, "And there was no water for the congregation." The well then resumed in the merit of the other two.

When Aaron died, the clouds of glory were removed, as it says, "And the Canaanite, the King of Arad, heard ...and waged war on Israel." He heard that Aaron died, and thought that he now had license to attack Israel [because the clouds of glory which protected them were gone. The well and the clouds] then resumed in the merit of Moses alone. (Talmud, Taanit 9a)

...evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink."

G-d instructs Moses to "gather the congregation together, you and Aaron your brother; and you shall speak to the rock before their eyes, and it shall give forth its water."

water: And Miriam died there... And there was no water for the congregation (20:1-2)

A person may ingest the ingredients of life, but these will not vitalize him without the fluids that course through his body. The food swallowed by the stomach, the oxygen drawn in by the lungs, must now be transported through the bodys canals and made to saturate its every cell.

Therein lies the spiritual significance of Miriams role as Israels provider of "water". Miriam first appears in the Torah (see Midrashim and commentaries on Exodus 1:15)

...as a childrens nurse: one who distills adult food for the consumption of a child;

one who trains and educates a growing human being, filtering the stimuli of an adult world for his maturing mind: who processes the raw materials of life to meet the specific needs of her charges age and phase of development.

Miriams well is the vital fluid of Israels spiritual life, the water that inculcates them with the knowledge and identity her brothers provide. The waters of Miriam transport and apply the nutrients of Torah and the abstractions of faith to each individual, on his or her particular level. (The Lubavitcher Rebbe)

eyes: Because you did not believe in Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel (20:12)

But had not Moses previously said something that was worse than this? For he said (Numbers 11:22): "If flocks and herds be slain for them, will they suffice them? Or if all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, will they suffice them?" Faith surely was wanting there too, and to a greater degree than in the present instance. Why then did G-d not make the decree against him on that occasion?

Let me illustrate. To what may this be compared? To the case of a king who had a friend. Now this friend displayed arrogance towards the king privately, using harsh words. The king, however, did not lose his temper with him. After a time he rose and displayed his arrogance in the presence of his legions, and the king passed sentence of death upon him. So also the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: "The first offence that you committed was a private matter between you and Me. Now, however, that it is done in the presence of the public it is impossible to overlook it." Thus it says: "[Because you did not believe in Me...] in the eyes of the children of Israel."

When they are thus gathered, Moses admonishes the people: "Hear now, you rebels! Shall we get you water out of this rock?"

And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice.

And the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

G-d Speaks to Moses

"Because you did not believe in Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this congregation in to the land which I have given them."

G-d speaks to Moses: These are the Waters of Strife (20:13)

It is written (Psalms 66:5): "Come and see the doings of G-d, His awesome plot on the children of man." For G-d had already

decreed that none of that generation shall enter the land... But as soon as Moses said to them, "Hear now, you rebels..." G-d said to him: "...therefore you will not bring this congregation into the Land..." Thus, it was "an awesome plot." (Midrash Tanchuma)

G-d said to Moses: "With what face do you request to enter the Land?"

This may be illustrated by a parable. It is like the case of a shepherd who went out to feed the king's flock, and the flock was

abducted. When the shepherd sought to enter the royal palace, the king said to him: "If you come in now, what will people say?

That it was you who have caused the flock to be carried off!"

So, too, did G-d say to Moses: "Your greatness is that you have taken the 600,000 out of bondage. But you have buried them in the desert and will bring into the land a different generation! This

being so, people will think that the generation of the desert have no share in the World to Come! No, better be beside them, and you shall in the time to come enter with them."

Therefore it is written "You shall not bring this congregation..."--rather, you must bring the other, the one that you had taken out of Egypt! (Midrash Rabbah)

"Because you did not believe: Because you did not believe in Me (20:12)

The commentaries offer various explanations as to what Moses (and Aaron's) sin was. Rashi says that it was that he struck the stone instead of only speaking to it, as G-d had instructed.

According to Maimonides, it was the fact that he got angry, and said, "Hear now, you rebels."

Nachmanides questions both explanations, pointing out that:

a) G-d told Moses to take along his staff, implying that he was supposed to strike the stone (as in Exodus 17:6);

b) It does not say here that Moses' words were spoken in anger; whereas on other occasions we find Moses getting angry (cf. Numbers 31:14), and we don't find that he was punished for it; c) the verse explicitly says that his sin involved a lack of faith--not disobedience or anger. Nachmanides therefore explains the sin as lying in Moses' declaration, "Shall we get you water out of this rock?" when he should have attributed the miracle solely to G-d.

Chassidic Master Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Barditchev sees Maimonides' explanation (that he rebuked the people angrily) and

Rashi's explanation (that he struck the rock instead of speaking to it) as two sides of the same coin. If a leader's influence on the community is achieved through harsh words of rebuke, than his relationship with the environment is likewise: he will have to

forcefully impose his will on it to get it to serve his people's needs and their mission in life. If, however, he influences his community by lovingly uplifting them to a higher place so that they, on their own, will desire to improve themselves, the world will likewise willingly yield its resources to the furtherance of his goals.

But had not Moses previously said something that was worse than this?

For he said (Numbers 11:22): "If flocks and herds be slain for them, will they suffice them? Or if all the fish of the sea

be gathered together for them, will they suffice them?" Faith surely was wanting there too, and to a greater degree than in the present instance. Why then did G-d not make the decree against him on that occasion?

[At the burning bush,] Moses said: "But, behold, they will not believe me" (Exodus 4:1). Said G-d to him: They are believers, the sons of believers; you, however, will ultimately fail to believe.

They are believers, as it is written, "And the people believed" (ibid. v. 31); the sons of believers, as it is written "And [Abraham] believed" (Genesis 15:6); whereas you will ultimately fail to believe, as it is written: "Because you did not believe Me."

These are the Waters of Strife; because the children of Israel strove with G-d, and He was sanctified by them.